27 Weird Things to Do in Portland [Local’s Guide]
You’ve already been to the Rose Garden. You took your out-of-town guests to Powell’s the last time they visited. The idea of sitting in a coffee shop is putting you to sleep. That’s where I come in. I live in Portland and go from zero to cabin fever in about four seconds. It’s a long winter, and I get through it by seeking out new and obscure things to do. Here are my suggestions for the best weird activities in Portland. They range from mildly quirky to bizarre. If it’s a less basic idea than Voodoo Donuts, it’s on the list. Go and get that outfit that’s been sitting in the closet. You know the one. Today’s the day. Let’s get weird with it.
Cost guide:
$ = $10 & under
$$ = $20 & under
$$$ = more than $20
1. The Freakybuttrue Peculiarium
Alien autopsy at the Peculiarium
The Freakybuttrue Peculiarium is Portland’s museum for weirdness and oddities. Think carnival sideshow meets Grandpa’s hoarder basement. The star of the show is the life-sized alien autopsy. Supporting actors are Bigfoot, Krampus, and a set of shrunken heads. Playing, no wait, I mean interacting, with the displays is encouraged. You can get the perfect selfie hanging off the edge of a skyscraper and try your skills at playing the theremin. Dogs are welcome. A decent costume will get you a free admission. All ages are allowed, but it may be scary for kids under 10. No jump scares, just some large cryptids in dim lighting. After visiting the museum, check out the bizarre local art in the gift shop.
Cost: $
Address: 2234 NW Thurman St, Portland, OR 97210
2. Skeleton Key Odditorium
I was lucky to make it out alive
If you read the descriptions online, the Skeleton Key Odditorium sounds a whole lot like the Peculiarium. Once you're inside, the experiences are pretty different. Like the Peculiarium, the Odditorium is a museum of strangeness, but think witchier, gothier, and more curated. When you enter, you can browse the store for free. The most interesting displays are in the museum, which is $15 for admission. Through the heavy door are snaking halls with exhibits devoted to the macabre and the disturbing, from Dracula to demonic clowns to Victorian medical instruments. Kids are welcome, but are more likely to enjoy it if they’re at least 10 and like haunted houses.
Cost: $$
Address: 939 SW 10th Ave, Portland, Oregon, 97205
3. Paxton Gate
Just your bog standard wall of heads at Paxton Gate
We’ve all been there. You’re considering adding an ibex head to your living room decor, and sure, you could just buy it online, but you’d like to see it in person before committing. The solution to this very common problem is at Paxton Gate, Portland’s weirdest store. The most eye-catching displays are the walls of taxidermy. As you start browsing the shelves, things don’t get any more normal. Lit cases illuminate bones, mounted insects, and pickled things in jars. The jewelry is one statement piece after another. The conventional stuff, like the potted plant corner, only makes the weird stuff look weirder. The overall effect is, honestly, beautiful. But then again, I have skulls on my bookshelves, so feel encouraged to make up your own mind.
Cost: $-$$$
Locations:
4204 N Mississippi Ave, Portland, OR 97217
811 NW 23rd Ave, Portland, OR 97210
4. Visit the Mausoleum at Memory Den
Memory Den
If you’ve been needing a hookup for haunted toys, look no further. Memory Den is Portland’s largest vintage mall. Dozens of independent vendor booths fill the two-story warehouse in the Central Eastside. Some look like elaborate stage sets, others like junk shops. You can find plenty of useful stuff, like rare books and handmade clothes, but that’s not really what this list is about. We’re in it for the old-timey clown dolls and the stuffed animals with the wrong number of limbs. A good place to start is the Mausoleum, a sort of closet with a blacklight to the left of the register. The clown booth upstairs is also a good bet for unsettling finds. Even the less overtly strange booths can have weird, excuse me, unique things. My sister has a booth upstairs. One of her recent sales was an adult-sized onesie that looked like it was made out of oven mitts.
