Discover Oregon’s Tualatin Valley: Wine, Dine, Hike Near Portland

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Explore Tualatin Valley’s wineries, breweries, and trails for an unforgettable foodie adventure just minutes from Portland. Read on for the highlights of Oregon’s Tualatin Valley.

It had been seven years since I first explored Oregon’s Tualatin Valley, and I was overdue for a repeat visit. My brother Victor joined me for three days of wineries, breweries, cider tasting, food exploring, and a couple of great hikes thrown in for exercise. This second visit was memorable, with October’s sunshine and cool days welcoming us.

Our Stay at Cedartree Hotel

Portland is lucky to have such a fabulous valley just minutes away. My brother and I were fortunate to have three days of lodging at the Cedartree Hotel, a Japanese-owned property with Asian comforts. The Cedartree Hotel opened in December 2023 in Hillsboro.

Our 376 sq. ft. queen room was spacious and well-equipped to provide everything we needed. The bathroom featured a large tub and shower with a hand-held shower wand and a rain shower head. We appreciated the bidet-style Japanese toilet, as I learned years ago how nice this modern convenience is. On the bedside table was a tablet for local suggestions, texting requests to the front desk, weather information, and an alarm clock, all in one place.

Other highlights of the Cedartree Hotel are the onsen-style pools. One pool is for women, and the other for men. We tried the fitness room’s bicycle and treadmill during our stay.  All the fitness equipment is like new and located near the center of the hotel’s ground floor. Their restaurant, Waterfalls, is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. There’s a bar in the restaurant and a sake bar in the lobby to add to the experience. The lobby is rich with Asian features, including a koi pond, a wall of windows looking out on the Japanese garden, and comfy chairs for lounging.

Central to Tualatin’s Fun Zones

Staying at the Cedartree Hotel put us in the middle of wine, food, and hiking activities. Our first excursion was to visit the nearest location of Steeplejack Brewery for dinner. We powered through a mushroom pizza called Bianco, a pepperoni, and an Italian vegetarian pizza. All three pizzas were delicious, and the crust was so fluffy and chewy that it was hard not to eat every morsel. For drinks, we chose a flight of four beers plus a cider. The NW Pilsner was my favorite beer with its light-bodied flavors, and the peach cider was irresistible.

After dinner, the three-hour time difference made bedtime at 8 PM an easy choice. We departed the Cedartree at 7 AM to start our first full day in the valley. Our objective was to go to the Killin Wetlands for a hike and bird watching. Driving in and out of patchy fog, we arrived at the wetlands under blue skies and a chilly 43 degrees Fahrenheit.

Upon exiting our car, we could hear birds in the wetlands. I was glad my brother brought his bird-watching binoculars, as the trails are a respectful distance from the waterfowl. I spied two pairs of colorful wood ducks and enjoyed watching them attend to morning feeding in the wetlands. The trail system at Killin is not long, probably less than a mile, but it is full of nature viewing.

Helvetia Farm Market

Our next stop was to investigate the Helvetia Farm Market near our hotel. I didn’t know what to expect but was pleasantly surprised to find a combination deli, grocery, coffee shop, and gift store-type business. My brother ordered coffee and a blackberry scone while I had a jalapeño cheddar scone. We sat outside near a sunflower garden that attracted plenty of wild birds. Two hummingbird feeders by our table tempted several hummingbirds to feed during our snack break.

We were warming up on the baked goods investigations and next visited the Grand Central Bakery in Hillsboro. This delicious bakery serves breakfast and lunch sandwiches, coffee/espresso, scrumptious pastries, and bread. When Brie, the manager, discovered I was a former chef/baker and current food writer, she gifted us three of their treats, which were so good that we resolved to return.

Downtown Hillsboro

We spent a couple of hours walking Hillsboro’s downtown core, amazed at the towering sequoia trees planted as seedlings in 1880. At the Arcade Food Park, we perused the food trucks and conversed with East Coast Eddie. Being from Philly, Eddie serves Philly cheesesteak sandwiches and other yummy fare. We might have stayed for lunch but had the Backwoods Brewing Company on our list.

The Backwoods Brewing Company menu featured good-looking sandwiches, salads, and garlic parmesan tots. We split the Mediterranean salad and an avocado, bacon, and chicken sandwich. This tasty lunch spread was paired with a flight of five beers and a cider. Eating upstairs on the open rooftop deck was just a tad chilly, but I went up for an elevated view of downtown after lunch.

Back to the 1960s

Our next big adventure was to walk two and a half miles to the Next Level Pinball Shop & Museum. I used to love pinball and wanted to see this collection of 650+ pinball and other gaming machines. The vintage pinball machines and other fun electronic games took up much of the ground floor. In addition to the games, there were collections of action toys, rock and roll legends, old TV series posters, toys, lunch boxes, and more.

Even the men’s bathroom was full of collectibles that surrounded the urinals!

