Indoor Activities for Kids in the Portland Metro Area
Winter in Portland can seem like a bit of a drag, especially when you have kids who need to get their energy out! I’ve complied a list of places to take your kids in the Portland Metro Area when you need to stay inside and still have a great time. I haven’t been to every place on the list, and some are more suited to either younger or older kids, but this is sure to give you some inspiration this winter and beyond!
7405 SW Tech Center Drive Suite 120, Tigard. Open Monday - Friday, 9am to 5pm. Drop in system with no time limit. For kids 0-5 years old. $15 per child. Can be rented for private events. Also offers special events, such as Santa, baby goats, or Disney Princesses.
Leka Playland is the first indoor play place I took Vivian to - we went when she was about 9 months old and we instantly fell in love! The facility is so clean, the toys seem like a good quality, and there is so much to do! Leka is divided into different themed rooms - a cozy forest room, a transportation room, an infant room, an imagination room with dress up clothes and a play kitchen, a playground room, and a covered outdoor area. They also have an area with tables and chairs that you can eat at, and even purchase food and drinks! Vivian and I always have a great time at Leka.
11221 NE Evergreen Parkway Suite F, Hillsboro. Open Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm (open until 7pm on Thursdays!). Reservation system for 1.5 hours of play. Reservations at 9am, 11am, 1pm, 3:30pm, (5:30pm on Thursday). $14.50 per child. Can be rented for private events. Also offers special events.
I was so happy to discover Play Street Museum late last year because Vivian and I both loved it! It’s set up almost like a little town - the middle is open and has train tracks, a garbage/recycling truck, a science area, arts and crafts tables and more. Around the sides of the space are little open “rooms”, each with a different theme like doctors office, cafe and grocery store. It absolutely has something for everyone, and they even give kids a little snack when they leave!
Library StoryTimes and Play Groups
We love visiting the libraries in our area for story time and play groups! There is a smaller library near our house that is so popular they sometimes have to turn people away if they are over capacity! They do things like songs, bubbles, and dancing with scarves in between reading books to keep the kids entertained. The main Beaverton Library in downtown Beaverton has a play group that is a great opportunity for kids to interact and practice sharing and playing together. Most libraries, even the small ones, offer story times and playgroups! Even if they don’t, they almost always have some fun activities, like blocks or trains, for kids to play with.
1945 SE Water Ave Portland. Open Tuesday - Friday 9:30am - 5:30pm, Saturday 9:30am - 7pm, and Sunday 9:30am - 5:30pm. For museum admission tickets are $19 for adults (age 14+), $14 for youth (age 3 to 13) and kids under 3 are free!
One of the best things about OMSI is there really is something for everyone there, and most of the exhibits are interesting to both kids and adults. There is a dedicated play area for younger kids with water tables, a cool climbing area, a science lab, “grocery store” and more! The turbine area also has tons of interactive exhibits like making music, building earthquake resistant buildings out of duplos, a teen area, a chemistry lab… the list goes on! The main exhibits are usually great as well - right now is an Orca Exhibit which Vivian loved. They also have movies, a planetarium and a submarine, plus a gift shop and restaurant. Such a fun place for families!
3777 SE Milwaukie, Portland. Open play Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm, Saturday & Sunday 9am - 2pm. Open to children 0-4 years old. Tickets are $16.50 per child, which allows full day access and up to 2 adults. Additional adult tickets are $5 each.
Playforest seems quite similar to Leka or Play Street Museum - the space is designed for play-based learning and allows child-led exploration of their surroundings. Playforest features a large main indoor play space for all age groups but with some sections leaning towards younger or older guests. For infants, young toddlers, or those needing a little extra quiet they offer Sarah’s Literacy Room, a new space curated by Sarah from Literacy Lady PDX for her workshops. Whenever Sarah doesn’t have a class scheduled, guests are free to use her room as a calm play space.
Powell’s Books or Other Bookstores
Bookstores often have great kids sections, or kids can just have fun exploring the books or the gift shop! They often have toys, activity stations, or other things to keep kids entertained. The main Powell’s in downtown Portland offers story time every Saturday, as well as other events for kids!
