Creston Park — Attraction in Portland

Love this park... It has a really great creative new play area for kids of all ages and incorporates musical instrument installations (varied size metal tubes that can have a digereedoo like sound come from calling into them, or progressive scales from tapping on them) and metal drum like rounds , all interwoven with the natural play inspiring tall trees and grass with root structures and environmental playground features that have been woven into the recycled rubber padded climbing structures and monkey bara and game pads and swings. Multiple benches and picnic tables throughout the olay area that has its own bathroom structure steps from the playground as well as another bathroom down the hill at the start of the dog park off leash area.

The dog park is a popular feature of this park and has a can for waste at the sign detailing the rules for using the off leash grass area. This area butts up against the playground and is bordered by the old chain link softball backstop that once bordered the field which has been seeded and repurposed. A path takes you up from the parking area, splitting off and looping around the off leash field up to the back of Creston Elementary and then looping around the playground back past the bathrooms and splitting off again to go down the hill to the old tennis courts turned DIY skatepark and the summer public pool.

Directly in front of the parking area are several large picnic areas that are in constant use during the late spring throughout the summer and into the early fall.there is one area with a locked cottage style building that can be reserved through parka and rec for parties and group events and has electricity & running water. It contains a bbq grill and kitchen and is used for large events such as company picnics, weddings and family reunions. The public pool is lovely and has lessons for all ages starting Memorial day and running until Labor day. Included in the summer program schedule are swim team practice times, adult swim hours for lap swimming, family swim hours and community events like "Dive In Movies". There is a wading pool in addition to the lap pool and a deep pool with diving boards and a slide. Both a high and low diving board are available. The grassy areas to the perimeter old the pools have lounges for watching the swimmers or sunbathing as well as chairs and picnic tables for a lunch or snack from the snack bar. Women's and Men's dressing rooms are complete with pay for use lockers that have the classic safety pinned key closure. There are a couple of"family change rooms" that offer more privacy than the standard locker areas. The pool is known to have frequent unsanctioned late night swims by young neighborhood delinquents lol. ( this wasn't as cute when it appeared that the seasonal lifeguards were hosting summer night swim sessions last summer that included drinking and obnoxious disregard for the neighbors and blatant intimidation of anyone who had the gall to say anything about it. The Portland police and the Park Rangers were less than helpful even when these parties led to fights and brandished firearms by said hosts.)

The restrooms are closed starting in early fall and are not unlocked again for public use until late spring which is somewhat obnoxious because kids playing don't always atop soon enough to run home to use the bathroom. Not to mention the need for the city to provide public restrooms throughout the city so that people can have somewhere to be able.to go when they have to- the trend to disallow folks.from using the bathroom in everywhere from stores to gas stations does nothing to solve the problem- if you gotta go being told you can't use the bathroom won't stop or end the biological need. Preventing folks from using a bathroom doesn't do anything but create a situation that starts causing a public health crisis. The solution could be having some park restrooms open to the public....

I used to live literally across the street from Creston Park. I loved it. I miss it. It's boasts a fabulous green space, plenty of tree cover, walking paths, picnic tables, play structures, skate park, tennis court (in need of some TLC), and a community pool. My step-kids used to walk through the park to their elementary school, every day. There are a plethora of events that happen here every year, particularly in the warmer, sunnier months, including free lunches for under-privileged kids, festivals, games and more, and there's always a family or two barbecuing, picnicking, and playing music here, when the sun is out.

Of course, with any open space like this in Portland, it inevitably attracts a few unsavory types. I'm not insensitive to the plight of the homeless, but it's one thing to seek shelter, and another to shoot up in public, or shout, stalk and harass kids, joggers and dog-walkers, simply for existing. Those types should be (and were, at least when I was there), forcefully ejected from the park, using whatever means necessary.

The pool can be a bit tricky to get into, as it has (in the wake of COVID) staffing issue with lifeguards, and irregular, unpredictable hours. I'm hoping this will smooth out and return to normal again, over time. That said, it's one of my favorite parks in Portland, if not the favorite, and I always enjoy returning here. I still have a scurry of squirrels and a murder of crows that swoop and swarm around me when I stop by, with a bag of treats in hand. Watching the other park patrons freak out when a squawking cloud of black wings and feathers descends from the trees around me like a cloak is always worth the price of admission...

This park is AMAZING 😍 I saw on other reviews people saying this is the best park in Portland and I would agree it is super huge and has lots of cool fun toys there are multiple bathrooms and so many picnic tables in different groups all over the park. There is a dog park and also a swimming pool. There is a huge parking lot but it's kind of weird to get to as GPS will lead you to Powell and you cannot park there on Powell. The parking lot is on the west side of the park back in the neighborhood. There is a sign you can follow that will lead you there. Also if you look on your map you can drive from Powell through the neighborhood to the south side of the park and you can park along the street right next to the playground. If you park in the parking lot you have to walk up the hill to get to the playground. You cannot see the park from Powell Blvd. We will definitely be coming back and letting our friends and family know about it. Thx Portland Parks & Recreations for such an...