Portland Family Fun Guide: A Day in Battle Ground, Washington

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Welcome to Battle Ground, Washington!  The city’s unusual name comes from an anticipated battle between U.S. soldiers and Native Americans who lived near the fort—but the battle never occurred.  Weird, huh?  Battle Ground is a little bit north of Vancouver and Portland, and it’s easy to find from I-5 (just about an hour from Portland and 30 minutes from Vancouver).  There are a lot of interesting things to do here, including some frugal finds.

Battle Ground Skate and Bike Park is a seriously amazing skate park.  Like tournament level amazing.  It’s beautifully designed, with plenty to offer for beginners and for more experienced riders.  There are bleachers and picnic tables if you want to just hang out and watch (or if you’re a parent keeping an eye on your younger kiddos).

The sign for the skateboard park actually looks like a skateboard.  Skateboards, scooters, BMX bikes, rollerblades—they’re all welcome.  Helmets and pads are strongly recommended.  Behind the sign, there’s a kid skateboarding on his stomach.  Is that a new thing?

There are all kinds of areas for practicing tricks: rails, ledges, steps, quarter and half pipes, and jersey barriers (those little mini concrete walls you see on road construction).

Some of them a little trickier than others. There’s a three-foot bowl and an eleven-foot bowl, as well as a hooded cradle.  Wild.  Really an incredible place, especially for tweens and teens.

Battle Ground Village is a great area for shopping, dining, and more.  There are cute shops and good restaurants!

The Battle Ground Library is also located in Battle Ground Village.  It’s a nice library with separate areas for children, tweens, and teens, as well as a reading area with a fireplace.

There’s also a small park if you go past the water retention area.  And there are paved trails that wind around the whole development, a good place to take an urban hike.

We really love the Lewisville Park for summer picnics and activities.  It’s easy to spend the better part of the day enjoying all it has to offer.

There’s a $3 per car admission (although there are a few “cheater” spaces that are free before you get to the park entrance if you don’t mind a long walk).  There’s a self-pay station if the booth isn’t manned, so you’ll want to bring correct cash or check along with you.

The park is laid out around the picnic shelters. There are 13 different shelters in a range of sizes to host from 20 to 200 guests.  Most people make reservations (especially on summer weekends) and there’s a fee for that.  But if the shelter is not reserved, it’s free to use on a first come/first served basis.  And there are many, many picnic tables throughout the park.  It’s an awesome place to picnic!

There is a lot to do there besides picnicking. The park has a tennis court, a boat launch, a horseshoe pit, a few playgrounds, and sports fields.  My kids love the playground.

But they also love the big rocks along the trail.

There are some gorgeous trails that wind around the park.  Some of them are wooded and some of them are paved.  Parts of the trail are adjacent to the Lewis River.  Beautiful!  And you’ll enjoy the wildlife there too.

Lewisville Park is just a really pretty, peaceful place, and it’s one of the reasons Battle Ground is worth the drive to visit.

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Ready to discover (or re-discover) Portland? From the coast to the Gorge, from Clark County to Salem, the Portland Family Fun Guide will allow you to experience the awesomeness this area has to offer!

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