Cost: $-$$$
Address: 499 SE 2nd Ave, Portland, OR
5. Find the UFO on the nude beach
Collins Beach UFO
Sauvie Island has miles of beautiful sandy beaches along the Columbia River. One of them, Collins Beach, is clothing-optional. It also has a weird attraction. The Collins Beach UFO is the hull of an abandoned boat that got stuck on the sand in the 1990s. Today, colorful graffiti covers the spacecraft-shaped boat. You can climb on it, but, naked or not, I’d recommend a tetanus shot first. It’s pretty rusty these days. The easiest way to find the UFO boat is to follow the trail from the parking lot at marker #3. You’ll walk through a thin strip of trees before arriving at the beach. Head south along the tree line until you see the UFO, about a couple of hundred feet.
Cost: $
Pass required: To visit Sauvie Island’s beaches, you need an ODFW permit, $10/day. On weekends and holidays in the summer, you also need a free beach pass.
Address: NW Reeder Rd, Portland, OR 97231
6. Find the witch’s castle
Witch’s castle
The witch’s castle in Portland’s Forest Park has lots of mysterious and intriguing local lore attached to it. Sadly, the reality is banal. It was a park bathroom that’s no longer in use. Still, the stone cabin in the woods certainly looks like where the coven would meet. To find it, start at Lower Macleay Park. Follow the flat and easy hiking trail along Balch Creek for about a mile. You can turn around when you reach the witch’s castle or continue up the hill for a longer, and normal-er, hike. In another mile or so is the Oregon Bird Alliance, where you can pop by and see the rescued birds. Another mile or so will take you up to Pittock Mansion. Behind it are fantastic views of downtown Portland.
Cost: Free
Address: Lower Macleay Park, 2960 NW Upshur St, Portland, OR 97210
7. Drink at a weird bar
Creepy’s
Portland has many tasteful and romantic cocktail bars. We’re not going to them. Instead, let me, the deranged leader of your bar crawl, bring you to Raven’s Manor, where gargoyles sit on the bar counter, cages hang from the ceiling, and mist rises from the drinks. Other notable creepy bars around town are, well, Creepy’s, the clown-themed bar, and The Coffin, a horror-themed bar and music venue. If you’re looking for a night out that feels less like a haunted house, check out Wyrd Mead (yep, it’s pronounced “weird”), a meadery and leatherwork studio where Vikings would not look out of place. Think roaring fireplace and antler decor. Cosplay is encouraged. Or, stop by one of the comedy shows at Funhouse Lounge. I mean, sure, they do have a clown room, but it’s not necessarily haunted.
Check out my list of Portland’s best themed bars.
8. Find the speakeasy in the custard shop
Conspirator’s Coffee
Some of Portland’s speakeasies are a little half-hearted, more like back rooms of normal bars than hidden spaces with secret codes to enter. Conspirator’s Coffee commits. You enter through Black Cat Custard in downtown Portland. To go any further, you’ll need to give the password to someone behind the counter. It changes. Check their website or Instagram to make sure you have the right one. Behind the secret door is a different world. It looks like the drawing room of an elegant manor house you’d stumble upon after getting stranded in a snowstorm deep in the mountains: chandeliers, wingback chairs, marble busts, that sort of thing. Anyone can enter during the day to try out the coffee drinks and snacks. The soup and sandwich I ordered were legit good, not just coasting on the novelty of the space. After 5:30 PM, it changes to 18+ and starts serving alcohol.
Cost: $-$$$
Address: 133 SW 2nd Ave, Suite 100, Portland, OR 97204
9. Have late-night coffee at Rimsky-Korsakoffee
Rimsky’s
After meaning to go to Rimsky-Korsakoffee House for years, I finally went, knowing a list of Portland’s weird things wouldn’t be complete without it. The coffee and dessert shop’s hours, 7 PM to midnight, would be perfect for me if the AMs and PMs were switched. I haven’t wanted a cup of coffee at 10 PM since I worked the night shift. But the coffee isn’t really the point here. Cafe tables fill the candlelit ground floor of an old Victorian house. A sign on the wall announces with pride that there’s no wifi. It’s a place to catch up with friends, not work. Sipping herbal tea, I scan the room. Quirky, intimate, cozy. A musician working for tips strums the guitar up front. Around me are tables of teenagers and a few Moms of teenagers eating ice cream sundaes. No spoilers, but make sure to stop by the bathroom at some point.
