International Rose Test Garden

Stop and smell the roses in Portland

Founded in 1917 to expand and capitalize on the Portland’s nickname “The City of Roses”, the International Rose Test Garden is tucked into Washington Park, the wild and wonderful wilderness on the west side of the city.

Packed with over 7,000 plants and 500 species of roses, the park is an exercise in sensory overload. We flitted from plant to plant like bees, sticking our noses into as many roses as we could! It’s fascinating to smell these spectacular blooms – they have scents ranging from chocolate, to spice, to…well, intensely rose.

Know Before You Go

Free admission. Open daily between 7am and 9pm. Roses should be in bloom from May – October, with the peak in July.

Bottom Line

A lovely place to while away an hour