Really pretty and lots of parking, walking distance of the main street, but bring bug spray!!read more

When I went to Willamette Park for the first time two days ago, I was blown away (figuratively…read morespeaking). There were plants, trees and flowers as far as the eye could see. For one thing, the trees sure were beautiful to look at. Their leaves reminded me about the beauty of the color green and how it can be cool and friendly (and they still do, as a matter of fact). Also, whenever I looked at the flowers and plants, I smiled when I took notice of how awesome they looked (and still are). As I took pictures of the nature I saw, I was then reminded of Susie Salmon in the 2009 film "The Lovely Bones" and her saying that she liked how a photo could capture a moment before it was gone. Even now, I know what she meant. And when it came to the nature in the green of the plants, the beauty in the flowers and the wonder in the trees, there was something special they all had that nature photographers are able to find. Finally, I highly recommend Willamette Park for all the nature lovers and photographers out there, and I give it five stars as well (although ten stars would be even better).

The weather didn't cooperate, but when does it in Oregon? After almost two years of watching the…read morerestoration of the historic Arch Bridge, the Willamette Falls Festival celebrated the reopening of the link between West Linn and Oregon City by the scenic falls. The organizers planned a nice event. A 3-day festival and each day has a different theme: Friday - "An Evening of Arts & Culture" Saturday - "Family fun Day" Sunday - "Get Active Day" The rain put a bit of a damper on some of the activities, but it was still a nice, small town event. In downtown Oregon City, the focus of the festival, you could walk around town to the sounds of a barbershop quartet. There was a small farmer's market on one block and an artisan's market on the next. We saw fireworks Saturday night from the McLoughlin Promenade. On Sunday there is a 5k Fun Run, as well as a run/bike/paddle race starting at Clackamette Park. It is also the official bridge reopening for walkers, bikes and antique cars. We enjoyed this festival all weekend long and one of the highlights for me was taking the trolley tour of Oregon City and West Linn. We were lucky to have the President of the Old Willamette Historical Society as our guide. Very informative and just a lovely way to continue to learn more about our local area. Many of the historic homes in the area, on both sides of the river, were also open expanded hours and volunteers in period costume were there to provide information, assistance and a dose of fun. The Arch Bridge will officially open to traffic at 5:00a on Monday.

it was wonderful that was great food and dancing. Also a fantastic jet boat ride I think so very…read moremuch for the wonderful fun festival.

We come every year and it never disappoints! So many bogo items that you can stock up, profits a…read morelocal church, invest in your community, dinner for neighborhood on July 3rd at 7 with raffle for a kid to sprint 30 seconds and grab fireworks!

I can't give these guys 5 stars because it was a little confusing. We paid A LOT of $$$ for some…read morepackages that hardly did anything and then some of the inexpensive ones turned out to be the BEST! Also, it's difficult to tell exactly what you're getting as the marketing, the packaging looks like you will get a bunch and it's a deception. Go figure!

We always make the drive to Blackjack Fireworks 2x a year because not only are they super friendly…read moreand literally have the best prices, but they also are knowledgeable about which fireworks work best for the show you would like to put on no matter the size of the audience.

Exclamations made after visiting: "That was insane!" "That was crazy!" "I can't believe that!"…read more Yes, we went on the 3rd of July and we expected it to be busy, but holy cow! It was shoulder to shoulder people. Our party was separated several times and we were often blocked and unable to move because of the crowd. I have been in mosh pits with less touching. Pros: Parking monitors were on point. Fully staffed in all areas Employees knew everything and offered up answers without having to be asked. As we were talking amongst ourselves about trying to find an item, we were always directed to the correct item by the closest employee who overheard us. 10 cashiers who knew how to use the registers quickly meant that there was NO line for checkout even though the store was packed! Cons: Lots of people Parking lot was filled with anarchists who were excited to ignore traffic laws (customers; not attendants) Could be a pro or a con: No special gimmicky deals like "buy 3 get 1 free" means you get what you get. Clearly the crowds are not enough to keep the crowds away. Unfortunately, our family won't be back. Not because we were wronged or dissatisfied in any way, but because it was too much sensory input for our neurodivergent family members.

We needed cannon fuse for a big cannon that goes boom we inherited from my father. Unfortunately we…read moreleft it till the last minute and Mean Gene's was the only place locally in Clark County that we could find it. Thanks for saving our New Year's fun, Mean Gene's!

Great prices! Amazing Selection! Open on New Years Eve! Helpful Staff!…read moreFound in Camas Thank you!

This park is a great place to walk along the Columbia River with views of the river and Mount Hood…read moreon a clear day. They have a few different parking lots, and some public restrooms near the parking & picnic shelters, but some restrooms close for the Winter and there aren't any restrooms out on the trails. There's a couple of covered picnic shelters and beach access at a few spots, so it can be popular in the Summer. The trails is quite long, and connects to the trail system at the wildlife refuge next to it, so you can just walk out & back for as far as you'd like. The trails are mostly flat and gravel, so it's not to bad or muddy if it's rained recently. And if you're in this area and want to grab a beer after you finish your walk, both Recluse Brew Works and 54-40 Brewing are very close by (and 54-40 has a great patio open in the warmer months and great food, too).

Love the "beach" as we call it. Summer is fantastic but winter is the best. Bring the dogs and…read morethere are days you have your own private beach to run and play.