Cost: $-$$ (cash only)
Address: 707 SE 12th Ave, Portland, OR 97214
10. Explore the Kennedy School
No hall pass needed
The Kennedy School was a historic elementary school that opened in 1913. Today, the quirky resort still feels almost too much like a school. When I’m there, I’m always looking over my shoulder for a matronly woman who will demand to see a hall pass. Yet, wandering the halls these days is not only allowed but encouraged. Instead of test anxiety and homework, you get beer. It takes a while to explore the property. Kennedy School has a restaurant, bars, a brewery, a movie theater, and an outdoor soaking pool. Everywhere you look is weird art. For the full experience, you can stay overnight at the hotel, which might be haunted. My friend thought she saw a ghost there when she visited. Her partner thinks she didn’t. I’m staying out of it. You can decide for yourself.
Cost: $-$$$
Address: 5736 NE 33rd Ave, Portland, OR 97211
11. See the Portland troll
Ole Bolle
Danish environmental artist Thomas Dambo set six trolls loose in the Pacific Northwest. Only one is in Oregon. Ole Bolle lives on the campus of Nordic Northwest, the Scandinavian Heritage Center in southwest Portland. Bald as an egg and 19 feet tall, he kneels as he lifts the roof of a little red and white cabin. Whether he’s after the pastries on the table or unwary humans isn’t clear. Enter at your own risk. After your troll encounter, it’s worth heading inside Nordia House for lunch. The restaurant, Broder Söder, has delicious Scandinavian food made with fresh seasonal ingredients. I’d suggest putting your name down for a table and then browsing the small art gallery and gift shop. There’s been a wait whenever I’ve gone.
Cost: Free
Address: 8800 SW Oleson Rd, Portland, OR 97223
Learn more about Portland’s giant troll.
12. Zymoglyphic Museum
Mermaid at the Zymoglyphic Museum
As you pull up to the Zymoglyphic Museum, I wouldn’t blame you for thinking that I’ve sent you to the wrong place. Portland’s most unique museum is in a large detached garage in a residential neighborhood near Mount Tabor. Head inside and go upstairs to visit the world’s only museum dedicated to the Zymoglyphic Region. You start with the weird and wonderful creatures of the Natural History exhibit, like the mermaid fish and Flightless Spinybirds. Then, you work your way to The Modern Age, which features “things that look like art.” A part of me is worried about spoiling the experience by revealing too much. But I also think that I couldn’t. It’s a place that defies description. Go, and be baffled.
Cost: Free
Hours: Open on the 2nd and 4th Sunday of each month from 11 AM to 3 PM. Check the museum’s website for updates before visiting.
Address: 6225 SE Alder St, Portland, OR 97215
13. Portland Puppet Museum
Display at the Puppet Museum
Like the Zymoglyphic Museum, the Portland Puppet Museum is a labor of love. It’s the only permanent museum of puppetry on the West Coast. The collection spans hundreds of years and dozens of countries. Speaking as someone with no particular interest in puppets, it’s worth a visit. The artistry is impressive, from the sequined vests on the comely maiden puppets to the weird, grotesque faces of the villain puppets. Each exists not as a static piece of art, but as a character tied to epic stories. The curator has all the tea on who is filled with murderous rage and whose love goes unrequited. Besides the exhibit space, the museum also holds puppet shows. Look for the events calendar on the website.
Cost: Free, with donations welcome
Address: 906 SE Umatilla St, Portland, OR 97202
14. Eat at the Hawthorne Asylum
Hawthorne Asylum Food Cart Pod
Because nothing says relaxing lunch quite like a 19th-century mental hospital, the Hawthorne Asylum Food Cart Pod is named for James Hawthorne, who co-founded the Oregon Hospital for the Insane in 1861. The spiky metal sign over the entrance looks straight out of The Nightmare Before Christmas. Once you get inside, the asylum theme is light. I’d call it one of Portland’s better food cart pods for the number and variety of carts. Many are delicious. For better or worse, none is weird. If the weather’s not great, you can sit by the fire pit, eat in the covered patio, or check out the indoor beer hall.
