Portland Metropolitan Area
The Portland Metropolitan Area is a region in Oregon that includes Portland, Oregon City, Hillsboro and other cities around Portland.
Cities
Map of Portland Metropolitan Area
- 1 Portland The largest city in the State of Oregon and also the county seat of Multnomah County.
- 2 Aloha - a census designated place wedged between Beaverton and Hillsboro. Residents here have always resisted annexation to either Beaverton or Hillsboro
- 3 Beaverton - suburb 7mi/11km west of Portland growing up to become an economic powerhouse as it is home for Columbia Sportswear, Electro Scientific Industries, Nike & Tektronix.
- 4 Boring
- 5 Forest Grove
- 6 Gladstone
- 7 Gresham
- 8 Hillsboro - county seat for Washington County, one of three counties making up the greater Portland metropolitan area and also a location for one of several Intel pre-fab plants.
- 9 Lake Oswego
- 10 Milwaukie
- 11 Oregon City county seat for Clackamas County, one of three counties making up the greater Portland metropolitan area. Originally established by the Hudson Bay Co in 1829 as a company town, by 1844 it is the first city west of the Rockies to be incorporated.
- 12 Tigard
- 13 Troutdale
- 14 Tualatin
- 15 Wilsonville
- 16 West Linn
- 17 Vancouver
Understand
As well as Portland, the city proper, the area includes:
- East Multnomah County - the eastern suburbs of the city, including the cities of Gresham and Troutdale; the gateway to Mount Hood and the Columbia River Gorge.
- Washington County (Oregon) - the western suburbs of Portland, a growing high-tech area near Hillsboro and Beaverton, and home to Nike and other well-known Oregon companies. The rural areas also have wineries.
- Clackamas County - the southern and southeastern suburbs, including affluent Lake Oswego and historic Oregon City, leading to the foothills of Mount Hood.
Get in
Portland International Airport (PDX IATA), Portland-Hillsboro Airport (HIO IATA).
Get around
Two main highways pass east-west through the region - Interstate 84 and U.S. Route 26 (Powell Boulevard). I-84 going east will take you into the Columbia Gorge, while U.S. 26 going east takes you up Mount Hood and into Central Oregon.
- Oregon Route 217 is another freeway that runs from Tigard to Beaverton.
The MAX Blue Line runs from downtown Portland into Gresham, terminating at the Cleveland Avenue station.
Go next
- Vancouver (WA), is sometimes included in the region even though it is across the Columbia River in Washington.
- Salem is the state capital, about an hour away.