The annual Waterfront Blues Festival (running July 2–4 this year) is punctuated by the largest city-center fireworks display in town. Festival attendees get a prime view (and get to catch Tank and the Bangas on the main stage Saturday night right before the show starts), but you don’t need tickets to catch the display. Fireworks are visible for free from a number of locations, including outside the festival at Waterfront Park, at the Eastbank Esplanade, on Mount Tabor, or near the International Rose Test Garden in Washington Park. 

The fireworks show at Portland’s beloved amusement park pops off over the Willamette River, just north of the Sellwood Bridge. The park has an all-day Fourth of July Spectacular ticket package, offering access to a large, riverfront picnic area where you can hang all day and grill your own food (you’ll need to bring your own grill, but you can!) in addition to rides and mini golf. If that’s not your thing, the show is easily viewed for free outside the park gate from Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge or other spots along the river, such as the Sellwood Riverfront Park and Willamette Park across the river. 

Saturday night’s fireworks display over the Columbia River (with simulcast music on 103.9 FM starting at 9:30pm) closes a run of festivities across Astoria and Warrenton, which also include a parade, car show, and more. Revelers are encouraged to come back to the waterfront on Sunday, July 5, to help with cleanup. 

An old-fashioned “social” at the Seaside Museum—cake walk, raffle, food, and face paint—kicks off the beach town’s Fourth of July festivities, which culminate in a huge fireworks display over the ocean, with a parade and a First Saturday art walk happening in between. Organizers note there are no tents allowed on the beach at Seaside, and that if you park on the ocean side of the Necanicum River, it might take you more than an hour to get back to 101 in the post-show traffic.

Catch a parade Saturday morning, book a ride on the scenic railroad in the afternoon, eat a Pronto Pup or three, and be awed by Rockaway Beach’s gigantic sky show after the sun goes down.

Home to multiple kite festivals, Lincoln City is used to having its skies awash in color. Last year, a light show featuring 200 synchronized drones took the place of fireworks over Siletz Bay in a move to protect the sensitive Salishan Spit, which had long been the launch area for fireworks. In 2026, the fireworks are back, but moved to Devil's Lake near Regatta Park. Visitors can park at the Lincoln City Community Center and catch a shuttle from 7pm till 1am. Earlier in the day, catch a pet parade, live music, a beer garden, and more festivities in town, with a shuttle from the parking area at Taft High School.

Claim a spot at the event site, post up at Hood River Waterfront Park, or find a view from town of this show in the Columbia River Gorge. An hourlong parade beginning at 10am takes over 12th Street between Pacific Avenue and May Street. 

A display over the Columbia River caps a full day of activities that also include a parade, community run, alfresco yoga (preregistration required), and live music.