What's on in Portland, United States through the year

Peak crowds — ZooLights and Peacock Lane, Winter / Christmas break in United States

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: ZooLights and Peacock Lane (20 Nov – 4 Jan (usually)), Freezing rain and ice storms (15 Dec – 20 Feb (usually))

Quiet — one of its worst months for weather

• Festival

  Portland Winter Light Festival

  1–12 Feb · usuallyMajor festival

  Ten nights of light installations along the waterfront and out in the industrial east side in early February. Free, outdoors, and deliberately scheduled for the bleakest part of the year. Source ↗

Still on: Freezing rain and ice storms (15 Dec – 20 Feb (usually))

Peak crowds — Cherry blossom on the waterfront, Spring break in United States

• Nature

  Cherry blossom on the waterfront

  20 Mar – 12 Apr · usuallyCrowded

  The row of Akebono cherries along the Willamette at the Japanese American Historical Plaza peaks for about a week, usually at the very end of March.

Busy — Cherry blossom on the waterfront

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Cherry blossom on the waterfront (20 Mar – 12 Apr (usually))

Busy — Portland Rose Festival

• Festival

  Portland Rose Festival

  22 May – 14 Jun · usuallyMajor festivalCrowded

  Three weeks from late May: the fleet ties up at the seawall, the CityFair carnival takes the waterfront, and the Grand Floral Parade closes downtown on a Saturday in early June. Source ↗

• Nature

  Rose Test Garden peak bloom

  25 May – 30 Jun · usuallyWildflowers & blooms

  Ten thousand plants in Washington Park hit their first and biggest flush from late May through June, then keep going in a thinner way until the first frost. Free, and busiest at weekends. Source ↗

Peak crowds — Portland Rose Festival, Waterfront Blues Festival

• Festival

  Waterfront Blues Festival

  30 Jun – 6 Jul · usuallyMajor festivalCrowded

  Four days on Tom McCall Waterfront Park over the Fourth of July, with the fireworks going up off the river on the last night. One of the largest blues festivals in the country. Source ↗

Still on: Portland Rose Festival (22 May – 14 Jun (usually)), Rose Test Garden peak bloom (25 May – 30 Jun (usually))

Peak crowds — Waterfront Blues Festival, Portland Pride

• Season

  The dry months

  5 Jul – 20 Sep · usuallyDry season

  The rain stops after the Fourth of July and stays away until late September, which is when the Gorge waterfalls are weakest and everything else is at its best.

• Festival

  Portland Pride

  10–20 Jul · usuallyCrowded

  The parade crosses the Burnside Bridge and the festival takes Waterfront Park over a weekend in mid-July, moved out of June years ago to get the weather on its side. Source ↗

Still on: Waterfront Blues Festival (30 Jun – 6 Jul (usually))

Busy — Summer break in United States, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Hazard

  Wildfire smoke

  1 Aug – 20 Sep · usuallySmoke season

  Smoke from Cascade and Gorge fires settles in the Willamette valley for days at a time in late summer, usually on the hottest and otherwise clearest weeks of the year. Source ↗

Still on: The dry months (5 Jul – 20 Sep (usually))

Peak crowds — Portland Marathon, Summer break in United States

• Festival

  Portland Marathon

  28 Sep – 8 Oct · usuallyMajor festivalClosuresCrowded

  Run through the inner east side and over the Broadway Bridge on a Sunday at the turn of September into October, when the weather can be either half of the Portland year. Source ↗

Still on: The dry months (5 Jul – 20 Sep (usually)), Wildfire smoke (1 Aug – 20 Sep (usually))

Busy — Portland Marathon

• Nature

  Fall colour

  10 Oct – 10 Nov · usuallyAutumn colour

  The Japanese Garden's maples and the vine maple in the Gorge turn through the second half of October. The rain is back by then, which is what makes the colour hold.

Still on: Portland Marathon (28 Sep – 8 Oct (usually))

Peak crowds — ZooLights and Peacock Lane, Thanksgiving break in United States

• Festival

  ZooLights and Peacock Lane

  20 Nov – 4 Jan · usuallyChristmas & New YearCrowdedBook early

  The zoo strings its paths from late November and sells timed entry that goes early for weekends. Peacock Lane in the south-east does the same thing on foot, for free, every night from mid-December. Source ↗

Still on: Fall colour (10 Oct – 10 Nov (usually))

Peak crowds — ZooLights and Peacock Lane, Winter / Christmas break in United States

• Hazard

  Freezing rain and ice storms

  15 Dec – 20 Feb · usuallyExtreme coldClosures

  East wind out of the Gorge meets valley cold and glazes the city in freezing rain most winters. Buses chain up, the west hills go undrivable and the airport slows for a day or two. Source ↗

Still on: ZooLights and Peacock Lane (20 Nov – 4 Jan (usually))