It’s fall! Maybe you’re looking for ways to celebrate the season that go beyond corn mazes and pumpkin patches, even if those things are great too. Eden Dawn, author of “The Portland Book of Dates,” shared some of her recs for the best ways to take advantage of the pumpkin-spice vibe:
Fall Leaves: Officers Row (Vancouver)
If you’re looking for a spot not too far out of Portland, this historic neighborhood is a lovely place to stroll and get in some leaf-peeping. Check out the 22 historic Victorian homes of Officers Row. You can even print out a map to take with you, so you can ID all the trees as you go.
“You go walk the leaf path – absolutely stunning; look at all the beautiful Victorians,” says Dawn. “Then at the end, you have a nice wine.”
Willful Wine, a women-owned wine bar, is located in The Grant House. It’s named for the president and general who never actually lived there, but slept instead at nearby Fort Vancouver.
Mushroom Hunting: Saddle Mountain and Kings Mountain
It’s tough to find someone who’s serious about mushroom hunting and is willing to share their secrets.
But Dawn was willing to share a little bit: “I can tell you that both Saddle Mountain and Kings Mountain have great hikes and many people have shown photos or tagged locations where they have got the one and only, the mysterious Chanterelle.”
The perfect ending to the day? Camp 18:
“Even if you go out and you don't get your mushrooms, you go and you sit by the giant fireplace and you have yourself a hot tea, or maybe you have a beer, and you just get to enjoy your fall moment,” she says.
(“The real kicker for me is that there always seems to be some farm cats that live around, and I'll basically go anywhere if I can sit outside and pet a farm cat,” she adds.)
- Related: If you’re looking for a guide to mushroom season, here’s some tips.
A Chanterelle mushroom growing in a forest. (K A Gonzalez / Getty Images)
Favorite Fireplace in Town: Keys Lounge
“It's so sexy. They have the DJs going, and I feel like they do a good job. And then they have the little fireplace there, and it's so warm and cozy in there. The lighting is good. Everything feels real cozy and warm.”
Fun fact: the decorations on the patio wall are from the old OMSI building. “When I was a kid there was this geodesic dome that was up by the zoo and that was all in blue and green and these little panels of glass or something. When we were growing up, all the kids loved [the old OMSI].”
