Best Spots for Spring Flowers

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Wander through fields of blooms at Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm, located about an hour south of Portland.

Credit: Noël, via Flickr

Admire beautiful blooms at these Portland parks and gardens, and the surrounding area.

Updated Nov. 30, 2023
3 min read

Find your favorite blooms, from roses to rhododendrons and tulips to trilliums, with our guide to where to spot spring flowers in Portland and beyond.

Waterfront Park

If you stroll through downtown Waterfront Park in late March through early April the breathtaking sight of 100 Akebono cherry trees popping with pink and white petals might steal you away for a bloom-backed selfie. The trees were given to Portland by a group from the Japanese Grain Importers Association in 1990.

Tryon Creek State Park

One of the region’s earliest blooming native flowers, trilliums area common site in the Pacific Northwest forests. These small, white flowers are abundant in Portland’s only state park, Tryon Creek. So abundant, in fact, that the park hosts an annual Trillium Festival each April. If you miss the festivities, you can still find the flowers yourself and enjoy Tryon’s hiking, biking and horse trails all season long.

Forest Park

Trilliums are also found blooming along many trails in Northwest Portland’s Forest Park, which sprawls over more than 5,000 wooded acres (2,023 hectares) and boasts 70 miles (113 km) of paths filled with fascinating flora and fauna.

Hoyt Arboretum

From Forest Park, follow the Beech Trail to Hoyt Arboretum in Washington Park. Home to more than 2,000 species of shrubs and trees, Hoyt has plenty to offer all year-round. Spring highlights include bell-shaped Oregon plum flowers, magnolias, blooming dogwood and cherry blossoms.

Portland Rose Gardens

No flora-viewing adventure would be complete without the City of Roses’ namesake flowers. Both Peninsula Park in North Portland and the International Rose Test Garden boast thousands of rare and beautiful rose bushes. The flowers typically begin to bud in early April. To catch them at their peak, visit in early June and don’t miss the Grand Floral Parade at the annual Portland Rose Festival!

Japanese and Chinese Gardens

For cherry trees in a more traditional setting, visit the Portland Japanese Garden, heralded as one of the most authentic Japanese gardens outside of Japan itself. And while you’re exploring authentic Asian gardens, don’t miss downtown’s Lan Su Chinese Garden. In spring, fragrant scents of daphne and Edgeworthia enhance this Ming Dynasty-style garden.

Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden

Visit Southeast Portland’s Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden in April or May to catch its collection of rare rhododendrons, azaleas and hybrids in full bloom. The garden boasts 7 idyllic acres (2.8 hectares), including three waterfalls, two picturesque bridges and tranquil Crystal Springs Lake, where nearly 100 species of birds feed and nest. For an extra treat, visit the garden in April for the annual Rhododendron & Daffodil Show & Sale and in May for its annual Mother’s Day Rhododendron Show & Sale.

Spring Color Around the Region

Camassia Natural Area

Bursting with color in late April and early May, the Camassia Natural Area in West Linn was carved out thousands of years ago by the great floods, but it’s a natural work of art that’s stood the test of time. A 16-mile (26 km) drive south of downtown Portland, the 26-acre (11 ha) preserve can get muddy in the springtime — but from its trails, you’ll see more than 300 different plant species and plenty of familiar birds flocking overhead (a view worth risking a little dirt on your shoes).

Cooper Mountain Nature Park

About 10 miles (16 km) west of Portland, Beaverton’s Cooper Mountain Nature Park features 3.5 miles (6 km) of gravel trails — excellent footing from which to explore the 231 acres (93 ha) of prairies and woodlands. The trails also offer views of the Chehalem Mountains and Tualatin Valley, showing off Oregon’s natural splendor with bursts of wildflowers all around.

Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm

A 45-minute journey south of Portland delivers you to Woodburn’s Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm, home to 40 acres of colorful tulips. The annual Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival returns every spring, offering wine tasting, wagon rides, children’s activities, a food court and a marketplace with freshly picked tulips and bulbs for fall planting.