Portland City Walks: Twenty Explorations In and Around Town Paperback – October 15, 2008

A friend introduced me to the book and the walks in a plan to turn our one-day-a-week walks into something more fun & interesting. As a fairly new resident to Portland, I went along with it. And, I am Sooo glad. We walk and talk. We learn about the history & architecture of the many neighborhoods. We talk with shop keepers and residents. We stop for coffee or lunch depending on the day. Foster's books are satisfyingly informative, & easily consumable per walk. We photocopy each walk as we're ready to do it so as to carry less weight. And frankly, we are both so energized about learning where the first Italian immigrants settled, about how the African-American community came to live in the Albina until gentrification hit, about the urban coyotes living in the Overlook district, and on and on. Highly recommend this and the Hill Walks book. Addendum: Recently used a walks book in Seattle. Like Foster's much better!! The Seattle book was good, but heavily geological/environmental/historic. I miss more of the architectural that Fosters also has.

Can't say enough about this volume and Laura Foster's earlier  Portland Hill Walks: Twenty Explorations in Parks and Neighborhoods . As a two-week vacation traveler to Portland this past summer, these two books were constantly with me along the way on my numerous walks and hikes throughout the city. Portland is blessed with some wonderfully unique neighborhoods, each with layers of fascinating history and replete with charm and character. And thanks to the city's outstanding public transit system, the majority of these hikes are easily accessible without a car. Foster's books offer such interesting details of history, architecture, cultural and physical geography, as well as many individuals important to the development of Portland's neighborhoods over the years. These are such well-researched and detailed volumes that the reader comes away from these neighborhood encounters sensing that the homes and streets have been friends for years. I will use both of these books whenever I return to Portland in the years to come...there is still so much to learn about this great American city! I'm also certain that Portland natives could learn a good deal from making use of these. Thank you, Laura Foster, for two of the best urban walking guides I have ever found!

I have bought some of the books in the Wilderness Press "Walking" series, and I have done walks in several cities from various travel guides, such as Eyewitness, Top 10, Frommer's, etc. This book gives far more historical and architectural detail than any of those. There is even a glossary of architectural terms at the back of the book.Each walk is a loop, beginning and ending in the same place. The locations of rest rooms and drinking fountains for each walk are listed, which is nice. There is also information on getting to the walks by driving or by public transit.Although the title is "Portland City Walks", some of the walks are outside Portland, in places such as Beaverton, Vancouver, etc. The farthest is Forest Grove, which is about 23 miles from Portland.The author obviously put an incredible amount of work in the book, but I would have preferred something more compact, with less historical information.

We will be visiting Portland this winter, not the prime time for tourists, and not the best time for weather. Got this book and the Portland Hill Walks so that we could do some walking even on the dreariest, rainiest days, if we have them! Wishing they came with a full map though. My quick read/look through this book has caught my interest with lots of interesting facts that we'll be sure to enjoy as we explore Portland.

Much like her earlier book,  Portland Hill Walks , this is much more than a list of scenic strolls through Portland and its suburbs. She gives an amazing amount of detail on the history of the locations, architecture of its buildings, and other interesting bits of trivia that even us locals don't know! She will even get down to the history behind a single house which might otherwise not even be noticed while walking by it.Even better, without the hills these walks are more accessible to beginners.

I love this book! I have taken one of the urban hikes and was impressed by the extent of details. Everything you see along the hike is pointed out,explained, & commented on. Couldn't be more pleased with this purchase.

WOW What a GREAT book! Can't wait to travel to Portland to start exploring! Loved the book - Love the city!

Nice walks of various lengths and difficulty, with clear directions and lots of city history. We've walked from a lot of different books and Laura Foster's are by far the most interesting and least likely to get a couple of direction-challenged people lost!