The sun setting over the St. John's Bridge, a large, blue-green suspension bridge.

Book Genres and the Best Portland Parks To Read Them In

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If there’s anything Portlanders can agree on, it’s that we love our green space. Take a stroll within any one of Portland’s whopping 154 Parks and you’re sure to notice all kinds of park-goers: the picnickers, the dog walkers, the bubble blowers, the spikeballers . . . but keep your senses tuned and you’ll notice the quiet force of another kind of park-goer: the readers. Usually tucked beneath the shadiest trees with a cozy blanket and perhaps a few snacks, these bookworms understand the importance of a beautiful environment when it comes to enjoying literature. But with so many parks to choose from—all with their own unique flair and personalities—how are Portlanders supposed to decide where to bring their newest literary conquest? Good news! I’ve compiled a list of popular book genres and the Portland parks they can be best enjoyed at. The next time you crave that fresh pacific air and a cozy reading session, you can easily decide where to head.

Romance: Laurelhurst Park

From the nervous first date by the pond to the couple pushing the boundaries on PDA, one lap around Laurelhurst Park is all you need to see that romance is simply in the air there. It’s not a far stretch to imagine your own beloved protagonists strolling through the park’s regal pathways or the historic winding streets of the surrounding Laurelhurst neighborhood–making this park the perfect fit for your newest romance read.

Classics: Washington Park

As one of the oldest and largest parks in Portland, Washington Park in northwest Portland provides the sense of history and drama requisite for enjoying a good classic. Dust off your favorite Brontë or Steinbeck and head to this Portland favorite to make those classic stories come alive in a new way.

Sci-Fi: Elizabeth Caruthers Park

If you’re looking for a futuristic vibe in Portland (though some may argue that’s an Oxymoron), look no further than Elizabeth Caruthers Park. Positioned beneath the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) sky tram and the tall, modern, glassy buildings of the Southwest Waterfront, this park calls to mind many popular sci-fi themes, such as technology, healthcare, artificial intelligence, and dystopia.

Children’s: Westmoreland Park

If there’s a little one in your life, packing up your favorite children’s books and heading to Westmoreland Park in Portland’s Sellwood-Westmoreland neighborhood is a must. Let the kiddos get some energy out playing on this park’s beautiful nature-based playground and then settle down with a cozy, educational read (bonus points for nature themes in the book itself).

Poetry: Peninsula Park

Peninsula Park in north Portland is home to a public rose garden, a gorgeous fountain, and a historical bandstand. The park’s stunning landscaping and historic architecture create a cerebral quality perfect for enjoying poetry both old and new.

Literary Fiction: Cathedral Park

The sophisticated, serene nature of Cathedral Park makes it a perfect place for literary fiction lovers to crack the code on their latest lyrical masterpiece. Situated in the St. Johns neighborhood directly under the majestic St. Johns Bridge, this park is also the perfect place to capture the obligatory #Bookstagram story featuring the gorgeous, artful covers associated with the genre.

Nonfiction: Mt. Tabor Park

We’ve gone a little broad here, but at 176 acres in size, Mt. Tabor Park in southeast Portland has enough room for a whole host of nonfiction titles. That being said, the best fit might be nonfiction titles about geology, geography, or geochemistry. Mt. Tabor is actually a volcanic cinder cone. The more you know!

While we can’t come close to hitting each book genre or each of Portland’s many parks, hopefully this guide can be a jumping off point next time you decide to take your reading to the great outdoors. The perfect book-park pairing is sure to enhance your reading experience and provide a wonderful way to explore our city’s vast array of unique parks and green spaces. Happy reading!

A hiker gazes up at the vast, green, forested mountain in front of them

PNW Conservation Through Learning

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Conservation is top of mind for a lot of folks in the Pacific Northwest. Being surrounded by such a lush, green landscape, a majority of people escape out into the wilderness recreationally. There are a plethora of outdoor activities from which they can choose: from hiking to climbing and bouldering to mountain biking to skiing and snowboarding to so many others. During the pandemic, despite the forest service shutting down a lot of trails and recreational spots in Oregon, many people turned to the great outdoors to socialize from a distance. But 2020 also saw a rash of horrific forest fires which swallowed more than 1.2 million acres of greenery in Oregon alone and displaced hundreds of people. After the destruction of 2020, as more and more people embrace the outdoors, hopefully those same people turn to conservation and help protect the lands they’re exploring.

One of those people who escaped to the outdoors during the pandemic was Josephine Woolington; the slowdown of the pandemic shifted her perspective of the wilderness that she had been exploring for years and inspired her to write Where We Call Home, which launched on November 15, 2022. Woolington’s book is a collection of essays detailing a variety of native Pacific Northwest species, from the beautiful camas flower to the humble western bumble bee to the great gray whale. Woolington’s essays focus on the history of each species, illustrate the importance of each species to the various Native peoples of the lands, and bring to light the importance of conservation of each species. She believes, “once you know who [what] someone is, then you appreciate them more, and eventually, you feel obligated to stand up for them.”

Where We Call Home describes ten important species and how each of those species is vital to the Pacific Northwest. Many of these species have been historically important to various Native peoples of the area. “[These] culturally significant species are especially important for readers to know so non-Native people can respect and honor the traditions and relationships that Native people have had with these landscapes since time immemorial. Learning about Indigeneous land management also challenges the Western idea that humans are separate from their ecosystems.” Woolington has done a fantastic job of recording how tribes have respected and used the land and species in the past, and how today’s conservation efforts, while obviously important, frequently “legislate Indigenous communities out of their landscapes, violating treaties that preserve tribal rights to hunt, fish, and gather in their usual and accustomed areas.”

Where We Call Home encourages an enduring respect for the native wildlife of the region. Thankfully, its essays don’t leave readers feeling gloom and doom. Rather, the essays inspire readers to learn more about the lands that surround them and encourage people to take an interest in its history. One of the most important takeaways from Where We Call Home is that “conservation efforts can often be misled, as many organizations’ staffers are mostly white, and they often don’t involve enough or any Indigenous voices in restoration projects.” If we can take a look at the way Indigenous peoples have preserved the land they live on, we have a chance to restore the magnificence of the PNW, and continue to enjoy its beauty for generations to come.