South Waterfront Lower Tram Terminal
South Waterfront Lower Tram Terminal
4
5:30 AM - 9:30 PM
Monday
5:30 AM - 9:30 PM
Tuesday
5:30 AM - 9:30 PM
Wednesday
5:30 AM - 9:30 PM
Thursday
5:30 AM - 9:30 PM
Friday
5:30 AM - 9:30 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
The Tram is a popular destination for tourists, locals and people just looking to try something fun. The lower tram terminal is at the intersection of South Moody Avenue & Gibbs Street --the most transportation-diverse intersection in the country. Besides one of the nation's only aerial commuter trams, you'll see cars, buses, a streetcar, a soaring pedestrian bridge, a cycle track and the densest bike parking in America's #1 biking city. Bike valet is offered free to the public at Portland Aerial Tram Monday through Friday. Exiting the upper terminal you'll see the largest enclosed sky bridge in North America. Take a right to access an outdoor patio with seating and views of the terminal, the cityscape, the Willamette River and, on a clear day, Mount Hood and Mount St Helens. The upper terminal links to the 4T Trail--a self-guided tour by train, trail, tram and trolley. Much of Marquam Hill is a natural area with several trails.
Duration: 1-2 hours
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.0
996 reviews
Excellent
454
Very good
352
Average
152
Poor
27
Terrible
11
Fernanda Paz C
3 contributions
Jun 2023 • Friends
One of the worst experiences of my entire life was when I visited Portland with my friends for what was supposed to be an enjoyable last day. We had heard so many great things about it, but let me tell you, that couldn't be further from the truth. What they conveniently fail to mention is that when you reach the top station, you're actually greeted by... a hospital. Yes, that's right, the so-called observation deck is nothing more than a glorified waiting room for patients. It's absolutely appalling how little respect and privacy they have for the patients and their families. To make matters worse, we witnessed a group of three girls shamelessly taking selfies right next to an immunosuppressed patient. It was a truly horrifying sight. And as if that wasn't enough, there were even memory plaques scattered around, reminding everyone of the deceased patients. This is definitely not the kind of place that should be marketed as a tourist attraction. It should be a place of respect and solace. I cannot stress enough how strongly I discourage anyone from visiting this place. Save yourself the disappointment and find something else to do in Portland.
Written 10 July 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
pdxtrvl
Portland, OR154 contributions
Feb 2022
The functional aspect of the tram is to shuttle OHSU employees from the hill to waterfront... however, you can ride the tram from OHSU down to waterfront at no cost. If you do a trip from waterfront you'll pay a bit. 1 way is not charged from the hill. Nice to take visitors and to see the city from a differnt view. Loved it.
Written 2 February 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thanks for the review. Just a note, the new fare structure requires a ticket from either the upper or lower terminal. All tickets are valid for a round-trip, assuming both legs are traveled in the same day. Full details are found on our website.
Written 24 June 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
JuliR624
Scottsdale, AZ123 contributions
Sept 2022
I started at the hospital and took the tram down first. Tickets are easy to purchase at a machine there. The cars are large and you can take your bicycle on them. The cars run every few minutes. Of course, the view is beautiful. At the base, you can walk/bike/trolley/bus around the south river part of town. There are a few restaurants, but mostly that area is apartment buildings and buildings associated with the hospital. One add-on to the tram at the base is to walk or bike the Tilikum Crossing bridge (the big white one) over the river. I would do it again and would recommend it.
Written 7 September 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
B. Darst
Irvine, CA138 contributions
Feb 2020
I lived in Portland when this tram went in but it took until I moved away and came back for a visit before I actually went on it as a tourist. This was a great quick trip up the hill to OHSU. The ride provides great views of the Willamette River and all the bridges. Also a wonderful view of MT. Hood and eastside of Portland. Since I went right before Covid not sure about the protocols in place to ride the tram now.
Written 9 November 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
swearengen
Colonia, NJ839 contributions
Jul 2022
We took the tram from the waterfront and back. It's used for medical transport primarily, so both ways were a bit crowded and hard to get a good spot by the windows. Views were ok. I wouldn't go out of my way for this.
