West Portland Suburbs
Below you will find access to all the neighborhood guides for the West Portland Suburbs. Each guide is very detailed, with lots of information on neighborhoods, parks, schools, farms, trails, festivals and just the basic personality of each of West Portland Suburbs. Here is an introduction: Directly west of Portland you will find Beaverton– a thriving city in itself. It stretches from Portland to Hillsboro– with the Max line running right through it. To the SW is Tigard- stretched out along Barber Blvd-which becomes 99W. The Fanno Creek Trail runs from Tualatin through Tigard and on to Beaverton and even goes into SW Portland. It is an amazing trail through the wetlands of Fanno Creek. It goes through the commercial areas, by shops and restaurants, and through residential areas, with many short trails giving access to it from the various neighborhoods. The Fanno Creek Trail system is why I have chosen to live on the west side! I am only one block from it, I use it all the time. Tigard also has the amazing Cook Park, Summer Lake, Progress Ridge, the new trendy outdoor Bridgeport Mall that feels like you are in some resort town when you visit it, and also the Washington Square Mall which has won a lot of awards.
South of Tigard is Tualatin, which has a lot of parks and trails, and a small lake with fountain, paddle boats and outdoor restaurants around it! Lake Oswego borders Tigard to the south and borders Portland along highway 43 and is the most expensive area in Portland Metro-built around the lake it is named after. It has a really pretty downtown area. Tryon Creek State Park runs all the way down the hill and ends on the north side of First Addition. George Rogers State Park is a wonderful beach where the lake enters the Willamette River. The schools are the most coveted in the Portland Metro area! West Linn borders Lake Oswego on the south and follows the Willamette River- with a small bridge that connects it to Oregon City. It goes up the hill from the river, has a lot of forest land and green space. Wilsonville is south along Interstate 5- the last suburb before you go into the farmland of the Willamette Valley.
There is the WES train that hooks up to the MAX train. It runs from the MAX station in Beaverton and goes all the way to Wilsonville. It is perfect for commuters who want to use public transportation!
Beaverton of West Portland suburbs has changed so much in the past few years. It is a huge areas, with all different kinds of neighborhoods, from walkable very urban, all the way out to farms on it’s west borders. Some of Beaverton runs into the West Hills of Portland, with the culture and types of houses being much like Portland, other areas are really new, some neighborhoods are on hills with winding streets and amazing views, some neighborhoods are tied into the MAX train, others are out on the edge of the farmland! Read More…
Cornelius is just outside of Hillsboro heading west along Baseline, part way between Hillsboro and Forest Grove in the West Portland suburbs. It’s been growing like crazy the last couple of years with new housing developments going in all over. The houses are built mostly close together, and many of them are cheaply made tract houses, but there are some neighborhoods that have some really pretty houses and tree lined streets. Read More…
Forest Grove is a cute little town just past Cornelius- with farmland all around it in the West Portland suburbs. It goes up into the hills and has the most beautiful views I have ever seen! It also goes up to meet Gaston- with it’s rolling hills and Haag Lake. The town itself is really cute with a town square and park right near the center. Click here to read more about Forest Grove and find cool links, maps and photos! Read More…
Gaston is a little old farming town way up in the hills- off by itself. The land around it is really pretty- fields and woods and rolling hills. It is about an hour from Portland- and you can go south to the Newberg or McMinnville area too. In the 1860s, the census recorded only about 70 people in the Gaston area. Nonetheless, in 1866, the first Gaston School was founded! So Gaston is historic! Click here to read more about Gaston and find cool photos, links and maps. Read More…
Hillsboro has always been an agricultural community of flat, patchworked fields that go on and on until they run into the rolling hills at the edges of the valley- then the fields go up the hills until they reach the trees. It is a beautiful area, nestled half way between Portland and the beach. It has changed so much in the past few years because now the Max light rail goes all the way out to the center of Hillsboro- so new housing developments, businesses, restaurants and cafes have popped up everywhere along the Max Line. My favorite area is Orenco Station. Read More…
Lake Oswego is a beautiful area just 8 miles south of Portland, close to where the Tualatin and Willamette rivers converge. The lake is a natural lake, a long finger like body of water, that was dammed up in 1921 so that it filled the narrow little valley around it and spread out in in low spots almost like fingers reaching into the hills. It is 400 acres, and is at the center of all the neighborhoods of Lake Oswego. The hills around it rise up from the lake, with winding streets meandering through the surrounding forest, and houses tucked into the hills. The neighborhoods here are some of the most expensive in the Portland Metro area, and the Schools rated the highest! Read More…
Sherwood was actually first settled in 1853 – and its little downtown area is really cute, and does have some really old historic homes. It lies just SW of Tigard along highway 99W. It has grown like crazy the past few years – with housing developments springing up everywhere. There are lots of farm stands here in the summer, and a real feed store – and it runs right into farmland as you head west. Read More…
Tigard is the first among the west Portland suburbs to the south. It’s where I live- and I love it. I can get to downtown Portland in 10 minutes on I-5, (if the freeways are clear), or if there is traffic, I can go in on Barber Blvd and be there in 15 minutes. Tigard has I-5 running to it, and 217 running through it- so access to everywhere by freeway is really good. And the new Max train will be coming into downtown Tigard next year! This will connect Wilsonville, Tualatin, Tigard and the Beaverton Max Station. Go to this site to see more about it. Read More…
Tualatin is just south of Tigard on I-5- where 5 and I-205 intersect. The Tualatin River meanders through it- giving rise to river based parks and houses on the river. The core of the town has a lot of 70’s and 80’s homes- and newer, but as you get out away from the middle of Tualatin, there are some gorgeous country homes- some right on the rivers. It is a sister city to Tigard- the school system is called Tigard-Tualatin- and a lot of the kids who live in Tigard end up going to Tualatin High. It sits south of Tigard, southwest of Lake Oswego , northeast of Sherwood and west of West Linn . It takes about 15 minutes to get into downtown if you are near the freeway. Read More…
West Linn of west Portland Suburbs is located between the Willamette and Tualatin rivers with hills rising, sometimes steeply, from the river banks- so there are a lot of breath-taking views! The area near the two rivers was settled first, with later development climbing the hills. It is a family oriented neighborhood, having some of the best schools in the Portland area. There are lots of parks and green spaces, and a cute little downtown area. It is about 8 miles to the SE of Portland, so not too bad a commute. It has the nickname of City of Hills, Trees and Flowers, and has 17 parks. Read More…
Wilsonville is along I-5 just past Tualatin. It is in the beginnings of the Willamette Valley- where the Willamette Valley and Tualatin Valleys run together. There are older homes on acreage, farms, new developments and lots of cond and townhouse developments- so there is something for everyone. If you go into the Stafford Road area, it runs into West Linn and Tualatin- and the houses get pretty expensive because of the area. Read More…