The Experience: Some area kid spots are good for summer, some for winter, and some year ‘round. The Little Gym in Lake Oswego is one of the latter.

The Little Gym is perhaps best known for its broad curriculum of gymnastics, sports, dance and karate classes for ages 4 months to 12 years. More…

The Experience: Where can you find rock stars, Chinese acrobats, dog tricks, fruit pies and baby pigs all in one place? The State Fair, of course! Starting Friday, this annual event will More…

The Experience:
There’s a month of Sundays (and Saturdays) left of summer vacation – seize the great weather and the weekend with a whitewater rafting trip on the Deschutes River from the tiny town of Maupin.

Maupin is about two hours from Portland, 90 minutes from Bend and an hour from Hood River. Most of the year, it’s a sleepy little town with about 500 residents. But in summer, it explodes with More…

The experience: Calling all families – it’s time to grab your bikes and tour your city’s neighborhoods with Sunday Parkways. For three more weekends this summer, the City of Portland will close routes around the city to cars and other motorized traffic, reserving streets exclusively for bikers, walkers, runners, skaters and anyone else who wants to move (including those on mobility devices).

Based on a program that began in More…

The Experience: When our grandparents and parents were little, they may have spent summer days catching frogs, digging in the dirt and playing outside using little more than their imaginations and whatever they found on the ground. They didn’t need skateboards, TV, or sidewalk chalk. They got sunshine and fresh air, they reinforced their More…

The Experience: The best thing about Sunriver, other than 300 sunny days a year on average, is that there’s so much to do for all tastes and styles. It’s one-stop outdoorsy vacationing. Low-key sorts could while away days just relaxing in a hot tub, exploring the Village and playing games in the evening. But if you’re looking for family-friendly action, you have loads of choices:

* Frolic in one of three swimming pools, one with a 50-foot slide. (A new outdoor aquatic center and amphitheatre will open in 2012.)
* Rent a canoe, kayak raft or stand-up paddle-board at the marina and spend the day playing on some of the Deschutes’ mellower waters.
* Sign up for mini tennis clinics ($12-$15 per kid; $35 adults) and then have a family tournament on one of the many public courts ($20/hour).
* If tennis is too highbrow, rent pickleball equipment at Fort Rock Park or reserve the park’s sand volleyball, basketball, softball horseshoe, bocce ball or picnic facilities. The park also has a large playground.
* Walk, run or bike 35 miles of paths that weave throughout Sunriver. (Most rental homes include bikes; Bike Barn rents them.)
* Hoof it over to Sunriver Stables for trail rides (7 and up) or pony rides.
* Sign your kids up for weekly summer camps (ages 3-12) that include tennis or swimming instruction, playtime at the South swimming pool, weekly field trips and other enrichment.

Inside information: Lodging ranges from rooms and suites at Sunriver Resort Lodge to condos or homes you can rent from the resort or directly from owners. Check Sunriver-resort.com, VRBO.com or any number of other sites available if you Google “inexpensive Sunriver lodging.” You can also camp nearby; a private campground called Thousand Trails rents campsites, yurts and cabins only 4 miles from Sunriver. One note: if you’re planning on swimming, check that your lodging includes free passes to the pools (which aren’t cheap).

The 411

Seasons: Sunriver is open year-round. In winter, you can ski at nearby Mt. Bachelor, snowshoe, go ice-skating or even enjoy sleigh rides. Check Sunriver’s online calendar of events. Cost: Rates for a stay in Sunriver range from the low hundreds to several hundreds for either a lodge room or a rental home. Check for lodging specials. Camping or sharing a larger home with friends is often the most economical way to stay. Location: About 15 miles south of Bend on Highway 97.
Contact information: 800-801-8765, sunriver-resort.com.

