Guide to Neighborhoods in Southwest Portland

For in-depth information about the below Southwest neighborhoods, just click on them

Bridlemile - South Portland - Hillsdale - Multnomah - Sylvan-Highlands

If you asked a hundred or so Southwest Portland residents why they chose to live on the "West Side" instead of the "East Side," most would give you three reasons: schools, they like hilly terrain, and it all seems "close in." You may also hear things like "safe neighborhoods" and "parks."

The area of Southwest Portland is home to many of the city's attractions such as the International Rose Test Garden, Japanese Gardens, Hoyt Arboretum, Children's Museum, and Oregon Zoo. And they are only minutes from downtown.

Where is Southwest Portland?

West Burnside Street is the boundary on the north and the Willamette River is the east boundary. The south boundary going from east to west is Lake Oswego and Tigard. The city of Beaverton is the west boundary.

Southwest Portland Neighborhoods

Southwest Neighborhoods (SWNI) is a nonprofit coalition that provides support services in sixteen Southwest Portland, Oregon neighborhood associations and three business associations. SWNI is governed by a board of directors with representation from each neighborhood association and local business association.

These are the sixteen neighborhoods: Arnold Creek, Ashcreek, Bridlemile, Collins View, Corbett-Terwilliger-Lair Hill, Crestwood, Far Southwest, Hayhurst, Hillsdale, Homestead, Maplewood, Markham, Marshall Park, Multnomah, South Burlingame, and West Portland Park. Click here to view a map of the neighborhoods.

The neighborhoods of Healy Heights, Southwest Hills (Portland Heights and Council Crest) and Arlington Heights are also in the Southwest sector of Portland. Healy Heights and Southwest Hills are not members of a neighborhood coalition and Arlington Heights belongs to the Neighbors West/Northwest coalition. Arlington Heights and Southwest Hills are profiled as West Hills neighborhoods.

Deciphering the difference between official neighborhood names as maintained by the Office of Neighborhood Involvement (ONI) and what Portlanders call a neighborhood can be confusing. For example, "Raleigh Hills" is referred to as the "Raleigh Hills neighborhood" but it is not an official neighborhood. Rather it is an shopping area (plus other commercial enterprises) along SW Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway (Route 10) and SW Scholls Ferry Road (Route 210). Two other southwest areas that Portlanders seem to think are Portland neighborhoods - Garden Home and West Slope - are actually in Washington County.

Walking in Southwest Portland Neighborhoods

Walk Score helps you find a walkable place to live. Walk Score is a number between 0 and 100 that measures the walkability of any address. Portland is the 12th most walkable city in the U.S. We have created a Walk Score for each of the neighborhood profiles below. Please note that we use an address in the center of each neighborhood to determine the Walk Score. Scores will vary in a neighborhood depending upon the address.

• Historic South Portland  This 4.7-mile walk explores historic South Portland, site of immigrant Jewish and Italian communities in the early 1900s, and then loops back along the Willamette River Greenway Trail and into the evolving South Waterfront District. Along the way are parks, beautiful 19th century homes, quiet streets, and vies of Ross Island.
• The SW Trails Group is a committee of Southwest Neighborhoods Inc that uses volunteer efforts to make trail improvements, lead walks, work with Safe Routes to School, plan and advocate for pedestrian and bicycle safety and other improvements in SW Portland Their walks are the second Saturday of each month, meet at 9 a.m. sharp under the Hillsdale Oak, behind the Dance Studio at SW Sunset Blvd and SW Capitol Highway near the concrete bleachers of the Wilson football field.

Transit Score provides a 0-100 rating indicating how well an address is served by public transportation. Ratings range from "Rider's Paradises" to areas with limited or no nearby public transportation.

In 2009, the non-profit Transportation for America named the Portland-Vancouver area as the ninth-safest metro area for pedestrians.

Portland Monthly Magazine Neighborhood Guide

The Portland Monthly magazine features neighborhoods in their April issue every year. It has a ton of information about neighborhoods and communities to include their pick of the "best" for the year.

To help those in the housing market, the magazine combines data from Portland neighborhoods and suburban communities online. Include in the document are housing prices, school ratings, demographics, crime statistics, parks, commuting information, and services. Click here to view the report.

Search for Homes in Southwest Portland

To search for homes in Southwest Portland, go to Search Southwest Portland You can use over 100 search parameters and then select a specific area off a community map by drawing a box around that area. alternatively, you can just specify the criteria and obtain all the current listings in southwest Portland.

Detailed Profiles of Southwest Neighborhoods

• Bridlemile
• Hillsdale
• Multnomah
• South Portland (includes Lair Hill, Corbett, Fulton)
• Sylvan-Highlands