Cost: $-$$
Address: SE 10th Ave & 1080 SE Madison St, Portland, OR 97214
15. Rent a DVD from Movie Madness
Movie Madness
Bend, Oregon, gets a lot of buzz for having the last Blockbuster. Portland’s Movie Madness is both weirder and better. Racks of DVD rentals bring back memories for someone of my, ahem, generation, but it’s more about the love of film than nostalgia. Blockbuster was never the spot to find oddities. A swan pecks out the eyes of a mountain town’s official swan feeder in the first scene. A French murder mystery that, after two hours, ends without a murder, just a psychosexual mind game. That sort of thing. Enter the 90,000+ titles at Movie Madness. They get stranger as you move through the store, starting with classics and comedy in the front. If you make it to the back, a section called Bizarre is in the corner. Proceed with caution. Besides the DVDs and a few token VHS tapes, the store has a mini museum component with cool memorabilia, like costumes and props.
Cost: $
Address: 4320 SE Belmont St, Portland, OR 97215
16. Take a haunted city tour
Kell’s is a hotspot for ghost sighting reports
If you’ve ever wondered where Portland’s literal and figurative bodies are buried, Portland Ghost Tours can tell you. The walking tours and pub crawls through downtown explore the city’s history with a focus on the unsavory, the unexplained, and the paranormal. You probably won’t see a ghost, but you’ll come away knowing where to look. Information on the tour ranges from well-documented history to rumor and speculation. Some stories date back to the 1800s, when Portland was a lumber-fueled boom town, and the unpaved streets were such a sloppy mess that underground tunnels were built to bypass the filth and tree stumps. Were people drugged and held captive in them before getting press-ganged into labor? Possibly. What I will say is that if you’re ever transported back in time, don’t accept a drink from a stranger at a saloon.
Learn more about haunted tours of Portland.
17. Stay at a weird hotel
The Benson has a reputation for ghost stories
One takeaway from my ghost tour is how many weird sightings and experiences people have in some of Portland’s hotels:
The Benson is probably the most (supposedly) haunted of Portland’s hotels. When I asked about it at the bar, the bartender was very matter-of-fact, as if weird stuff happened so often it wasn’t interesting to her anymore. On the surface, the hotel looks normal and elegant without any overtly weird decor.
If you want weird decor, the McMenamins hotels are where to stay. Besides being an intimate small music venue in a building from 1905, the White Eagle Saloon is the setting for many ghost stories.
The Kennedy School, also a McMenamins location, was where my friend had her controversial ghost sighting. She’s not the only one. The hotel keeps a log of strange phenomena based on guest and staff reports. It has a lot of entries. Even if you don’t see anything spooky, I can guarantee plenty of weird art.
18. Leave a wish on a wishing tree
Wishing tree on N Williams Ave
Portland has several wishing trees. The first and best known is the large horse chestnut on NE Morris & Knott St near Irving Park. Another great tree is on N Williams Ave between NE Mason and Shaver, where the branches are so full of wishes that tags also cover the table and chairs underneath. Whichever tree you visit, you find a blank tag, write your wish, and tie it to a branch. It will join many others. Some are general and high-minded. World peace, well-being for all, harmony between neighbors. Others are specific and achingly personal. Reconnecting with lost loved ones, starting a family, recovering from illness, finding forgiveness. Others seem very attainable, like “a tequila shot.”