DEFY
10750 SW Denney Road, Beaverton. Open Sunday - Thursday from 9am - 9pm, Friday - Saturday from 9am - 10pm. All ages are welcome. Tickets are $29.99 per person for 90 minutes of time, or $38.99 per person for unlimited time. Monthly memberships are also available!
We haven’t been to DEFY yet but it is somewhere I have been wanting to go - not just with Vivian but with friends, because it really seems great for all ages! DEFY is an indoor trampoline park with tons of different activities, like a wall trampoline, zip lines, basketball, parkour, a kids jump and more!
Indoor Swim
Swimming is such a fun activity for kids, and luckily Portland has a lot of indoor swimming options! Even if your child isn’t enrolled in swim classes, many places offer drop-in swims for babies, toddlers and older kids that lets them enjoy some time in the water and get out some energy. Vivian has been taking lessons at Farber Swim School and they have open swim on Friday mornings for ages 4 week - 4 years old.
TopGolf
5505 NE Huffman Street, Hillsboro. Monday - Thursday 10am - 11pm, Friday 10am - 12am, Saturday 9am - 12am, Sunday 9am - 11pm. Prices vary depending on day of the week and time of day, but on Tuesdays everything is half price! Prices are per hour per bay, and each bay accommodates up to 6 players.
Another activity that is a little more geared towards older kids is golfing at Top Golf! However, this is one activity that is super fun for parents too! We love going to Top Golf and haven’t taken Vivian yet, but it is definitely something we want to do in the future. According to the website “At most of our venues, we have complimentary Xbox, shuffleboard, foosball and games inside or outside on the patio. We also put on kids academies in the spring and summer to help better your child’s game.”
1434 NW 17th Ave, Portland. Open Monday - Thursday 11am - 7pm, Friday - Sunday 10am - 8pm. $13.50 an hour per child (weekdays only), or $16.50 per child for all day play. Adults play free! However, everyone must wear socks in the structure.
I have not been to PlayDate PDX yet, but it is definitely on our list of places we want to go! They have a three story indoor playground with two interactive dance floors and a special ball cannon area. They also offer a full dining area with coffee, adult beverages and food such as pizza, salads and a kids menu. The dining room is geared towards adults (although is of course kid friendly!) so that adults can have some down time as well! They offer some special events, like puppet shows and happy hours, as well as the option to host a private party!
Bowling
Bowling is mostly geared towards older kids and not as great for little toddlers like Vivian, but it is a fun, family friendly indoor activity that gets kids moving! There are often special prices earlier in the day or on non-peak times, making it (sometimes) a semi-affordable option.
Liggle Land
10795 Southwest Cascade Avenue, Tigard. Open Tuesday - Thursday 11am - 2:30pm, 3pm - 7pm, Friday - Sunday 11am - 1:30pm, 2pm - 4:30pm, 5pm - 8pm. Children under 3 years old cost $12 per session, and children 3 and up cost $20 per session.
Liggle Land is more of a giant playground than a creative play space, but it seems like a great way for kids to run around and get out some energy! They offer four levels of play with slides, ball pits, ropes courses, and an area just for toddlers! They also have a full restaurant to enjoy before or after play.
Nest Playground
6517 NE Sandy, Portland. Open Wednesdays - Fridays 9:30 am - 4:00 pm and Saturdays - Sundays 9:30 am - 2:00 pm. Drop in play is $12 per child for full day access.
Another fun indoor play place is Nest Playground in NE Portland. They offer a large indoor play structure, a rock wall, obstacle course, soft play structures for younger kids, and a game room with ping pong and foosball tables. They also offer fun classes like gymnastics, dance, and yoga, and you can book the space for private events!
8536 SW Apple Way, Portland. Open Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm. Ages 0-6. $17 per child with two free adults. Infants not going in the sand are free with sibling admission.
Owned by the same owners as Leka, Dig PDX is a very new 4,000 square foot indoor sandbox facility with three sandboxes, each with a unique theme; pre-historic dinosaurs, construction, and a beach setting with "wet" moldable sand. They have tons of toys to play with in the sand, as well as great art and the sand is sparkling white, 100% natural, and non-toxic. They allow outside food and drinks but also sell a variety of snacks and drinks. We haven’t been yet but it is definitely on our must-go list!