It was quite an entertaining museum, and I recommend it to anyone searching for good, clean fun.

Wine in the Tualatin Valley

The Winery on 4th is a wine bar and boutique winery in downtown Hillsboro. They source local grapes and produce several cool-weather varieties of wine under their Resolu brand. My brother and I enjoyed the pinot noir, chardonnay, viognier, and malbec, but the clear favorite was the 100% petite verdot. This jammy red wine was so good I didn’t blink at the $40 price tag. I liked their Triomphe Bordeaux blend and that they donate $3 per bottle to different veteran’s programs from the sales. The Winery on 4th is open Thursday through Sunday and during the First Tuesday Art Walk.

After wine tasting, we went to Top Burmese Ambassador, just five minutes from Resolu Wine Cellars. I had never had Burmese food and was impressed with the G.L.P wings—garlic, lemon, and pepper with a bit of turmeric for good measure. I had the chicken curry with coconut and liked the blend of exotic Asian spices. It wasn’t as hot as I’d like it, but I brought my own hot pepper flakes to kick it up.

Day Three in the Tualatin Valley

Once again, we headed out early to enjoy a hike. We took a two-mile hike in the woods at Chehalem Ridge Nature Park. This former tree farm has 1,250 acres of trails for hiking, biking, and horseback riding, as well as three miles of accessible trails. The trails are well-maintained, and we enjoyed the serene forest. When we returned to the parking lot, I used the restroom and was impressed with its cleanliness. Plus, it had running water and soap.

Apples, Lunch, and a Classic Country Store

I love apples and apple farms. We heard about the South Store Café across the street from Smith Berry Barn from Explore Tualatin Valley. After whetting our appetite at Smith Berry Barn, we crossed the street to grab lunch at South Store. The South Store has been around since the turn of the last century. The two dining rooms are decorated with local art and memorabilia, and the backroom has a colorful mural with critters, mountains, and trees.

Business was hopping on Friday, and I felt lucky to have secured a table. To order, you get in line and slowly walk past the bakery case with its cookies, pastries, and banana coffee cake. For a comfort food lunch, I chose the meatloaf sandwich, which was fabulous. The cheese and red sauce highlighted the meatloaf encased in a toasted baguette. Even the side of potato chips seemed excellent.

My brother got the soup and salad combo with clam chowder as his soup choice. As if it couldn’t get any better, halfway through my sandwich, I spied a sign hawking apple cider and ordered a fruit jar full of amazing cider. I found out they get the cider from Oregon Heritage Farms, just a few miles down the road, and after lunch, we set a course for apple goodness.

More Apples and Cider

After lunch, we returned to Smith Berry Barn and examined the apples, veggies, and other products. One thing that stood out for me at Smith’s was the informative flyer with gobs of apple descriptions and the characteristics of each apple. After all, if you don’t know how to use an apple variety, you won’t buy it. I had my first Roxbury Russet apple that day, which was delicious.

Just down the road, we stopped at Oregon Heritage Farms. There were families with lots of small children enjoying the fall fun. Several kids wanted to try their hand at the apple slingshot, aiming at targets downfield while others climbed on the hayride wagon. I would have bought more of their fantastic apple cider, but our next stop was 19 Acres Cider, where we sampled adult-type cider.

The 19 Acres Cider pineapple passion cider was my favorite, with hints of pineapple and passion fruit dancing happily on my taste buds. The men’s room had a poster of apple varieties and the name listed below each apple. I appreciated this knowledge and would like to buy that poster if I could find one.

One Last Stop for Wine

Benza Vineyards was a pleasant surprise. This boutique winery had a gorgeous deck that looked out on the garden and vineyards with a blazing maple tree in full autumn glory. The wines we tasted were excellent. Their estate block pinot gris and the estate pinot gris were light and refreshing with notes of peach and nectarine.

We also tried two pinot noirs with notes of black cherry and soft tannins, and I thought the Symphony was the best. We also received a meat, nuts, fruit, olive, and cheese platter that elevated our wine-tasting experience. The next time I’m in the area, I’ll return for a taste of Benza’s wine and get another platter.

That last evening, we dined at Cedartree’s restaurant, Waterfalls. I enjoyed the scallop, shrimp, and mushroom appetizer with its rich cream sauce. My brother had the salmon on pasta, which featured a large hunk of superb king salmon. Both seafood items paired well with the house chardonnay, and I went to bed a happy camper.

Return Flight

Before catching our flights home, we stopped at the Grand Central Bakery for to-go food. My brother had the bacon and egg croissant, which he loved, and I had the marionberry coffee cake that was big and delicious. I managed to eat half at PDX and the other half on the plane from Denver to Baltimore. It was an epic trip with a good mix of wine, cider, beer, dining, shopping, baked goods, and hiking. The Tualatin Valley has what it takes to be a prime destination, and I’m sure to return.

We invite you to explore Wander With Wonder for more of our favorite places to visit in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest.

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