The Mercury’s Guide to Summer Fun in Portland—and Beyond!
Summer in the City!
Our Favorite Patios for Getting a Sunburn While Day-Drinking
A (Wobbly) Step-by-Step Guide to Portland’s Patio Paradise
Here Are Forest Park’s Must-Hike Trails
There’s No Better Time to Enjoy Forest Park
Pressed for Time? Check Out These Portland “Fake-cations”!
From Oxbow Park to Enchanted Forest, Prepare to CHILL THE FUCK OUT
Splash Pads: A Gift to Portland Parents (and Kids, I Guess)
Discover the Joys of Dirty Park Water!
A Month-by-Month Guide to This Summer’s Best Shows
The Mercury’s Official Summer Concert Preview!
It’s Time to Learn Some Nude Beach Etiquette!
How to Not Be a Jerk and/or a Creep at Sauvie Island
Oaks Park Has a New Roller Coaster! I Rode It Again and Again and Again!
An Erudite and Discerning Review of ADRENALINE PEAK
No AC? Go to the Movies!
Portland Summers Are Hot. Movie Theaters Are Cool!
You’re Riding Your Bike Wrong
Great Job Biking! Now Maybe You Can Start Doing It Right!
From Treehouses to Yurts, Here are Five Great Ways to Get Out of Portland
Exploring the Pacific Northwest—On the Cheap
“WE HAVE FANS, AC UNITS, AND KIDDY POOLS” reads the handwritten sign outside my neighborhood hardware store.
They know what’s coming: inevitable stretches of 80, 90, and 100-plus degree days. The cruel scourge of an unrelenting sun. And the distinct... challenges faced by a city that was not designed for global warming. (Chances the MAX will strand sweaty Portlanders on the summer’s hottest days? About 100 percent.)
That’ll all come later—but right now? It’s the perfect part of Portland summer, and it’s exactly the right time to take advantage of it. Cyclists have taken back the streets, neighborhood gardens are bursting, and hiking trails—aside from the fire-ravaged ones in the Gorge—are offering cool mornings, warm afternoons, and fields of wildflowers. This shit is idyllic.
Even better, your semi-reliable, mostly sober pals at the Mercury are here with a bunch of ways to help you make the most of your summer, from a preview of this season’s best concerts to a rundown of the greatest patios for day-drinking. We’ve got biking info, tips on cheaply exploring the rest of the Pacific Northwest, a peer-reviewed scientific study of the best movie theaters with AC, and a Very Important Guide to nude-beach etiquette.
So read on, live it up, and appreciate all Portland has to offer. You’ll have plenty of time later to swear, sweat, and fight everyone else at the hardware store for fans, AC units, and kiddy pools.—Erik Henriksen, Editor of Summer
