I am falling for you: the coziest things to do around Portland

The fall season is upon us, leaving many Lewis & Clark students longing to partake in the classic autumn events. Read on for recommendations of downtown events, apple picking, horror movies and more.

Halloween may be behind us, but some haunted houses in Portland are still going strong. The Fear PDX describes itself as “Portland’s Scariest Haunted House.” Fear PDX is open through Nov. 2, and a blackout experience (same experience, no lights, one glowstick) is open through Nov. 9. Tickets are $28 and up.

Horror movies are in-season, and the Regal Fox Tower and Regal Pioneer Place movie theaters are within walking distance of the Portland State University Pioneer Express stop. “Joker,” “Lighthouse,” “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” and “Zombieland 2” are among the horror and thriller movie lineup. For students looking for a less stressful experience, the Fox Tower will be running Studio Ghibli films for their Ghibli Fest, with shows on Nov. 17, 18, 20 and into December.

Sauvie Island is a frequented fall destination for LC students. The island hosts multiple farms of varying sizes and offered a pumpkin patch, a haunted corn maze, apple picking, hayrides and apple cider until Oct. 31. Many farms are shutting down now but come highly recommended by students to visit next year — plus, the island is beautiful to visit year-round.

“I worked on a farm there for a few months,” Maddox Wilson ’20 said. “I’ve also been to the beaches there … to go swimming. There’s lots of U-pick farms, you can go to pick berries and other things.”

Ferdinand Sawyer ’20 recommends the island’s corn mazes.

“I went with some friends and it was really nice to just … be outside,” Sawyer said. “It was rainy, and it was muddy, but it was still really fun … (There) was so much warm fall atmosphere, cider and pumpkins and everything, so it didn’t feel cold or gross.”

Wilson advises supporting the smaller farms on the island.

“The big (farms) obviously have bigger advertising and are more attractive to go to, but they also sort of dominate the island and make a ton of money and are part of larger farms that operate all around Oregon,” Wilson said.

Sauvie Island is mainly accessible by car or bus ride.

While  Sauvie Island is no longer open for apple picking this year, students can get their apple-picking fill from the  large apple tree on the graduate campus, which grows edible fruit. Several other edible fruits are located on the LC campus (see issue 2’s article on foraging).

For another activity close to campus, several cemeteries are within walking distance towards the Willamette River. It is important to be respectful, but cemeteries can offer either a peaceful daytime walk or a spooky nighttime visit.