Cool places to escape Portland’s record-breaking heat

Portland, along with much of Oregon and parts of southwest Washington, has been baking in a heat wave this week. Temperatures have reached 100-plus degrees and broke records Thursday in the usually cool Northwest. The Oregonian called it “the most significant heat wave in Portland in 14 years.”

An excessive heat warning issued by the National Weather Service remains in effect until 11 p.m. tonight. The mercury is forecast to hit the high 90s today, according to the service.

So where should you go to cool off?

Head east to the highest mountain in Oregon, 11,245-foot Mt. Hood, and the Timberline Lodge, where snow often lasts well into the summer.

Head west to Cannon Beach, where you can cool off in the ocean while contemplating Haystack Rock.

Head to a microbrewery (there’s probably one within 20 paces).

– Mary Forgione and Christopher Reynolds, Los Angeles Times staff writers

[Photo: Haystack Rock by Bernard Lewinsky]

Permalink | E-mail | Print | Add to My Trips

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 16, 2008 at 10:03 am by Mary Forgione and is filed under Oregon, Pacific Northwest, Washington. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.