Cost: Free
Locations:
2954 NE 7th Ave, Portland, OR 97212
4048 N Williams Ave, Portland, OR 97227
19. Tour Portland’s submarine
USS Blueback
The USS Blueback is the strangest attraction in the Willamette River. As you stroll along the waterfront in downtown Portland and look across the water, you see some boats, a gazillion geese, and then, huh, yep, a big ol’ submarine. Once part of the US Navy’s active fleet, the decommissioned submarine is now one of the weirder exhibits at OMSI, Portland’s science museum. To see inside, you buy a ticket for a tour, which is separate from normal museum admission (also cheaper). The tour guide shows you around and creates a vivid picture of what life was like in a metal tube underwater with 85 other people, waiting for an enemy attack. If you want to learn how all the knobs and buttons work, you can take the 3-hour technical tour. For most people, the normal tour will be plenty.
Cost: $
Address: 1945 SE Water Ave, Portland, OR 97214
Learn more about visiting Portland’s submarine.
20. Weird events and bike rides
Pumpkin Regatta
Portland has a decent number of weird events throughout the year. Here are some good ones to put on the calendar:
Every October, people race in carved-out pumpkin boats during the Pumpkin Regatta.
In the summer, head to Mount Tabor for the Adult Soapbox Derby.
Pedalpalooza, also called Bike Summer, is Portland’s season-long bike festival. The most famous event, the World Naked Bike Ride, is only one of many. Most rides are free. Many have afterparties. Weirdness levels vary. Costumes are encouraged.
Thousands of Santas go for a bar crawl in downtown Portland during SantaCon.
About an hour from Portland, McMinnville celebrates all things otherworldly at the UFO Festival every spring.
21. Immersive art at Hopscotch
Ball pit at Hopscotch
Portland’s Hopscotch is more interesting than weird. I’m including it because it’s a fun night out that makes you forget for a minute that you haven’t seen the sun in six weeks. The immersive art space features interactive exhibits, like the virtual spray-paint wall, quantum trampoline, and neon-lit ball pit. You enter through the bar, which looks like the VIP room of a spaceship. The drinks and snacks are as playful as the exhibits. My cocktail came with a rainbow hard candy garnish. You’re welcome to take any silly drinks you order along as you explore the art. The space is kid-friendly but more geared towards adults. If you’re visiting without kids, I’d steer you towards the evening hours, when the other visitors will be adults acting like children.
Cost: $$$
Address: 1020 SE 10th Ave, Portland, OR 97214
22. Lloyd Center
Get your next light saber here
Hear me out. If you haven’t been to the Lloyd Center in a few years, it’s worth a revisit. Renaissance is too strong a word. More like a strange moment in time. Portland’s so-called ghost mall is still mostly empty, but the stores have changed from the usual fast-fashion suspects to cool small businesses. The ice rink remains, as do a few holdouts like Hot Topic. Otherwise, it’s hard to predict what you’ll see next as you wander. There’s vintage clothing, art supplies, the pinball museum ($8 for all-day play), a comic book store, a Lego store, a light saber store, and a magic store that hosts shows. The food court has local businesses rather than standard chains. Chances are, it will all look different in a few years. In the meantime, grab a tracksuit and check out the retro mall walks on Sunday mornings.
Cost: Free and up
Address: 2201 Lloyd Center, Portland, OR 97232
23. Visit the Grotto
Altar at the Grotto
The Grotto is one of Portland’s most unexpected attractions. It’s hard to classify. Place of worship, botanical garden, wheelchair-accessible natural space? Yes, all of the above. The Grotto has two levels, one below and one on top of a cliff. Visiting the lower level is free. The centerpiece is the stone altar within a manmade cave at the base of Rocky Butte. For a fee, you can take the elevator to the upper level, which has a botanical garden, shrines representing Catholic traditions from around the world, and the glass-walled Meditation Chapel. You’ll see religious art wherever you go. In December, the Grotto hosts the Christmas Festival of Lights, one of Portland’s most impressive light displays.
Cost: Free or $$
Address: 8840 NE Skidmore St, Portland, OR 97220
Learn more about visiting the Grotto.
24. See the world’s smallest park
Mill Ends Park
No need to block out much time to see Mill Ends Park. It’s a quick visit. A single tiny tree grows in Naito Parkway’s center median. The Guinness Book of World Records named the two-foot-wide space the world’s smallest park in 1971. I’d say it’s most fun to visit as part of a downtown Portland scavenger hunt or after a trip to the Saturday Market. It’s also an easy side trip near some of downtown Portland’s other weird attractions, like the Odditorium, Conspirator’s Coffee, and Raven’s Manor. Keep a sharp eye. Local legend has it that leprechauns live in the park.