Written 28 July 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
KylieS
Downers Grove, IL158 contributions
Jul 2022
This is a fun and quick little side tour for a fun day in Portland. Inexpensive. Great views of the river and city. Takes about 10 minutes round trip. If you are on a self-guided tour of the city, this is definitely something to do.
Written 5 August 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
SMF-Collegeville
Batesville, IN205 contributions
Jul 2023
The tram had nice views, but really it seems to be mostly for commuters going up and down the hill. There was little information in the tram or at the stations, and it was crowded with people just going to or from work. It was fine to get a bird's eye view at a low price, but without more information somewhere, it wasn't really education.
Written 20 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jay H
Las Vegas, NV111 contributions
Jul 2022
While tickets are cheap for this, there isn't much to do at either stop. This tram is really for hospital workers to move from the upper and lower venues. The views are nice, but at the end of the day not much more to see or do here.
Written 13 September 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Leewina D
16 contributions
Mar 2023
Portland Oregon is beautiful. You have to go see mojave's Falls it is absolutely beautiful and actually woke up to see the rest of it. It was very neat to walk the trail to which is Castle too. I went with my son and we had a great time. We did the tram ride it's only 5 minutes one way 5 minutes the other but with a beautiful view from the air of Portland. I would recommend it. And drive to Canton Beach and spend a day there. The drive to Canton Beach is beautiful and the beach is also beautiful and there's other things around there to do in that area. I you don't want to miss it.
Written 14 April 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
GeenaG4me
Pasco, WA292 contributions
Feb 2012 • Couples
We had heard about the "Tram" for a while and it sounded pretty cool, so on our most recent trip to Portland we set our GPS to locate it and check it out. First, we had to find a place to park - everything near the station seemed to be for OHSU hospital employees only. Guess that should have been a clue - that the main reason people would take the tram would be to get from the bottom of the hill to the top (where more OHSU facilities are located). We parked on the street - didn't know how long we would be gone but had assumed there would be places to go once we got to the top of the hill so we paid for three hours of parking. (as it turned out we could have been back easily in less than 30 minutes). We bought our tickets (note that the day we were there, even though the ticket machines say they take coins, they would only take a credit card). Got on the tram and in less than 5 minutes we were getting off at the top of the hill. The fellow running the tram on the way up was less than friendly, he never said a word to anyone at all. Probably the least friendly person we encountered on our whole trip! Got to the top and there was no signage about anything except an entrance to part of OHSU, and an elevator to go down (but no clues as to what was down there - turned out it just took a person down to a couple other floors, I think one housed an eye clinic) We went into the OHSU facility, again thinking there would be some further information/direction to other places to see or go shopping or something. Wandered around quite a bit but found nothing except a small cafe-like place in the building and could see other OHSU buildings outside. From the top area of the Tram facility, there was a nice view of the river and highways, but that was about all that was interesting about the trip. On the ride back down there was a different fellow operating the Tram, and he was very customer oriented, asking folks where they were from, commenting on the weather, etc. At least that was nice! All in all, though, we were very disappointed.
Written 26 February 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I live in ca and not fimilar with parking for the tram. Is it clearly marked.
Written 10 July 2019
It is mainly a tram for the hospital. I parked on the metered street parking.
Written 16 July 2019
Can anyone tell me if the tram is open and running? I read on an earlier review that it was closed for repairs. Heading there next weekend. Thanks!
Written 7 July 2018
It is opening July 9th, three weeks earlier than expected. There may be some adjustments in hours of operation. They have a wonderful website. Enjoy!
Written 8 July 2018
You are absolutely right and don't understand why they try to call it a tourist attraction. Few years ago I was using it to go to see a friend who was hospitalized there and so sad for me that he didn't make it.
Written 14 February 2018
You might consider it a tourist attraction if you consider that the views from the top are fantastic, and that there are a lot of people that live where there are no mountains and a tram ride is a bit of a novelty.
Written 14 February 2018
What is the cool looking walk over bridge you can see from the cars? :)
Written 2 September 2017
I think you're talking about Tillikum Bridge, it's the newest bridge over the Willamette River and it's only open to the light rail trains, buses, foot traffic or bicycles. It is pretty cool.
Written 3 September 2017
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