Six Favorite Fall Activities in Portland
As an Apple-centric company, it may not surprise you to learn that fall is our favorite season at Portland Cider. Sure, the leaves are turning glorious shades of orange and gold and red, and the rain is returning, and the sunny days are bright and crisp… But most importantly of all, it’s harvest season!
This is when all the plump, gorgeous Northwest apples that go into our cider grow perfectly ripe for picking. So we’re feeling pretty festive over here.
If you’re content to lie down in an orchard and watch puffy clouds pass overhead, we totally get it. But if you’d like to explore a little, we’ve rounded up some of our other favorite Portland-area fall activities.
Pick Apples
Okay, we warned you–we’re crazy for apples, and the western foothills of Mount Hood are covered in lush orchards heavy with ripe apples right now. Check out Kiyokawa Family Orchards for Honeycrisps, pink pearls, cameos, and dozens of other u-pick apple varieties, plus lots of other fruit at their stand.
photo from @portland via instagram, photographer @n1ck_on
Catch the Swifts
Each September, the Vaux’s Swifts stop by our area on their way from Canada to the warmth of South America for the winter, and they put on quite a sunset show! The Portland Audubon Society is NOT hosting the Chapman School event this year, but there are other ways you can watch these marvelous birds hunker down for the night. Check out this Northwest swift-watching location list and see for yourself why a group of swifts is called a “swoop” or a “screaming frenzy.”
Get Lost
Just north of Portland on the often-mispronounced Sauvie Island, Bella Organic Farm is an all-ages playground for the season. Enjoy a pumpkin patch, farm animals, hayrides, hot corn on the cob, caramel apples, and of course, Portland Cider Co.’s Pumpkin Spice Cider, all while you choose the best strategy for tackling their world-famous corn maze! If 2.7 miles of paths spread across seven acres of corn aren’t challenging enough for you, try the after-dark haunted maze...
Get Scared
If that haunted corn maze doesn’t do it, maybe one of Portland’s terrifying haunted houses will? Halloween season in Portland is one of the best times of the year, and locals go all-out to make sure they’re entertaining (and scaring the pants off) everyone they can. Even if you have your old favorite spots, be sure to check their guidelines for this year before you head out–and check out a new haunt, too!
Get Spaced
Thousands of UFO enthusiasts visit McMinnville each spring for the annual McMenamins UFO Festival--but this year, it’s been postponed until fall! September 24 & 25, you can listen to talks from leading ufologists, check out some charming and creative pet costumes, listen to live music, and swap stories of saucer sightings with people from all over.
Get Cider!
Sometimes it’s more fun to watch the Northwest fall weather through your front window. Get the cozy fall vibes that you’re craving delivered right to your door when you join the Portland Cider Club! Our fall shipment features 12 Proper Pints (19.2oz cans), including the brand-new Pumpkin Spice Cider and exclusive early access to our PDX Community Cider. We’ve extended the sign-up deadline to September 24th–so what are you waiting for?
