Brian joined the SagaCity team in 2006 as a fact-checker with Portland Monthly. Details were sweated and issue upon issue, he took on greater responsibility, from managing departments to wrangling interns to organizing and executing cover features and narrative stories.

In 2010, with SagaCity’s custom magazine department growing by leaps and bounds, Brian took an opportunity to combine a love of travel writing and the wide-open spaces of Oregon by serving as a project lead for visitor guide clients, which now includes Travel Portland, Eastern Oregon Visitors Association, Eugene, Cascades & Coast, and Santa Monica Convention & Visitors Bureau. He shares a century-old bungalow at the foot of Mount Tabor with his wife, young son, and newly adopted Great Pyrenees-Lab mix.

FIELD NOTES

Trail of the Month: Hamilton Mountain

This challenging trail offers spring wildflowers, waterfalls, and wilderness—all just 45 minutes from Portland.

05/01/2014 By Brian Barker

TRAIL OF THE MONTH

Summit Trail No. 691

A local secret revealed: this Sandy-area cross-country ski and snowshoe trail offers gentle, rolling terrain that's perfect for Nordic newbies.

02/03/2014 By Brian Barker

HIT LIST

Portland’s Best Bars of the Moment

We sipped and rambled our way across the city in search of your favorite new bars: craft cocktail boîtes and slinky date spots, gussied-up pubs, mescal haunts, whiskey libraries, and Sriracha-spiced karaoke parties.

02/03/2014 With Brian Barker, Zach Dundas, Rachel Ritchie, Aaron Scott, Benjamin Tepler, Margaret Seiler, and Marty Patail Edited by Kelly Clarke

GETAWAYS

A North Coast Winter Weekend

Oregon's northernmost shores aren't only for summer kite-flying! We've got the scoop on what to do, eat, and see in Astoria this season.

12/20/2013 By Allison Jones

BEST OF 2013

Take a Hike! 2013's Top 12 Trails

Oregon is chock full of epic hiking destinations and scenic vistas to explore—and we’ve rounded up our favorites.

12/19/2013 By Brian Barker

TRAIL OF THE MONTH

Inspiration Loop Trail

Venture through some of Oregon’s newest designated wilderness on Mount Hood’s remote northern flanks on cross-country skis or snowshoes.

12/02/2013 By Brian Barker

TRAIL OF THE MONTH

Eightmile Loop Trail #496

A Hood River-area mountain biking trail for experts and beginners alike

10/01/2013 By Brian Barker

TRAIL OF THE MONTH

Cool Creek Trail

Hike to a retired fire lookout atop Devils Peak and enjoy towering firs, leafy rhododendrons, and huckleberry patches along the way.

09/03/2013 By Brian Barker

TRAIL OF THE MONTH

Tualatin Valley Scenic Bikeway

Oregon's newest scenic bikeway offers 50 miles of horse pastures, pioneer cemeteries, and wetlands.

08/01/2013 By Brian Barker

TRAIL OF THE MONTH

Rock of Ages Ridge Trail

07/01/2013 By Brian Barker

TRAIL OF THE MONTH

Hood River Mountain Trail

Views of the craggy mountain, rustic barns, and fields of wildflowers may have you singing "the hills are alive..."

06/03/2013 By Brian Barker

TRAIL OF THE MONTH

Cedar Butte Trail

05/01/2013 By Brian Barker

TRAIL OF THE MONTH

School Canyon Trail & Ball Point

Spot spring wildflowers and take in farmland views on this sunny-side Mount Hood trail.

03/22/2013 By Brian Barker

TRAIL OF THE MONTH

Tillamook County Water Trail

A new aquatic wonderland beckons on the Coast.

02/20/2013 By Brian Barker

TRAIL OF THE MONTH

Pocket Creek Ski Trail

A ski-haven away from the crowds

01/24/2013 By Brian Barker

TRAIL OF THE MONTH

Wilson River Trail

A forest expedition close to Portland

12/20/2012 By Brian Barker

BEYOND THE BRIDGES

Ski Anthony Lakes

Throwback charm, deep snow, and short lines make this Eastern Oregon ski area one of the country's most treasured.

12/17/2012 By Brian Barker

HIDDEN ESCAPE

Secret Mount Hood Hideouts

Just in time for the snow, we uncover four under-the-radar escapes on our signature mountain.

12/04/2012 By Kasey Cordell, Brian Barker, and Kelly O'Connor

TRAIL OF THE MONTH

Alameda Ridge Trail

11/20/2012 By Brian Barker

Trail of the Month

Aldrich Butte Trail

10/16/2012 By Brian Barker