Why has downtown Portland’s volume of campers surpassed that of all other campsites in the US? The answer is clear: if you’re looking for a campsite with abundant potable water, one can choose from countless national parks, from Yosemite to the Ozarks to Bryce National Canyon. But if you’re seeking an abundance of weed dispensaries or needle exchanges or the right to defecate publicly, you have essentially one choice: downtown Portland. There are countless national parks dotting the North American landscape which offer visitors the convenience of onsite firewood, but where else but Portland can you roast s’mores over the fires emanating nightly from the Mark O. Hatfield Federal Courthouse?
Oregon’s largest city prides itself on standing apart from other campsites. While lawn darts might be a suitable pastime at Shenandoah National Park, visitors to Rose City are more likely to be seen passing the time by tossing Molotov cocktails at the city’s increasingly small police force. What’s more, downtown Portland has a distinct “urban feel” noticeably lacking in Glacier National Park. Some call it Portland’s “X-factor” — and not just because of the strip clubs. Campers looking for park rangers to enforce local ordinances against littering, public intoxication, and open drug use are well advised to avoid Portland.
The Portland camping experience owes its exciting “anything goes” atmosphere to the city’s long tradition of evenly-divided government, featuring radical progressives on one side and Antifa goons on the other. While both sides differ on how best to go about destroying America’s social fabric, both agree that the city’s problems are due mainly to the racism of the overwhelmingly white constituents who put them in office.
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