About
South Waterfront Park is a well-maintained and peaceful area tucked along the banks of the Willamette River in downtown Portland’s South Waterfront neighborhood. Spanning 4.5-acres, this park blends natural beauty and thoughtful design. Plus, it has incredible views. There's plenty of space for you to relax or explore.
Visitors enjoy walking or biking along the paved pathways that weave through the park, connecting the RiverPlace Esplanade to the north and the iconic Tilikum Crossing bridge to the south. The park’s accessible paths allow for great views of the Marquam and Hawthorne bridges, and on clear days, you might even catch a glimpse of Mount Hood and Mount St. Helens in the distance.
At the heart of South Waterfront Park, you'll find four lily ponds, home to local ducks and surrounded by plants, flowers, and meditation benches. The gardens feature irises, azaleas, wild geraniums, and rhododendrons, making for an ideal spot to unwind, enjoy nature, or take in Portland’s famous sunsets.
The park has restrooms, several benches and places to sit in sun or shade, and nearby shops and restaurants. Whether you're looking for a quiet place to relax, a scenic spot for your daily walk, or a family-friendly space to play and explore, South Waterfront Park is a great place to experience the natural beauty and community spirit that makes Portland’s waterfront special.
Beginning with the demolition of Harbor Drive, a six-lane roadway that separated the river from downtown, Tom McCall Waterfront Park has been developed in multiple phases over the past 25 years. Portland's 25-year dream of reclaiming its waterfront was realized with the completion of South Waterfront Park which runs 1,000 feet along the bank of the Willamette River. Unique along the downtown riverfront, South Waterfront Park provides direct public access to the river throughout the year.
Developed primarily to anchor the commercial and residential property built in the mid-1990s, the park also served to stem any further erosion of the riverbank that occurred during the 1996 winter flood. Once the site of a lumber mill and the City's steam plant, the park was designed by the landscape architectural firm of Walker Macy. The esplanade meanders the full length of the riverbank, mirroring the course of the river. Historically the street grid of Portland extended directly to the river's edge to facilitate access and commerce. Today the city's block grid extends through South Waterfront Park to the water's edge via walkways leading to overlooks with views of the river, the city, Mt Hood, and Mt St Helens. The form of the river is carried up into the park via the flowing forms of the site grading and planting, as well as a pair of boulder-lined pathways sculpted into the riverbank leading to a natural silty beach that is exposed at the base of these pathways during periods of low water.
The basalt, concrete, and steel sculpture by Mathieu Gregoire, River Shift, reflects the historical progression of the riverbank with his use of local basalt and remnants of the concrete piers and reinforcements excavated from the old waterfront site. As the basalt pieces progress from berm to river, they tip over, so that the concrete below becomes exposed and the basalt becomes submerged and eventually disappears. The concrete is cut in various places to expose the river rock aggregate inside as well as the old embedded wood piers, and some of the heavy steel reinforcement emerges like roots.