Cost: Free
Address: SW Naito Parkway & 56 SW Taylor St, Portland, OR 97204
25. Kelly Butte
Not a clue
Kelly Butte is Portland’s forgotten park. It’s not a hidden gem. My copy of Owen Wozniak’s Discovering Portland Parks describes over 100 city parks. It’s telling that Kelly Butte isn’t among them. Like Mount Tabor or Powell Butte, Kelly Butte is an extinct volcano. Unlike the other peaks, visiting feels like seeing a missed opportunity rather than a point of pride. To get there, you drive to the end of SE 103rd Ave and park next to the gate. Continue up the road on foot to the top of the butte. Weird stuff awaits.
The road ends at the Kelly Butte Civil Defense Center, a bomb shelter from 1956, which sounds more interesting than it is. The city buried it, and there’s not much to see anymore. If you look closely, some concrete remnants stick out of the earth. Near the bomb shelter site is a face that someone carved into a tree trunk, then darkened with fire. I’d like it more if the tree weren’t alive and weeping sap from the injury. Down the hill are large, graffiti-covered cisterns. An informal trail network crisscrosses the forest on top of the butte. It has some lovely old Doug firs, but it never quite opens up enough to see impressive views from above.
Cost: Free
Address: SE 103rd Ave, Portland, OR 97266
26. Vacuum Museum
The museum
I feel like I should manage expectations with the vacuum museum. It’s one wall inside a retail store. You walk into Stark’s Vacuums. An employee will try to interest you in buying a vacuum, but gives up quickly if you keep asking about the museum displays. They’re used to looky-loos. After the employee goes back to waiting for paying customers, you can take your time checking out the wall of historical vacuums. Even a pokey visit won’t take more than ten minutes. The biggest takeaway is how much human ingenuity has gone into getting dust off the floor. The older models are hand-powered, dating back to a time when not all homes would have electricity. The most romantic vacuum is a model that requires two operators. One person would hold and maneuver the heavy part while the other directed the suction. Date night, solved.
Cost: Free
Address: 107 NE Grand Ave, Portland, OR 97232
Check out more unusual museums in Portland.
27. Hippo Hardware
Escutcheon envy at Hippo Hardware
Hippo Hardware is Portland’s most unusual hardware store. If you need a new hammer, it’s probably not the right place to go. Antique toilet paper holder? Now, that’s perfect. The building salvage store specializes in lighting, plumbing, and hardware from 1860-1960. Most is not so much weird as it is unique, but you never quite know what you’ll find until you’re in there. Well, besides hippos. I can guarantee you a whole lot of hippos. Stop by if you’re restoring an old house or have a burning passion for vintage escutcheons.
Cost: $-$$$
Address: 1040 E Burnside St, Portland, OR 97214
Best weird things to do in Portland, the summary:
Peculiarium
Skeleton Key Odditorium
Paxton Gate
Visit the Mausoleum at Memory Den
Find the UFO on the nude beach
Find the witch’s house
Drink at a weird bar
Find the speakeasy in the custard shop
Have late-night coffee at Rimsky Korsakoffee
Explore the Kennedy School
See the Portland troll
Zymoglyphic Museum
Portland Puppet Museum
Eat at the Hawthorne Asylum
Rent a DVD from Movie Madness
Take a haunted city tour
Stay at a weird hotel
Leave a wish on a wishing tree
Tour the submarine
Weird events and bike rides
Immersive art at Hopscotch
Lloyd Center
Visit the Grotto
See the world’s smallest park
Kelly Butte
Vacuum Museum
Hippo Hardware
Enjoy your weird day in Portland!
With love,
Emma
More in Portland
Find ideas for creative date nights in Portland.
Check out Portland’s coolest vintage stores.
Find the best indoor activities in Portland.
