Gresham Japanese Garden - Tsuru Island — Attraction in Gresham

I was asked to photograph a Quinceanera for a friend's family, and the family had chosen the Gresham Japanese Garden for photos of the 'court' and birthday girl. We had just started taking photos at the foot of the entrance/bridge, when an older man approached us (if I remember correctly, he said he was the head gardener). He complimented the birthday girl in her big dress, and proceeded to tell us we couldn't enter. The man shared that any party over 7 people needed a permit to enter the garden.

As a photographer acting in a professional manner, I tried to explain I'd gone on the website and the reservation link for 5 or more people hadn't worked (as of today 6.13.25, it is still not working). I tried to explain there had also not been no mention of a permit for photographing in a public garden (public - as advertised on the website in their DEI Statement). I tried to ask for clarification. I tried explaining we were more than flexible to work things out (offering only I and the birthday girl to go into the garden for photos to accommodate being within the numbers). I even tried explaining it wasn't necessary to clear anyone out of the garden, as it was a quick photoshoot.

I say I tried, as instead, the man acted as though he couldn't hear, and couldn't understand what I was saying. The man raised his voice at us and directed us to a board just to our right, repeating himself more than once, saying it outlined all the policies in English AND Spanish, happily smirking. I understood his intentions. The family understood his intentions. He directed us to call a woman in charge of the permits and we were told it would be $90, paying over the phone.

For the garden to share it is "dedicated to dismantling barriers, addressing systemic inequities, and ensuring that the garden serves as a place of belonging for all across race, ethnicity, national origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, physical ability, and economic status" - this particular gardener put up quite a few barriers preventing us from enjoying the garden.

The behavior from the gardener wasn't necessary. It was...

TLDR: Super cute (kawaii) Japanese garden. A free short stroll with a nice covered area for picnicking. Visit in spring for the flowers!

Parking: free private lot. I went on a weekend and though there is limited space, there were open rotating spots as people come and go.

This isn't a really big garden so don't expect to have sore feet at the end of the day. It's just a very well maintained garden/park off to the side of the city. Beautiful and totally zen. I highly recommend visiting during spring blooming season when all flowers are out and at their fullest display.

The garden has nice stone lantern displays and a couple nice photo ops. There's also a mini stream lined with pebbles that I think runs throughout--I visited in February so I think the water was shut off. The garden is also located next to a small creek that you can partially walk along in the park.

Going around dusk might be just a beautiful too--I noticed that most of the main trees had in-ground spot lights pointing towards them.

The park has a small playground, ample grassy areas with picnic tables, and a covered picnicking area. Plenty of recycling bins...

This is a nicely manicured and maintained garden with a nice walking path and lots of benches. It isn't super huge and I imagine it gets crowded. I went with my daughter and with just four other people on the island it felt full. The parking lot is good sized and I think this would be wheelchair accessible (the pathway is fine gravel/paved) although the path way might be a bit narrow.

There is one spot that goes "off road" and isn't a proper path. I confess, I checked it out. Very narrow and leads to the water, however I could imagine this as an unsafe spot if a homeless or drug user decided to hang out there.

I only give three stars because in the playground nearby I had an unfortunate experience with three strange men just hanging around the playground making it feel unsafe to be present...