A visit to Portland’s International Rose Test Garden offers you the opportunity to enjoy speculator views downtown and Mount Hood. This is oldest official continuously operating public rose test garden in the United States. The garden features more than 10,000 roses with hundreds of thousands of visitors enjoying its sights and scents annually.
First, by the editor of the Oregon Journal, Jesse Currey in 1915, Portland Rose Garden became part of the Portland Parks system in 1917 and continues under this umbrella. The garden is located in Washington Park area and open daily with free admission.
ROSE GARDEN TOURS
If you wish to learn more about the 4.5 acres (1.8 hectares) garden, consider taking the daily free tour offered by a Portland Parks trained volunteers at 1 p.m. from Memorial Day through Labor Day. The tours meet at the sign outside the Rose Garden Store. If you have a group of 10 or more, you can ask for guided tours for $5 per person. You should consider scheduling the guided tours at least two weeks in advance. Call 503.823.3664 to make arrangements. The daily free tours are walk-up and worth a visit.
GETTING TO THE GARDEN
Please keep in mind that car parking near the International Rose Test Garden is very limited. Consider the Max Light rail, bus and free shuttle service as alternatives to reach the park. We took the Max Light Rail and the free shuttle to visit the garden.
MAX LIGHT RAIL
Washington Park is served by the MAX Light rail’s blue and red lines. You could take MAX red or blue lines from the City City toward (Hillsboro BLUE or Beaverton-RED) getting off at Washington Park. The walk is about 1.8 miles through some beautiful parks and some hilly terrain via the Garden Trails Connection.
Instead, you could catch the free shuttle to the garden that picks you up right outside the Washington Park MAX Light Rail station (see below).
FREE SHUTTLE
The free Explore Washington Park shuttle is seasonal from the months of April and October stopping at all Washington Park’s major attractions and the Washington Park MAX Light Rail Station.
BUS
You can also get to the International Rose Test Garden via bus service via the TriMet bus #63 , which runs from Providence Park to Washington Park. The bus has stops near the International Rose Test Garden and the Japanese Garden.
Explore the following site for other travel and parking options in the Washington Park area