4555 N Williams Ave, Portland. Open Monday from 9am - 9pm and Thursday and Friday from 9am to 5pm. Saturday and Sunday are reserved for private parties. Prices vary per craft.
Offering drop in crafting time, The Craft Factory is a great opportunity for kids to flex their creative muscles. You can drop in and each participant chooses a base - a blank wooden shape (like robot, elephant, cover of a notebook, they change all the time) and given tons of different crafting materials to bring their base to life! For toddlers they offer three smaller bases instead of one larger one. They also offer special events, like kids music classes or open mic nights!
Hopscotch
1020 SE 10th Avenue, Portland. Open Wednesday - Sunday from 12pm - 10pm. After 5pm is ages 16 and over. Adult tickets (16+) are $24, children (age 4-15) are $15, and kids 3 and under are free!
We just went to Hopscotch last weekend and had an absolute blast! It is an immersive, interact art exhibit with 14 distinctive rooms/experiences. Some of our favorite rooms included the ball pit and the cave. Vivian’s favorite room was actually the lounge - she loved dancing to the music and looking at the lights! You can walk the exhibits as many times as you want and go back to rooms multiple times which was a lot of fun. They also had creative food and drinks, which you could bring with you or enjoy in the lounge.
NE Swap & Play
5830 NE Alameda Street, Portland. You must be a member to visit - memberships are good for 3 months and are $20, $30 or $40 depending on what the individual family is able to pay. Open Monday - Sunday from 9am - 7pm, with Wednesdays for private playdates by reservation only. Youngston Hall (featuring larger climbings structures, bikes and trikes) is open Monday - Friday from 1pm - 7pm and Saturday from 9am to 7pm. All ages are welcome, although the toys are best suited for toddlers and young children.
This is such a cool concept - parents are invited to bring gently used children’s clothing, books, toys and gear. Or, look around the Swap Room and take what your family can use. It’s not a one-to-one system, just give and take when it works for you. Kids don’t play in the swap room though, they have a play room for that which has a dramatic play area, cozy reading corner, nursing pillows, climbing structures, lego table, art table, and more! I love the idea of swapping out gently used items for things that your family will actually use, and they have great activities here for kids as well!
1001 SE Tualatin Valley Hwy A24, Hillsboro. Open Monday 9am-7pm, Wednesday - Thursday 9am - 7pm, Friday 9am - 4pm, Sunday 10am - 4pm. On weekdays and non-holidays admission is $11 for kids 1-3 years old and $13 for ages 4-12. On weekends and holidays admission is $13 for kids 1-3 years old and $16 for ages 4-12. Infants and adults are free with paid admission. Punch cards are also available.
Ocean Plays is another indoor playground that seems more focused on the play structure vs. imaginative play. It has a multi-level plays structure with a ball pit, obstacle course and more. It is bright and colorful and seems a bit more suited to slightly older kids, although ages 0-12 are welcome! It can also be rented for parties. One good feature is that they are open on Sundays, while many other play places are closed for parties on the weekend.
The Historic Belmont Firehouse
900 SE 35th Avenue, Portland. Tours are available on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9am - 3pm. In addition, the Belmont Firehouse is open to the public on Wednesdays and every second Saturday of the month from 9am - 3pm. Tours must be requested at least two weeks in advance. This is a free activity!
I just learned about touring the Historic Belmont Firehouse and I’m already dying to go! This firehouse is non-operational and has been turned into a free museum open to the public. Kids can enjoy a simulated firetruck ride, ride a fire pole, learn tons of facts and history, and see lots of cool firetruck memorabilia.
108 SW Pine Street, Portland. Open Monday - Thursday 11am - 9pm, Friday - Saturday 11am - 10pm, Sunday 12pm - 9pm.
Although a restaurant isn’t what you would think of as a great kids activity, Buranko is great for all ages thanks to the large Montessori play area for kids! The restaurant serves modern Asian fusion comfort food and is supposed to have great food (including a kids menu) and great drinks! The restaurant is known to be very family friendly and delicious and I’m excited to take my family there soon.