Portland, Oregon is a major craft beer center full of many excellent pubs. We’d last visited in 2012 on our Columbia River trip in Dirona and recently decided to make a quick overnight trip by train from Seattle.

We booked a cabin on the Starlight Express train, a 35-hour overnight train from Seattle to Los Angeles. We’d not taken a train trip in the US before and had a great time taking in the scenery as we crossed rivers and highways and passed through various towns along the way. And four hours later, we were in Portland.

Our Portland hotel overlooked the Willamette River at the Hawthorne Bridge, where a major dragon boat festival was taking place. We had our first Portland beer-tasting with pints from Heathen Brewing, whose beer truck was onsite at the festival, and watched some of the racing.

After a great meal on the terrace at rooftop restaurant Departure, we stopped in at two Portland pubs on our way back to the hotel. Both had wonderful outdoor seating and a great local craft beer selection.

Below are highlights from September 10, 2022. Click any image for a larger view, or click the position to view the location on a map. And a map with our most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps.

King Street Station Position: 47°35.90’N, -122°19.79’W At King Street Station for an overnight trip to Portland, Oregon.

Station Interior Position: 47°35.90’N, -122°19.79’W The striking interior of King Street Station. Opened in 1906, the station had undergone a series of renovations over the decades that removed or covered much of the original decor and was recently restored to it’s former splendor.

Cabin Position: 47°35.84’N, -122°20.00’W Our cabin on the Starlight Express train. The full route runs from all the way to Los Angeles overnight, arriving 35 hours later, and the cabin can be converted to two beds. But we’re only making a four-hour run to Portland.

Station from Train Position: 47°35.85’N, -122°19.77’W The view to King Street Station shortly before we depart Seattle.

Green River Farm Position: 47°21.82’N, -122°13.97’W The Green River Farm in Kent sells their produce through a community stand that also supports other local small farms.

Western Self Storage Position: 47°14.56’N, -122°13.72’W One of several lots we passed with a large number of RVs in storage.

Swiss Lunch Position: 47°12.07’N, -122°20.63’W We brought a “Swiss lunch” with us of wine, crackers, sliced meat and cheese.

Tacoma Position: 47°14.38’N, -122°25.50’W The Tacoma Dome event center, partially visible at left, as our train reaches Tacoma.

I-5 Position: 47°4.92’N, -122°40.55’W The train crosses Interstate 5 near DuPont.

Pattison Lake Position: 46°59.76’N, -122°47.06’W Pattison Lake in Olympia, one of four lakes in the Woodland Creek drainage system that eventually reaches the Puget Sound at Henderson Inlet.

Kelso Station Position: 46°8.79’N, -122°54.73’W Kelso Station, the fifth and final Washington stop on our route before we cross the Columbia River.

SW WA Regional Airport Position: 46°7.70’N, -122°54.83’W A floatplane and small helicoptor at Southwest Washington Regional Airport, known until 2009 as Kelso-Longview Airport.

Lewis River Position: 45°51.91’N, -122°45.09’W Crossing the Lewis River, a tributary of the Columbia. The sky is getting smoky here due to the number of wildfires in the area.

Pacific Coast Shredding Position: 45°37.74’N, -122°41.20’W Pacific Coast Shredding recycling center in front of Great Western Malting Co. Founded in 1934, it is the oldest malting company in the western US and supplies malts to brewers, distillers and food processors in the United States, Canada, Asia and South America.

BNSF Railway Bridge 9.6 Position: 45°37.71’N, -122°41.23’W Taking the Burlington Northern Railroad Bridge 9.6, completed in 1908, across the Columbia River. We passed under this bridge in Dirona on our Columbia River trip.

Wastewater Treatment Position: 45°36.27’N, -122°42.83’W The Columbia Boulevard Wastewater Treatment Plant processes an average of 70 million gallons of wastewater each day, a number that can increase to 450 million gallons on rainy days.

BNSF Railway Bridge 5.1 (1908) Position: 45°34.85’N, -122°44.54’W About to cross the Willamette River on the Burlington Northern Railroad Bridge 5.1, built in 1908. We crossed under this bridge as well when we visited Portland in Dirona.

Substation Position: 45°32.78’N, -122°42.23’W A power substation a short distance out of Portland train station.

Fremont Bridge Position: 45°32.19’N, -122°41.20’W The graceful arch of the Fremont Bridge across the Willamette River.

