If you’re new to town and don’t know many people – or you’ve just been traveling solo way too long – there’s still hope for you if you want to meet new friends and find love in Portland. In fact, there’s a lot of stuff to do in this town that doesn’t involve swiping left or right, sitting on a bar stool, or giving up and staring at your phone for endless hours.
We’ve hit the streets to find interesting ways for you to get involved with like minded people, who actually share your interests. These are the kind of meetups that can grow your passion in more ways than just one.
Let’s get started.
9 surefire ways to find love and friends in Portland
- Try ice fishing
Have you ever wanted to try ice fishing but weren’t sure how? The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife offers courses that will give you all the knowledge you need to fish on the ice, from how to start, where to go, how to read the ice, what gear to get and how to use it, and how to process your catch. Fishing techniques will focus on targeting yellow perch. So go grab some gloves and get ready to take an Ice Fishing Workshop at the Lake of the Woods Klamath Falls. - Learn to make fire
Fire is one of the ultimate technologies that separates humans from other animals. Over hundreds of thousands of years, humans have learned to master the art of friction fire. In the modern era, matches and lighters have all but replaced the need for fire by friction. Yet this important skill builds confidence, steeps us in specialized knowledge of plants and body mechanics, and connects us with the knowledge of our ancestors. These Rewild Portland workshops will teach you how to begin to master this ancient technology. - Take a wildlife tracking class
Most mammals are hard to observe directly, sometimes even humans – so here’s a good place to start. Learn about the presence of mammals through the tracks and signs they leave behind. Cascadia Wild offers classes that teach us how to pay attention to our surroundings and to recognize signs of past events that are everywhere on the landscape – ultimately teaching us how everything on earth is interconnected. - Get involved with a different kind of biking hub
The Community Cycling Center has tons of cool ways to volunteer – and tons of fun volunteers. So if biking is your thing then wheel on over and join the team. And no, you don’t have to be a mechanic (but you can sure hang out with them and learn!) - Take a wilderness survival course
Trackers Portland teaches the priorities of basic survival: shelter, water, fire, and staying found. You can take one day courses or level up to some seriously intensive ones. - Find wild food
Knowing wild foods unlocks a world of possibility through self-reliance and nutrition. Understanding how to harvest and prepare edible wild plants is just the beginning. In order to rewild, we must learn to tend the wild foods we eat through regenerative harvests. This Rewild Portland wild foods class covers identification, harvest, preparation, and how to keep plants growing to ensure future harvests. - Get involved with community science projects
The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. Xerxes offers community science projects (sometimes referred to as “participatory science” or “citizen science”) which anyone can participate in. These are research projects that provides everyone—regardless of their background—an opportunity to contribute meaningful data to further our scientific understanding of key issues. It’s a great opportunity for people to learn more about species that interest them—including invertebrates and, yes, vertebrates! - Join this nature loving singles group
If you’re single, 21 & over, from the greater Portland metropolitan area, and you share a common interest in “Exploring, enjoying, and protecting the planet” then this is for you. Join the Sierra club and then join the Columbia Group Sierra Singles for fun activities (dinner & a movie, book discussion, art gallery openings, environmental or conservation related lectures, etc.). Or go a step further and become a Sierra Singles Event Organizer. -
Join the Portland Garden Club
We mean all genders. Both men and women started this club almost a 100 years ago and they are a force to be reckoned with. Don’t even think about lace doilies and precious tea cups. These are fierce activists of the earth who meet each year in DC to make and shape policy. And the rest of the year the Portland Garden Club puts all that knowledge to good use in our city.