Portland Outdoor Activities

With party buses equipped with neon club lighting, bench seats, and MP3 stereos, Bishop Limo aims to keep revelers entertained before they make grand entrances at events. Each of their mobile VIP suites arrives equipped with a fog machine, an Xbox 360, and a 47-inch plasma TV in addition to ice chests for drinks and bottled water to keep customers and hitchhiking houseplants fully hydrated. In addition to prom packages and brewery adventures, Bishop Limo organizes winery tours to locales along the Columbia River Gorge and Hood River Valley. The adventures include stops at Marchesi Vineyards, which offers outdoor patio tastings with cheeses and charcuterie, and Naked Winery, which commemorates tastings by supplying visitors with their own engraved glasses.

A former three-sport standout at the University of Oregon and current Oregon sports commentator, Jordan Kent employs his athletic experience to lead kids' day camps filled with football, basketball, and soccer drills and competitions. Part of the nonprofit Jordan Kent Foundation, Jordan Kent Skill Camps seek to build self-confidence and discipline in young athletes of all ability levels. For one week, campers train under Jordan and his team of coaches comprised of local high-school athletes, former college athletes, and adult volunteers. The camps aim to teach boys and girls ages 7–13 the value of character and hard work as they engage in a series of scrimmages and contests. A nutritious lunch is provided each day to keep energy levels high, and coaches also build nutrition education into the camps to jumpstart healthy eating habits. On the last day, campers leave with a cookbook full of good snack and meal ideas, as well as a SportHill T-shirt, helping kids remember their time at camp without having to create elaborate cave paintings on the walls of their forts.

At each of several one-day festivals held throughout the country, thousands of revelers unite in an epic clash of pulp, beer, and live music. Armed with a cache of 300,000 tomatoes, participants don protective bathing suits and goggles and hurl the fruit at one another during a two-hour battle. Throughout the afternoon, live music and costume contests offer an entertaining respite from the front lines, as bartenders dispense drafts of beer to attendees older than 21, refueling soldiers' morale before they resign to writing goodbye letters to their produce vendors back home. All tomatoes used during the event are past ripe and already fated for disposal, making the battle an efficient means of tossing them before their cursed transformation into singing Muppets.

Every day at 4 p.m., a piece of the city transforms into the beach. At Wok's Up Beach Volleyball, four outdoor sand-volleyball courts host tournaments, pickup games, and open play. An onsite bar pours refreshments and invites those not setting and spiking to rack up at a pool table. Wok's Up Beach Volleyball equips its courts with lights, allowing games to continue even after the daily battle when the moon destroys the sun for rights to the evening sky.

The XGolf simulator at BirdieFinish Golf virtually transports players to 93 golf courses worldwide, where they can play and practice while enjoying the comfort of the indoors. The apparatus faithfully re-creates playing conditions at the chosen course, even adjusting the hitting surface to mimic lie angles, and improves upon them by canceling out the possibility of rain, excessive heat, and pelicans that perpetually hum "Happy Birthday to You" in a mocking tone. When not whisking foursomes off to imitations of exotic international courses, the simulator can also be used for club fitting and lessons under the expert guidance of golf coach Jari Hakonen. Repair services are also available for clubs that refuse to play on anything other than tangible courses.

Sherwood Ice Arena welcomes people of all ages to lace up their skates and hit the ice seven days a week during public skate, group lessons, and sport programs. On staff are more than 15 coaches who earned their skating chops with years of figure skating or hockey playing, and who impart their icy wisdom during group and private lessons for children, adolescents, and adults. Classes include a basic Learn to Skate course for true beginners, which is based on the U.S. Figure Skating Basic Skills program. The arena's more than 50 hockey leagues divide players into eight divisions based on their ability to balance a stick on their chins. Skaters can also relax during Friday-night date nights and special-occasion skating parties that can accommodate various group sizes. The onsite pro shop outfits skaters with a range of equipment from more than 20 brands including CCM, Mission, and Nike.