Allison Jones Hunt

i

The gorgeous, plentiful blooms at Peninsula Park Rose Garden present excellent photo opportunities.

Credit: Ashley Anderson

Peninsula Park & Rose Garden

Discover outdoor fun for the whole family — plus thousands of blooms — at Oregon’s oldest public rose garden.

Updated Oct. 2, 2023 3 min read North Portland

Allison Jones Hunt

Tucked under tall banks of trees along a residential stretch of North Rosa Parks Way is a community oasis full of history. Peninsula Park is a true gem of the Piedmont neighborhood, with emerald green lawns, playgrounds for children of all ages, a rainbow-hued splash pad for hot summer days and one of the city’s most beautiful destinations, the rose garden.

This iconic garden is set below street level, giving visitors the sense of being secluded from the bustling city. Summertime brings blooming roses (and plenty of visitors), but the beauty of this historical park is experienced year-round.

History of Peninsula Park & Rose Garden

Before it was acquired by the city of Portland in 1909, this 16-acre (6.5 ha) park was home to a private roadhouse, a horse racing track and an auto park owned by Portland businesswoman Elizabeth Young (also known as “Liverpool Liz”). Developed as part of Portland’s “City Beautiful” movement, which was sparked by the desire to improve the city’s public spaces for the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition in 1905, Peninsula Park became the site of the city’s first community center and one of its first public playgrounds.

Today, the park features an outdoor swimming pool, as well as tennis courts, horseshoe pits, baseball diamonds, basketball courts, reservable covered picnic shelters and a truly beautiful public, rose garden.

Peninsula Park Rose Garden

The City of Roses is home to several rose gardens, including the famed International Rose Test Garden in Washington Park, but the stately Peninsula Park Rose Garden’s underdog status makes it perfect for a quiet afternoon among the flowers — even at the height of blooming season (generally mid-June through October).

The park’s elegant sunken rose garden — the only one of its kind in the state — was designed in 1912 by Emanuel Mische in the style of a formal French parterre knot garden. The gardens surround a wide central fountain and are meant for strolling, ideally under a parasol. (Mische must have known what he was doing because he later became Portland’s first parks superintendent, and the park retains its glory more than a century later.)

The garden’s flower beds feature 5,000 different rose plants of about 60 varieties, all laid out in a symmetrical pattern. Visitors can explore the intricate design and discover new rose varieties with an annotated map of the garden from Friends of Peninsula Park Rose Garden (PPRG), the nonprofit tasked with preserving the legacy of the garden. Friends of PPRG also hosts public rose care classes and a spring speakers series, along with volunteer gardening opportunities throughout the year. (Guided tours for groups of 10 or more are available for a nominal fee per person. Email volunteers@penrosefriends.org to make arrangements.)

1 of 5

Credit: NASHCO Photo

2 of 5

Credit: Ashley Anderson

3 of 5

4 of 5

Credit: Ashley Anderson

5 of 5

Credit: Ashley Anderson

In addition to the roses themselves, the garden’s original fountain, intricate brick walkways, early 20th-century street lamps and octagonal music bandstand overlooking the garden (which is on the register of National Historic structures) make for an old-world escape from modern life that smells as good as it looks.

Visiting Peninsula Park & Rose Garden

Peninsula Park is free to visit and is open daily from 5 a.m.–midnight. The rose garden hours are 7:30 a.m.–9:30 p.m., and the splash pads are open daily from May through August from 11 a.m.–7 p.m.

Portland Gardens

Discover more of The Rose City's dozens of beloved parks and gardens.

Go To Parks & Gardens

Portland Rose Gardens and Where to Find Them

Portland has a long-standing reputation as the City of Roses — so we dive into the city’s history with the fragrant flower, share the lowdown on rose gardens around town and offer tips for visiting the Portland Rose Festival in late spring.

Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden

Round out your floral explorations of the Rose City with a visit to Southeast Portland’s lush Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden. The park boasts more than 2,500 rhododendrons, azaleas, with blooms from late February – June.

The Grotto

This serene woodland sanctuary in Northeast Portland features 62 acres (25 hectares) of lush botanical gardens. No matter what time of year you visit, the Grotto offers calm, peace and introspection, transcending boundaries.

Laurelhurst Park

Just north of Portland's Belmont neighborhood sits Laurelhurst Park, one of the city's most scenic escapes with over 300 trees, a duck pond and an array of free public events.

Mount Tabor Park

Mount Tabor Park, a century-old public space, is known for its open-air reservoirs, forested hiking trails, sunset picnics, epic city views, its annual Adult Soapbox Derby, and, yes, its volcanic cinder cone.

Visiting the Portland International Rose Test Garden

Since 1924, the International Rose Test Garden has grown beautiful roses from around the world. Today, over 10,000 bushes, representing over 610 varieties, dazzle with colorful blooms in Washington Park, just west of downtown Portland.

Lan Su Chinese Garden

This year-round wonder houses an authentic Ming Dynasty-style garden built by Suzhou artisans, offering a peaceful escape in Portland's historic Chinatown.

Washington Park

Beyond picnics and verdant strolls, Washington Park offers up a zoo, two museums, a spectacular rose garden, an arboretum, one of the most authentic Japanese gardens in the world, all lined by one of the largest urban forests, Forest Park.

Portland Japanese Garden

The Portland Japanese Garden offers visitors year-round serenity at a woodland sanctuary in Northwest Portland, spanning 12 acres of botanical gardens inspired by the flora and fauna of Japan.

Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park

Hugging the Willamette River in downtown Portland, this once bustling highway now offers a strollable, bikeable and dog-walkable public park with historical and cultural monuments, and kid-friendly fun.