Portland Safety & Activities

Local Activities

Travel Portland recommends the new “Near Me Now” App that provides information on restaurants, attractions, and landmarks within walking distance of your location while in Portland. Click here for additional apps with information about navigating public transportation and getting around the city.

The Conference Local Arrangements Committee has provided the following list of options for those who want to explore the Portland area. As in any city, please make sure to be aware of your surroundings and travel in groups. MBA CSEA is not able to make claims about the safety of the areas surrounding the hotel or beyond. For more information, please see the safety information and links provided below.

Local Areas of Interest
Pittock Mansion
*Portland Spirit Boat Tour on the Willamette River
*Portland Art Museum
*Oregon Historical Society
*Portland City Grill – views!
Portland Japanese Garden
Forest Park & Hoyt Arboretum
World Forestry Center
*Powell's City of Books
*Tom McCall Waterfront Park
*Pioneer Courthouse Square
Washington Park - International Rose Test Garden
Oregon Museum of Science & Industry

*Walking distance from the Hilton

Excursions
Columbia Gorge - Multnomah Falls (31 miles)
Columbia Gorge – Crown Point (24 miles)
Mt Hood - Timberline Lodge (58 miles)
Willamette Valley Wine Country (23 miles)
Oregon Coast - Cannon Beach (78 miles)

Local Restaurants

Downtown

Nob Hill

Pearl

Safety Information

We are aware of concerns regarding possible safety issues in the Portland area due to recent events and media coverage. MBA CSEA has met with the Hilton as well as Travel Portland to learn more about efforts being made to enhance safety and address issues. We have been provided with the following information, which might help our conference attendees with travel plans.

Hotel Information

The hotel is located in the downtown area, two blocks from the Pioneer Square light rail.
To help address concerns, the Hilton Portland has key card locks on all exterior doors other than the front desk. Key cards are also required to use the elevators.
Parking is all valet and underground.
The hotel is located approximately 20 minutes from the airport, and the drive does not generally involve going through areas with safety concerns.
The recommended modes of transportation are light rail (Trimet), Uber, or Lyft.
MBA CSEA is hosting the gala evening event at the hotel on Thursday for attendees who prefer to remain on-site during their stay. Networking activities will also be provided on-site on Wednesday evening.

Additional Information

Please note, this information was provided directly from Travel Portland and is not directly from MBA CSEA.

Meetings and conventions have returned to normal experiences surrounding group travel.
Downtown Portland and its surrounding neighborhoods are open. As always, visitors are advised to check operational hours for businesses.
Portland is a safe, welcoming and caring city. We recommend that visitors exercise the same caution, concern and common sense as when traveling to any metropolitan destination. Click here for more information about safety in Portland.
Homelessness is a tragic societal issue that affects all American cities. While Portland has fewer people experiencing homelessness in comparison to other large cities, it can be more visible in certain areas. Significant steps are being taken, including opening safe rest villages and sanctioned campsites, to improve conditions for all. Click here for more information about homelessness in Portland.
Portland has an extensive community of people in government, neighborhood associations, nonprofits and businesses who are collaborating to make progress on the issue of homelessness in the city.
Plenty of boots are on the ground to help keep Portland clean, with city-led street and encampment cleanups, which are occurring often downtown and in the Lloyd District (Oregon Convention Center area).
Drug addiction is a complex issue, and Oregonians are seeking to provide a humane, health-centered path to treatment and recovery. SOLVE Oregon conducts clean-ups statewide and follows a regular schedule for maintaining the downtown and Lloyd District areas, as well. Also, the city recently renewed its five-year contract with the longstanding Downtown Clean & Safe Ambassador Program, which works daily to clean Portland streets. In 2020, Oregonians passed Measure 110, the Drug Addiction and Treatment Recovery Act. The pioneering legislation decriminalized the possession of small amounts of illegal drugs for personal use — it did not make those drugs legal to traffic or use. The intention was to provide a more humane, health-based approach to guiding people suffering from addiction toward resources that would help them, not penalize them as criminals.
Portland’s culture embraces peaceful activism, and the current reality is peaceful, organized and contained. Demonstrations should not be a concern for visitors.
Public transportation is generally a safe and efficient way to move around Portland, and TriMet has increased Customer Safety Supervisors, Safety Response Team members, and contracted transit security officers.