Need a hot day family getaway? Try Sauvie Island

The island has plenty of family-friendly activities

IAN MCMEEKAN

Imagine this: it’s a hot summer day, and you want to take your family somewhere fun to play in the sun. But there are so many places you can go that your options seem endless, and you’re left unable to decide. There must be someplace family-friendly you can go that’s not too far from Portland, you think. That’s when it hits you—you can take a drive to Sauvie Island. With so many family-friendly activities, Sauvie Island is one of the best places to visit in the Portland metro area on a hot day. One activity for you and your family to partake in is visiting one of the many U-pick farms across the island, such as Bella Organic Farm. Even though they are more well-known for fall events such as their corn maze or pumpkin picking, they have other events in the summer. In fact, during the warmer part of the year, did you know they host a “free and open-every-day bouncy house? Or how about the goats and pigs outback that love to be visited by little farmers and berry pickers?” as reported by Liz Overson of Tiny Beans. That’s not all they have in the summer months, either—they also “host Farm Dinners and a coupla weekend family-friendly concerts like Blueberries & Blues midsummer or the annual Labor Day Weekend Blackberries & Bluegrass multiday jamfest,” Liz Overson reported.

Speaking of great U-pick farms on Sauvie Island, another that is a great place to go with the family on hot summer days is Topaz Farms. Other than their pumpkin picking in the fall, they also have great berry picking in the summer and are open from “June through the first week of November, the farm boasts…a barnyard petting zoo and fields of U-pick berries make for sweet memories,” and “hosts a weekly summer concert series,” reported Brian Barker of Travel Portland.

Speaking of things for the kids, Topaz Farms also has the Sauvie Island Center. This activity center is located on the southwestern side of the island, and is open from mid-May to late November. This center is a great place to take kids on a hot day because there are always fun things to do. Just a few of the fun activities that this activity center offers are “school field trips, summer camps, and opportunities for kids and their parents to dig in and learn about food, farming, and the land together as a family,” as stated on the Sauvie Island Center website.

One of these opportunities that both kids and parents will be able to explore are family farm days. Here, you will have the chance to join with other families and staff “for a lovely spring day in the garden! Families can move freely in this self-guided adventure through the garden,” according to the center’s site. “We will have a variety of stations set up and staffed with leaders to help guide you through each activity.” This event is for all ages, and runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. with a suggested donation of $5 to $15 per family.

However, Sauvie Island doesn’t just have U-pick farms to help you spend time with the family on those hot summer days. This island getaway also has a great family-friendly beach for the whole family to take a swim in the sun—Walton Beach. It’s a wonderful place for sunbathing as well as swimming, and it’s perfect for building sand castles or flying a kite on more windy summer days. “About 20 miles from downtown Portland, Walton Beach on Sauvie Island is a family-friendly beach on the Columbia River,” as reported by Swim Guide. “Columbia Riverkeeper volunteers monitor water quality at this beach from June–September.” This means you don’t need to worry about you or your family swimming in polluted water.

When you want to take your family somewhere on a hot day, be sure to think of Sauvie Island. Between the U-pick farms with family friendly activities and the great swimming areas at Walton Beach, Sauvie Island is the perfect place to go to cool off and have fun with the family.