Portland

Plunging 620 feet in two majestic tiers, Multnomah Falls is the Columbia River Gorge’s most iconic cascade — a year‑round ribbon of white water framed by sheer basalt cliffs draped in moss and fern. A short, paved path leads to the historic Benson Footbridge, which spans the lower falls and offers a vertigo‑inducing view of the upper plunge. For the energetic, a switchback trail climbs 1.2 miles to the lip of the upper falls, rewarding hikers with sweeping gorge vistas and a cooling mist. The adjacent Multnomah Falls Lodge, built in 1925, serves hearty Pacific Northwest fare in a stone‑and‑timber dining room that feels unchanged since the highway’s early days.

Cloaked in the mist-draped forests of Washington Park, the Portland Japanese Garden is widely regarded as the most authentic Japanese garden outside Japan — a living poem composed of stone, water, and meticulously pruned pine. Designed in 1963 by Professor Takuma Tono of Tokyo Agricultural University, the 12.5-acre sanctuary unfolds across eight distinct garden styles, each a meditation on a different aesthetic tradition. The Flat Garden (Hira-niwa) frames a dry landscape of raked gravel and carefully placed boulders against a backdrop of maples that ignite in crimson come autumn. The Strolling Pond Garden (Chisen-kaiyu-shiki) invites contemplation along a zigzag bridge that slows the pace to a deliberate rhythm, while koi glide beneath a canopy of wisteria. The Cultural Village, added in 2017 and designed by Kengo Kuma, anchors the experience with a castle-wall-inspired terrace, a tea house where chanoyu ceremonies unfold, and galleries showcasing Japanese arts. Here, the concept of “shakkei” — borrowed scenery — incorporates the distant peak of Mount Hood as a living backdrop, blurring the boundary between garden and wilderness.