Deere Position: 45°31.83’N, -122°40.66’W We’re always happy to see a John Deere in the wild.

Portland Arrival Position: 45°31.76’N, -122°40.61’W Four hours after departing Seattle, we disembarked our train in Portland.

Portland Station Position: 45°31.76’N, -122°40.61’W The interior of Portland’s Union Station is not quite as grand as Seattle’s King Street Station, but is still light-filled, airy and appealing.

Union Station Position: 45°31.73’N, -122°40.52’W The view to Portland’s Union Station from a pedestrian bridge over the tracks as we walk to our hotel.

Refueling Position: 45°31.70’N, -122°40.57’W It seemed odd somehow that a truck would come to refuel the trains, but that’s how it’s done. We were expecting the station might have it’s own underground tanks for fueling.

Steel Bridge Position: 45°31.60’N, -122°40.26’W The Steel Bridge over the Willamette. The double-decker lift bridge was built in 1912 and carries rail and non-motorized traffic on the lower level with vehicles on the top level.

Saturday Market Position: 45°31.38’N, -122°40.18’W The Portland Saturday Market, first held in 1974, is the largest continually operating outdoor market in the country. The market combines arts and crafts with live music and food venues.

Drummers Position: 45°31.33’N, -122°40.18’W A group of playing a variety of different drums in the park alongside the Willamette River.

Battleship Oregon Memorial Position: 45°31.24’N, -122°40.19’W The Battleship Oregon Memorial in the park of the same name along the Willamette River. Launched in 1893, the 351-ft (107 m) battleship saw action in the Spanish-American War and other conflict, and eventually was decomissioned in 1919. This mast from the ship was made into a memorial honoring all those who served aboard.

Hawthorne Bridge Position: 45°31.05’N, -122°40.30’W Looking up the Willamette River to the Hawthorne Bridge, a vertical lift bridge built in 1910.

Dragon Boats Position: 45°30.85’N, -122°40.39’W We had arrived into town on the weekend of the Portland Dragon Boat Races, held annually since 1989.

Heathen Brewing Position: 45°30.80’N, -122°40.42’W We loved the Heathen Brewing custom beer truck serving up pints at the Portland Dragon Boat Races. It’s an old tanker truck converted to have taps down the side.

Marriott Position: 45°30.76’N, -122°40.56’W The view down to the Willamette River and the Hawthorne Lift bridge from our room at the Portland Marriott Downtown Waterfront. The Portland Dragon Boat Festival is being held in the park in the foreground.

Spectating Position: 45°30.78’N, -122°40.53’W On our way out to dinner, we stopped off to take in some of the dragon boat races. And we couldn’t resists a pint from the Heathen Brewing beer truck. Portland is a major craft beer center and we plan to do a mini pub crawl as part of our trip. This seems like as good a place to start as any.

Teams Position: 45°30.78’N, -122°40.45’W Some of the nearly two dozen teams taking part in the Portland Dragon Boat Festival. They seemed to be a very fun-loving group.

Power Distribution Position: 45°30.79’N, -122°40.44’W A distribution box for supplying power to the Dragon Boat Festival.

Salmon Street Springs Position: 45°30.91’N, -122°40.38’W The interactive fountain Salmon Street Springs at the foot of SW Salmon St. in downtown Portland.

Departure Position: 45°31.14’N, -122°40.67’W A great meal on the patio at Departure rooftop restaurant in the The Nines hotel. We broke our pub-crawl theme and went with wine with dinner.

Departure View Position: 45°31.14’N, -122°40.67’W The view southeast over Portland to the Willamette River from the terrace of Departure restaurant.

Momo’s Position: 45°31.18’N, -122°40.97’W Back on our Portland mini pub crawl with drinks on the back terrace at Momo’s. The pub is rather unassuming from the street, but has this wonderful terrace almost hidden in the back.

McMenamins Position: 45°30.85’N, -122°41.09’W Continuing our mini pub crawl at McMenamins Market Street Pub.

PSU Position: 45°30.81’N, -122°41.06’W Walking past the Portland State University campus on the way back to our hotel.

PSU Music Position: 45°30.81’N, -122°41.04’W A wide array of instruments owned by the Portland State University Music Department.

Bridge at Night Position: 45°30.76’N, -122°40.56’W The Hawthorne Lift bridge lit up at night, viewed from our room at the ortland Marriott Downtown Waterfront.

Click the travel log icon on the left to see these locations on a map. And a map of our most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps.