A Walk in the Park
Saturday is National Park Family Day here in the Northwest. And Portlanders can get in on the action by slipping across the border to the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site. There, park rangers will be putting on camp cooking exhibitions, leading nature hikes, and walking your little explorers through how to set up a tent. The kids can even get their hands dirty on an archeology dig. Best of all, since it’s Family Day, there’s no need to dig into your wallet, as admission is free for the day. Still, you might consider purchasing one of those fur hats for the occasion.

Closing Time
Don’t hang up those skis and boards just yet! Meadows has one last weekend in store. And while there’s still plenty of room to make some turns (Cascade, Buttercup, and Mount Hood Express will be cranking from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.) these last few days are more about tailgating, the scent of sunscreen, donning bathing suits and Hawaiian shirts, and otherwise trying to one-up your pals with retro ski attire. Not to mention the fact you can nab some deals on this season’s demo equipment, which will be discounted up by to 60 percent. But we all know what’s truly priceless: Sportin’ a google-tan in mid-May. (Okay, maybe that’s just me.)

Roll With it
The city’s popular Sunday Parkways ride series kicks off this weekend with a 5.8-mile ride through Northeast Portland. If you’re not familiar with the program, it’s a pretty cool concept. In a nutshell, organizers plan out a loop of city streets—in this weekend’s case, a path that connects Fernhill, Wilshire, Alberta, and Woodlawn Parks—and kick out all of the cars. Then they plop in a bunch of bands, vendors, and cycling clinics and invite the public to pedal, walk, run, or—if you insist— rollerblade through this auto-less utopia. Last year, upwards of 25,000 residents turned out for three similar events—enough demand for the city to up the planned Sunday Parkways shindigs for this year to a total of five rides. Check PortlandSundayParkways.org for additional dates.

Now Get Outta Here!