Portland · With kids

In Washington Park, reached by a MAX station 260 feet underground, which is half the fun. Ages two to ten, and a concert lawn in summer.

Riverside science museum with a planetarium and a real submarine you can walk through. Ages four to twelve; the sub is tight for the claustrophobic.

The Rose Test Garden is free and enormous, the Japanese Garden is paid and calm, and a playground sits between the two. Any age.

Thirty minutes east in the Columbia Gorge. A paved path reaches the bridge in ten minutes, suits ages four upwards, and needs a timed permit in summer.

Nine damp months mean an indoor fallback every day. Most breweries here welcome children until early evening, and cart pods solve the fussy-eater problem outright.