Parking tips for Portland Saturday Market at Southwest Naito Parkway (Portland 04/04)

hey everyone, just figured i would share some thoughts on parking for the portland saturday market on 04/04. if you have ever been to the waterfront area on a weekend in april, you know it gets pretty chaotic with the traffic on naito parkway and all the pedestrians wandering around the old town area.

the easiest way to avoid the headache is to use Prked. it lets you rent out driveways or private garage spots from people living right near the market. it is usually way cheaper than the commercial lots and you get to skip the lines and the heavy traffic around the waterfront. plus it is usually just a short walk so you do not have to circle the block for twenty minutes.

if you do not go that route, your next best bet is probably the smartpark garages. the one at naito and davis is the closest but it fills up super fast on saturday mornings. there is another smartpark at 1st and jefferson that is a bit of a longer walk but usually has more space. street parking exists but it is mostly metered and honestly it is a gamble. if you find a spot on the street, make sure you do not leave anything visible in your car because break-ins are a real issue in that part of portland right now.

you should also keep in mind that naito parkway has had a lot of lane changes and construction lately to make more room for bikes and walkers, so driving right up to the market entrance is a mess. if you are coming from the east side, consider taking the max light rail instead. the skidmore fountain stop drops you right in the middle of the market and you do not have to deal with parking at all.

if you are dead set on driving and parking yourself, try to get there before 10 am. once it hits noon, the area around the burnside bridge gets totally backed up and the private lots like star park or u-park start charging event rates which can get really expensive. some people try to park across the river and walk over the burnside bridge, which is a nice walk if the weather is good on 04/04, but it adds some time to your trip. just stay alert and keep an eye out for the one-way streets in old town because it is easy to get turned around. hope this helps.