It is not called Ron Tonkin Field anymore, and good riddance to that automile branding: It's now…read moreHillsboro Ballpark, and it's now likely as good as it's going to get. Vacated by its A-level minor-league team earlier this year, Hillsboro Ballpark jumped right to the pros and signed a deal with the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) and their new Portland Cascade. This professional league brings ESPN and CBS Sports to town multiple days a week, puts national champion and Olympic players on the field on a nightly basis, and, oh yeah, actually sells out the place. I married into softball (spouse of a scholarship athlete and DII strikeouts leader), so I jumped at the opportunity not to trek to Eugene, Corvallis or Seattle (at least for softball) and watch games here. As it turns out, the previous tenants were underusing the building, if anything. The Cascade came in and immediately rolled in food carts including Mister Tacos, Rosa's Churros, and Papa Murphy's (still not sure how that works) and set up an outpost of The Sports Bra. They also seemed to institute city pricing, as concessions costs look largely in line with what you'd see at restaurants on Imbrie. The gameday experience is even vastly improved. At the pro level, there are still nightly autograph sessions for the kids. Pitchers still give away game balls, and fans are quickly booting stale baseball standbys like "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" for the more Cascade-range appropriate "Ain't No Mountain High Enough." And it isn't "a game of fathers and sons": All of Hillsboro is here. Yes, there are still the suns-out-guns-out dads in hunting shirts and Omega Morgan caps, but they're bringing daughters who can do the Hot To Go Dance. There are hair colors beyond brown, black, blonde and grey. There are jerseys, but there are rows of friends dressed for the club. There are rows of friends who were on softball teams in the '70s and '80s, and pairs killing time before karaoke night at HBG. Pride night here wasn't a promotion: It was a vibe. I genuinely used to hate coming to this park because the crowd treated it like a baseball library that required silence and seriousness at nearly all times. The largest crowds were for fireworks and fireworks-adjacent holidays (the 4th, Father's Day), and the whole experience seemed joyless and overlong. If anything, seven innings of the Cascade seems too short, and Cascade management deserves a ton of credit for transforming this mausoleum into someplace memorable and minimizing the amount of time the poor folks in the left field seats spend staring into the sun.

Catchers camp we went to that was HELD here. So let me clarify. We had an okay time at camp but…read morelove this field. I love seeing our Hops and I LOVE the Berm and the summer fireworks. This place is great. The logistics of the field SUCK though. Getting in and out after an event is a nightmare. Wtf were they thinking in traffic management and flow?! I sure hope that the new field is going to be much smarter in that. Until then, we will keep on battling the traffic and loving summer baseball nights!

My experience at mean gene fireworks might be one of, if not the best customer to employee…read moreinteractions I've ever had. Kevin from mean gene is one of the kindest most supportive individuals I have ever had the experience of talking to. He was extremely helpful with the selection of our fireworks and was very helpful in telling us what not to buy. Am definitely coming back next year and many years to come and I think everyone else should to.

Thanks for the fireworks ! Was able to find what I wanted quick and get in and out. Even on New…read moreYear's Eve

The Lake Grove Swim Park is a great day to spend with the kids. We have family that live within the…read moreboundaries so we have access as guests. There are some parking spots in front and also street parking, but on busy days parking can be limited. There is plenty of room to find a spot to put down a blanket or chairs. The only thing to consider is that there is bird/duck poop (it's a lake) on the ground so plan accordingly. The food options are okay and my kids love that there are slushies. There are several areas to swim in per the level/age of the swimmer. We appreciate that there are lifeguards there as well. If the kids need something to do outside of playing in the lake there is basketball, shuffle board, ping pong, and a play structure.

So nostalgic! Every time I swim in Lake Oswego I'm transported back to my childhood with long…read moresummer days spent swimming in the lake, jumping off the dock and playing on the sandy beach. The beach area is covered with lots of trees from large trees, there is plenty of room to picnic (grills available), a snack bar, restrooms, playground and lake access. This beach is closed to everyone except those that live within the boundaries of a Lake Grove School District. Fortunately I have friends who live on the canal and I'm invited out often for boat rides and to anchor and swim in the swimming hole by this beach. Water is surprisingly warmer than I ever predict, but still a cool and refreshing 77 which feels awesome on a hot summer day. This summer, 2020, we enjoyed many pop-up concerts where the band performed on a barge. Missing all the concert and movies in the park, this was a welcomed way to enjoy summer while being socially distanced. My favorite day is July 4th when the town of Lake O lights fireworks over the lake. This is open to anyone, but obviously it's super crowded so if you plan on watching from the beach, get there super early! We watch from the boat, anchoring and tying up with other boats, and then enjoy the magnificent display of fireworks and their reflection on the water while sipping wine, enjoying snacks and great conversation. It's one of my favorite nights of the year! Sadly, the fireworks were cancelled in 2020, along with most everything, but I still spent several heavenly days and evenings on the lake.

My early 20's son is the fireworks purchaser in our family. I have been to this stand with him in…read morethe last couple of years. We used to drive in to Vancouver to the large tent places, thinking we would get a much better price because they were bigger. Boy were we wrong! We were fools for passing up Crazy Ray's Fireworks right here in our own backyard! That will never happen again! Their prices were much better than the big tent places in town. The last time we were there we overheard other people who drove up from Vancouver saying that they paid a lot more in Vancouver and that they would only come to Crazy Ray's next time. Local family run business. Friendly and KNOWLEDGEABLE about fireworks. The ladies working were also preaching fireworks safety to everyone, young and older alike. I appreciated that.

Solid selection, but shady owners/staff. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up when previously…read morevisiting. Too friendly with the kids.