Quick tip: Taste what the city has to offer on Portland Walking Tours' Epicurean Excursion (503-774-4522, www.portlandwalkingtours.com), a four-hour walking/tasting tour of the breweries, bakeries, and gourmet shops that helped put Portland on the culinary map, including a behind-the-scenes tour of BridgePort Brewing Company (503-241-3612, www.bridgeportbrew.com), Oregon's oldest microbrewery.

Best pedaling: According to the U.S. Census, Portland ranks as the top large American city for the number of commuters biking to work, in part because of its myriad bike lanes and paths. A favorite is the Waterfront Bike Loop (503-823-7529), an almost three-mile route that runs through Tom McCall Waterfront Park and the Eastbank Esplanade. The path, friendly to bikes and pedestrians, traverses a 1,200-foot floating walkway on the water and offers great views of the city. Daily bike rentals are available via Fat Tire Farm (503-222-3276, www.fattirefarm.com).

Best snow fix: Mount Hood is just one and a half hours east and home to four ski resorts. The highest runs are at Timberline Lodge (503-622-0717, www.timberlinelodge.com), which is open for skiing an average of 345 days a year—the longest season in North America. The 11,249-foot, glacier-covered dormant volcano is also popular with climbers; about 10,000 mountaineering enthusiasts climb Mount Hood annually. Reaching the peak can be perilous; hire an experienced guide from Timberline Mountain Guides (541-312-9242, www.timberlinemtguides.com).

Best hiking: Some cities have a big park in their center, but with 10,510 acres of parkland within the city limits, Portland feels like it's in the center of one big park. The best in-city hiking can be found in Forest Park (503-823-7529); covering more than 5,000 acres with almost 70 miles of serene forested trails, it's the largest wooded city park in the country. Sign up for half-day naturalist-guided hikes with the Friends of Forest Park organization (503-223-5449, www.friendsofforestpark.org) to learn about everything from wild thimbleberries (similar to a raspberry) to the ecology of the park's old-growth forest.

Quick tip: Buses are free in the downtown area called the "fareless square," including the Pearl District, home to Powell’s City of Books and some of the best galleries in the city. Look for maps at TriMet bus stops; they indicate the fareless area with a grey dotted line.