pacific wonderland

The pacific Northwest doesn’t do subtle. It’s all moss, cliffs, lava rock, waterfalls, and places that feel like they belong to a different timeline. This summer we took a small road trip down to Portland and chased the kind of spots that look unreal in photos - and somehow better in person. These were our favorites.

witch’s castle

This moss covered, graffiti tagged stone ruin sits on a quiet, well maintained trail in Portlands Forest Park and it looks like something you would stumble across in a fairy tale with teeth. But the “Witch’s Castle” isn’t famous because it’s pretty. It’s famous because the story behind it is full spiral: romance, obsession, murder, and Oregons first legal hanging.

Danford Balch came west on the Oregon Trail with his wife and nine kids, settled on this land, and hired a young man named Mortimer Stump to help work the property. Then his oldest daughter Anna fell in love with Mortimer. They asked for permission to marry. Danford said no, and made it clear that the threat wasn’t symbolic. Anna and Mortimer eloped anyway in 1858. When they returned to Portland to collect their things Danford followed through and shot Mortimer on the spot. And to make it even worse, he tried to shift blame onto his wife by claiming he had been “bewitched”. The court didn’t buy it. He was arrested and executed - becoming the first person legally hanged in Oregon.

And here’s the twist: the ruin you see today isn’t the original Balch home. The stone structure was built in 1930 as a park restroom and ranger station, maintained until a storm damaged it in 1962. It sat abandoned and hidden until 1980s, when local students rediscovered it and gave it the name that stuck.

grotto

The Grotto feels like someone carved a sanctuary straight into the landscape. It was founded in 1924 by a Canadian pastor Friar Ambrose Mayer when the land was about to be sold off for housing. He looked at the 110 foot cliff and saw natural cathedral complete with a shallow cave that would hold a statue of Mary cradling Jesus, surrounded by gardens meant for quiet and reflection. The first mass was held on May 29th 1924 with around 3000 people there - proof that even back then people knew when a place felt bigger than “just a location”.

ape caves

Ape caves are 2.4 miles long, making them the third longest lava tube in North America. It’s technically one cave, but it’s talked about in plural because the entrance splits into two experiences: the lower cave and the upper cave. The lower cave is wide, spacious, and mostly easy to walk - flat in a lot of places with sandy sections left behind by ancient mud flow. It’s the popular route for families because it’s manageable even with kids and it’s about 1.5 mile round trip. The upper cave is also 1.5 miles, but don’t let the distance lie to you - it’s slower, colder, darker, and way more physical. The path is full of rock piles and formations you have to climb over, squeeze past, and navigate carefully. It’s less ‘casual outing’ and more ‘earned experience’. I took my boys through the full system anyway and they loved it - pure adventure mode.

The caves formed almost 2000 years ago when lava from Mount St Helens flowed downhill. The outer layer cooled and hardened while molten lava kept moving inside, carving out the hollow tube as it drained. They were discovered by a logger in the 1950s and later explored by a group who called themselved the Mount St Helens Apes - hence the name.

Inside the temperature stays around 42f year round, so bring warm layers and real shoes. You also need at least two light sources because there is zero natural light and your phone flashlight is not a plan. And one detail people miss: that slick layer on the cave walls isn’t just “slime”. It’s part of the cave ecosystem. Touching it damages it, and that messes with the tiny creatures living in there.

panther creek falls

Panther Creek Falls is one of those waterfalls that looks engineered, like nature got ambitious and built something dramatic on purpose. It’s complex, layered, and ridiculously beautiful - and the best part is it’s quick to reach. The upper viewpoint is only about five minute walk, so it’s an easy win whether you’re traveling with kids or just want a payoff without a full hike. The annoying part is that the trail isn’t well marked. The entrance is roughly 20 feet across the road from the parking area, and it drops straight down from the roadside - so keep your eyes open or you will miss it.

If you’re planning a trip through this area put these on your list - especially Ape Caves and Panther Creek Falls. They’re the kind of places that remind you why the PNW has such a grip on people. It doesn’t just look pretty, it feels unreal.