Services and Resources for Parks, recreation, and activities

Who we are, and what we do at Portland Parks & Recreation.

Portland Parks & Recreation’s primary goal is to keep our community healthy and protect the public from the spread of COVID-19. Please review the information below for current safety guidelines and practices, as well as closures and postponements.

Welcome to the main employment page for Portland Parks & Recreation. Check back here often for interviewing opportunities, job fairs, and openings.

Portland voters have approved the Parks Local Option Levy. This means that Portland Parks & Recreation will now be able to maintain neighborhood parks appropriately, improve access and safety, provide equitable recreation programs, and proactively care for its natural areas and urban forest.

Find and review Parks Construction and Planning Projects with project information, estimated timelines, and contacts. 

View and register for Portland Parks & Recreation classes and activities through our online system.

We offer a variety of fun and rewarding volunteer opportunities at sites across the city! Volunteer coaches, teacher aides, and mentors are always needed in our youth programs - and the parks, gardens, and natural areas welcome extra hands.

Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) is committed to establishing a more financially sustainable direction, that aligns equitable service and funding levels – for the long term.

Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) Urban Forestry's mission is to manage and ensure Portland's urban forest infrastructure for current and future generations. Our urban forest consists of 218,000 street trees, 1.2 million park trees, and 2.9 million private property trees.

Portland Parks & Recreation encourages the use of parkland as a research laboratory in areas such as urban ecology and recreation, especially where research results can help build our knowledge base related to our parks and/or their management.

The Portland Bureau of Transportation’s (PBOT) Healthy Blocks permit allows temporary changes to streets to give people more space to stay active safely amid our current public health crisis. Applications for Healthy Blocks permits are open.

Street paintings are large, decorative paintings installed directly on the street to beautify neighborhoods and build community.

Where to find tree permit applications, financial assistance programs, and other fee information. Please contact us at 823-TREE (8733) with any questions.

Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) is always looking for motivated and responsible individuals to join our aquatics staff. We offer lifeguard certification, swim instructor training, and water fitness instructor training classes year-round.

Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) maintains a variety of sports fields across the city. These include soccer, football, baseball, and softball fields. PP&R also issues permits for Portland Public School District fields.

Free bike and walk maps produced by the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) include the Citywide bike map, five neighborhood bike and walk maps, the online Portland Bike Map and maps for suggested bike rides around Portland and the metro area.

When voters supported the Parks Replacement Bond, they also approved forming a committee of community members to oversee how their dollars are spent.

The Willamette River through Portland is cleaner than it’s been in decades — clean enough to swim and play. Check for yourself. Environmental Services tests the water for bacteria weekly during the summer and monthly the rest of the year. The results are consistently safe.