— Sarah Pagliasotti

The Experience: Glimpses of sun and the rapidly waning school year are getting locals riled up for summer. What better way to officially ring in the season than to pick a flat of ripe, sun-kissed berries and make jam? Or you might eat most of them on the way home and enjoy the last morsels in a pie or with a dollop of whipped cream. Yum. Kids love traipsing through the fields to find ripe berries, and somehow what you could buy at the store or farmer’s market is even sweeter when you’ve spent a summer day harvesting them yourself. More…

The Experience: It’s spring break, and the sun is doing its usual game of hide and seek, but don’t let that keep you and the kids inside all week. Consider getting out of town for a hike, where you’ll find the forests lush with early greenery and discover the season’s first wildflowers. More…

The Experience: Also known as Thousand Acres, this park located at the west end of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area is a great place for kids to romp, stomp, run and play. Although it’s described by many as a dog’s paradise, because dogs are allowed to run off-leash in most of the park, with 1400 acres there’s room for everyone. It never feels overrun by canines, or people for that matter. More…

67 camping spots available on “first come, first served” basis.
3010 SE Oxbow Parkway, Gresham; 503-797-1850; www.oregonmetro.gov.

For information only, call 800-551-6949.
To reserve campsites at the following parks, call 800-452-5687 or visit www.oregonstateparks.org.

Nestled in the incomparable Columbia Gorge and close to numerous waterfall and hiking trails, this park is open mid-March through October. Call 800-551-6949 for exact open and closure dates.
Off I-84 east (take Exit 35 and follow US 30 west to the park); www.oregonstateparks.org/park_146.php.

On the south bank of the Willamette River, Champoeg is a fascinating blend of campgrounds and living history site with several museums dedicated to Oregon’s earliest pioneers.
Off Highway 99 W seven miles east of Newberg; www.oregonstateparks.org/park_113.php.

Opened in mid-2007, Stubb Stewart is the first full-service state park to open in Oregon in more than 30 years.
Off Oregon 47, four miles north of Hwy 26 and 47 intersection (31 miles west of Portland); www.oregonstateparks.org/park_255.php.

McIver State Park is located on the scenic Clackamas River, four miles west of Estacada. Hiking, horseback riding, disc golf and more.
24101 S Entrance Road, Estacada; www.oregonstateparks.org/park_142.php.

The Clackamas County Parks Department makes three campgrounds available to the public. For reservations, call 503-742-4414. For more information, visit www.clackamas.us/parks.

Off of Hwy 224, approximately 10 miles east of Clackamas on the Clackamas River. Fishing and rafting are popular activities.

Three miles southeast of Molalla on the Molalla River; has a playground for kids.

Approximately five miles south of Estacada; features nature trails, a creek and foot bridge.

PGE owns and operates several campgrounds within a few hours of Portland.
503-464-8515; www.portlandgeneral.com/community_environment/parks_campgrounds.

Farm store, pumpkin patch, corn maze, berries and more.
15801 SW Roy Rogers Rd., Sherwood; 503-590-4301; www.baggenstosfarms.com.

34840 SW Johnson School Rd., Cornelius; 503-357-3570; www.peachypigfarm.com. Pumpkin patch; u-pick fruits, vegetables and nuts; farm animals and more.
34840 SW Johnson School Rd., Cornelius; 503-357-3570; www.peachypigfarm.com.

Highlights include a pumpkin festival, concerts, petting farm and country store.
14601 Arndt Road, Aurora; 503-678-2455; www.firpointfarms.com.

Features many family-friendly festivals throughout the year.
17673 French Prairie Rd., St. Paul; 503-633-8445; www.frenchprairiegardens.com.

Corn maze, pumpkin patch and hay rides in October. Petting zoo. Check for free summer concerts, pending permit approval.
17100 NW Sauvie Island Rd.; 503-621-3489; www.krugersfarm.com.

Pumpkin festival in October features hayrides, activities and farm animals.
21975 SW 65th Ave., Tualatin; 503-638-1869; www.leefarmsoregon.com.

A woman-owned farm featuring organically grown berries and vegetables. U-pick or pick up.
25113 S Ridge Rd., Beavercreek; 503-632-0462; www.moonridgefarms.com.

22255 SE Borges Rd., Damascus; 503-658-2237; Family farming since 1906. Pumpkin patch with horse-drawn hayrides (weekends) in October.

Pumpkin patch, mazes and pumpkin flinging (from a trebuchet!) in the fall; other activities throughout the year.
11435 NW Old Cornelius Pass Rd.; 503-645-9561; www.plumperpumpkins.com.

Corn maze, pumpkin patch, hay rides and farm animals.
16511 NW Gillihan Rd., Sauvie Island; 503-621-3874; www.thepumpkinpatch.com.