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: 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: Even though we’ve been begging for sun for months, how quickly we Portlanders overheat when it comes! My grandmother, an Alabama transplant, will still be wearing a cardigan deep into July, but once the mercury creeps above 80 degrees we Northwesterners melt quickly. When it gets too hot, cool off at one of Portland Parks and Recreation’s lively outdoor swimming pools: More…

The Experience: The North Clackamas Aquatic Center has taken to calling themselves “the other Oregon Coast” and we can see why! With a wave pool, two long slides, a diving board, spray area and kiddie pool, not to mention a lap swim area and whirlpool for adults, you might just want to stay for the weekend. More…

(please call ahead or visit Web sites for hours, costs and holiday closure information)

Indoor pool.
18650 SW Kinnaman Rd., Aloha; 503-629-6311; www.thprd.org.

Indoor pool.
12850 SW 3rd St., Beaverton; 503-629-6312; www.thprd.org.

Indoor pool.
9985 SW 125th Ave., Beaverton; 503-629-6313; www.thprd.org.

Indoor pool.
7300 SW Scholls Ferry Rd., Beaverton; 503-629-6314; www.thprd.org.

Indoor and outdoor pools.
Mt. Hood Community College, 26000 SE Stark St., Gresham; 503-491-7243; www.mhcc.edu.

Swimming lessons, water play and water slides in five indoor pools.
7300 SE Harmony Rd., Milwaukie; 503-557-SURF (7873); www.clackamas.us/ncprd/aquatic/.

Indoor pool.
1211 Jackson St., Oregon City; 503-657-8273; www.oregoncityparks.org/swimming-pool.

Citywide swimming pools offer family swim, parent-preschool swim, lap time and lessons. www.portlandonline.com/parks. (Outdoor pools are open during summer only.)

(320 SE 16th Ave, 503-823-3668, indoor)

(7701 N Chautauqua, 503-823-3669, indoor)

(4454 SE Powell Blvd., 503-823-3672, outdoor)

(740 SE 106th Ave., 503-823-3450, indoor)

(2300 NE 33rd Ave., 503-823-3674, outdoor)

(77 NE Knott, 503-823-3673, indoor)

(8219 NE Glisan, 503-823-4101, outdoor)

(5530 SE 72nd Ave., 503-823-3183, indoor)

(700 N Rosa Parks Way, 503-823-3620, outdoor)

(N. Seneca and St. Johns, 503-823-3678, outdoor)

(7951 SE 7th Ave., 503-823-3679, outdoor)

(6820 SW 45th, 503-823-2840, indoor)

(1151 SW Vermont, 503-823-3680, outdoor)

Outdoor pool open summer only.
3500 SW 78th Ave.; 503-297-6888; www.thprd.org.

Two indoor pools and one outdoor pool (seasonal).
953 SE Maple St., Hillsboro; 503-681-6127; www.ci.hillsboro.or.us.

Outdoor pool open summer only.
18300 NW Parkview Blvd.; 503-645-1413; www.thprd.org.

Indoor pool. Outdoor wading pool open during summer only.
13707 NW Science Park Dr.; 503-629-6315; www.thprd.org.