Best Budget-Friendly Summer Activities for Kids in Portland

Since we are new in the area and I had to search for activities for my kids anyways, I thought I would write about it just in case it will help out someone else new to the area. Since I work from home and have photography sessions in the evenings, I don’t need full day camps or anything like that for my kids. but I do like to have things for them to do to switch it up a bit. Also, I will NOT complain about a week long camp that is super fun for them and not too expensive for me. Easier said than done though! There were quite a few day camps in Portland that were around $500 per week, some as much as $1k per week! I was able to find some more inexpensive options which I’ll share below.

Day camps
If you google “day camps in Portland” there is definitely no shortage of options. In fact, I was a little overwhelmed with how many I found. A lot of options were pretty pricey in my opinion, but I was able to find some options that were more reasonable.
-Trackers PDX:
Grades/groups: K-1, 2-4, and 5-8 grades
Cost: $385-475 a week depending on kids’ ages
Time: M-F 9 am-3 pm
Good to know: These are outdoor camps or studio camps that teach skills like pottery, building a fire, archery, fishing, etc.
-Portland Parks and Recreation Camps:
Grades/groups: 1st-3rd grades, 3rd-5th grades
Cost: $220 a week
Time: M-F 9 am to 5 pm
Good to know: Registration takes place on different days depending on which camp you want to sign up for so you have to keep an eye on that. They also have pre-k camps that are 3 hrs a day.
-Portland Community Center Nature Day Camps:
Grades/groups: ages 5-12
Cost: $300 a week for 5 days, have 4-day and 3-day options as well.
Time: M-F 9-3:30
Good to know: These camps only go during A session, so they are not available in the second half of the summer.
-Other Portland Community Center Camps:
Grades/groups: 1st-3rd grades, 3rd-5th grades
Cost: $99 a week
Time: Depends on camp, some are M-W, some are M-F, 9 am to 5 pm
Good to know: There are different themed camps (sea, space, summer fun, etc). They have three runs of these camps because some of them go into September, so there are also three different dates to register your kids.
-Multnomah Arts Center Day Camps:
Grades/groups: 1st-3rd grades, 4th-6th grades, 8th-10th grades
Cost: $110-130, a couple are $220
Time: M-F either 9 am to 1 pm, or 1 pm to 5 pm
Good to know: There are sooo many different options here! They have dance, art, theater, metal working, tye dye, sand castles, and on and on. Click on Summer Programs, it’ll take you to a catalog, then go to page 38 for info on day camps.
Water Activities
-Splash Pads: Thankfully there are a LOT in Portland. They’re open 10 am-8 pm for the summer, and they opened this year on June 15th and will be available until Labor Day. Here’s a master list of all the splash pads in the area.
-Swim Lessons: I feel like there’s a theme here; anything sponsored by the state is going to be a little less expensive. I’ve found that with swim lessons, you usually get what you pay for so keep that in mind. State lessons are for 2 weeks, 30 min a day and cost $62.50. Other places that were highly recommended were DolFun Swim Academy ($147 a month for one 30 min lesson/week) and the Northeast Community Center ($128 for two lessons a week over a month’s time). *Hot tip: If you know someone that could teach your kids but just don’t have a pool to do it, you can use swimply to rent a pool.
-Outdoor Beach Areas: Poet’s Beach, Audrey McCall’s Beach, and Tom McCall Bowl Beach at the waterfront.
Lessons & Classes
-Portland Parks and Rec has Tennis (4 days, 1 hrs 15 min each day, $80-160) and Volleyball (3 days, 1 hr, $75) classes
-There are a lot of 5ks May-Sept at different parks. Adults are $5, kids 17 & under are free. At that cost that would be a fun family summer activity, even if you walk the whole thing!
-Multnomah Arts Center also has individual classes as low as $17/class (click on programs to see everything they have to offer).
Hot Tips
-While doing research I saw that Portland has an Access Pass for residents that can get you discounts on state sponsored activities. I didn’t look into it a ton, but the website to check it out is https://www.portland.gov/parks/discount
-In case you didn’t know, you can use your library card to get what they call a Discovery Pass to a lot of museums in the area, and even things like symphony performances. Here’s a list of activities available.

Alright, that’s it for today! Hopefully that gave you some good ideas and resources to keep your kids busy and having fun this summer. Have anything to add? Let me know in the comments!