FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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are the tours accessible to people of all ages and abilities?
The bridge tour is appropriate for groups of all ages. Content, such as vocabulary or the occasional abstract idea, will be modified to meet each group's level of learning.
However, no tour participants may be younger than kindergarten age, unless each is accompanied by an adult parent or guardian. The downstairs areas of the Morrison Bridge (called "trunnion level" and "pit level") inside the piers can sometimes be intimidating for young kids, kids on the spectrum, or those with other developmental or sensory differences. Typically, participants younger than third grade age do not go downstairs to see those spaces.
The towers and piers of the Morrison and Burnside bridges, where our tours can sometimes go, are not ADA compliant. However, some of the sidewalks leading to the front door of the Morrison and Burnside are fully accessible, so all participants who wish to do so may meet a bridge operator. On those occasions when bridge openings are conducted, the openings are visible from street level.
Aside from the visit to the bridge interior, a fully accessible tour route may be arranged. But because many of our possible routes do involve stairs, please email [email protected] ahead of your tour if this is a concern, so that we can anticipate and plan for a fully ADA compliant route.
Tour-goers with hearing impairment should be advised that, while your tour guide carries handheld voice amplification and faces tour groups while speaking, some environments on and around the bridges can be very noisy. Groups do occasionally bring special audio equipment to aid those individuals with difficulty hearing.
However, no tour participants may be younger than kindergarten age, unless each is accompanied by an adult parent or guardian. The downstairs areas of the Morrison Bridge (called "trunnion level" and "pit level") inside the piers can sometimes be intimidating for young kids, kids on the spectrum, or those with other developmental or sensory differences. Typically, participants younger than third grade age do not go downstairs to see those spaces.
The towers and piers of the Morrison and Burnside bridges, where our tours can sometimes go, are not ADA compliant. However, some of the sidewalks leading to the front door of the Morrison and Burnside are fully accessible, so all participants who wish to do so may meet a bridge operator. On those occasions when bridge openings are conducted, the openings are visible from street level.
Aside from the visit to the bridge interior, a fully accessible tour route may be arranged. But because many of our possible routes do involve stairs, please email [email protected] ahead of your tour if this is a concern, so that we can anticipate and plan for a fully ADA compliant route.
Tour-goers with hearing impairment should be advised that, while your tour guide carries handheld voice amplification and faces tour groups while speaking, some environments on and around the bridges can be very noisy. Groups do occasionally bring special audio equipment to aid those individuals with difficulty hearing.
how far will we walk?
It varies depending on several factors, including the age and mobility of the group, the size of the group, access to a school bus or public transit, weather, and the duration of the tour. The minimum walking distance on the bridge tour is about two miles, with stops along the way.
Sometimes folks travel what are record distances for these tours, but only those groups that are willing, able, and have some experience with a day spent outdoors on foot. Those ambitious groups might walk as many as six miles!
If you have hopes or concerns about how many footsteps your bridge tour will total, please email [email protected], so that we can consider those as we plan your tour itinerary.
Sometimes folks travel what are record distances for these tours, but only those groups that are willing, able, and have some experience with a day spent outdoors on foot. Those ambitious groups might walk as many as six miles!
If you have hopes or concerns about how many footsteps your bridge tour will total, please email [email protected], so that we can consider those as we plan your tour itinerary.
how many bridges are included?
The goal is to get to as many bridges as possible over the course of a bridge tour, but this number varies depending on the age and mobility of the group, the size of the group, access to a school bus or public transit, weather, and the duration of the tour. Usually the number comes in somewhere between two and six bridges that we cross, and many more that we admire from afar.
But such a tally would also depend on how bridges are to be counted, which will be one topic of conversation along the way.
But such a tally would also depend on how bridges are to be counted, which will be one topic of conversation along the way.
will i see a bridge opening on the tour?
Bridges receive occasional test lifts. The Hawthorne Bridge, for example, is opened every eight hours just for maintenance. In general, the likelihood and frequency of bridge openings depends on factors including how high the Willamette River is, the time of day, weather conditions, bridge repair work, and the amount of river traffic.
Seeing a bridge opening during the tour is never a guarantee, though tour groups are often fortunate to see an opening at some point along the way--sometimes right up-close!
Seeing a bridge opening during the tour is never a guarantee, though tour groups are often fortunate to see an opening at some point along the way--sometimes right up-close!
i'm not with a group; can i still do the tour?
Yes! Every so often we lead weekend walks open to all. Learn more about those weekend tours, and find a schedule of upcoming walks, at our reservations & bookings page.
do you lead tours for home-school groups?
Yes! Please email [email protected] so that we can start planning a bridge tour for your home-school community.
is my guide an odot or multnomah county employee?
Your tour guide, Nathan Hoover, is not employed by ODOT or Multnomah County. He does hold a permit with Multnomah County that allows him to take groups inside one of two downtown bascule bridges per tour, and he coordinates with both ODOT and Multnomah County to often take his groups behind the scenes or to special viewing areas that would normally be restricted.
is there any required paperwork for the bridge tour?
Multnomah County requires all tour participants read and sign a release form before our visit to the interior of the Burnside Bridge or Morrison Bridge. On weekend walks, those forms are provided at the beginning of the tour, but if participants wish to print the form and complete it before arriving, all the better. Teachers and other group leaders are asked to have their groups complete those forms ahead of the tour.
For your convenience, we've included those waivers here. One form is for adults, and the other is for minors' parents to sign. We've also included Spanish language versions of each. Simply click the appropriate link below to download.
For your convenience, we've included those waivers here. One form is for adults, and the other is for minors' parents to sign. We've also included Spanish language versions of each. Simply click the appropriate link below to download.
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why is there a maximum group size of sixty people?
The group size limit is one of the special conditions of the Multnomah County permit that allows tour guide Nathan Hoover to take groups onto and inside the bridge structure. As such, this is not a rule that can be bent unless we forego visiting the bridge towers to meet a bridge operator.
is there a minimum group size?
There is no minimum group size for weekend walks, meaning that if just two people are signed up, we'll lead a bridge tour for the two of you. For more about those weekend walks open to all, including a schedule of upcoming tours, please visit our reservations & bookings page.
Groups do not pay a per-person rate, but instead are charged a flat fee for the entire group regardless of size (up to the maximum of 60 people). However, it may be possible to schedule a tour for a very small group, during the July-March season, at the per-person rates of our weekend walks. Please email [email protected] to discuss this possibility for your small group!
Groups do not pay a per-person rate, but instead are charged a flat fee for the entire group regardless of size (up to the maximum of 60 people). However, it may be possible to schedule a tour for a very small group, during the July-March season, at the per-person rates of our weekend walks. Please email [email protected] to discuss this possibility for your small group!
why aren't the tours free?
It's important to your tour guide, Nathan--who believes very strongly in the value of this tour--that all students have access to this awesome field trip. Most of the tours Nathan leads are for school groups, because Portland Public School District teaches about bridges as part of the third grade social studies curriculum (every year 3,500 third graders, their parents, and teachers taking a closer look at the bridges). Many schools already operate on a hardship basis, and with that in mind, tour rates for walks scheduled July-March have not changed for over nine years. As well, discounts are available to schools with especially limited resources, to help schools and organizations for whom the regular tour rate presents an insurmountable hurdle.
As one of the conditions of the Multnomah County permit that allows Nathan to take groups inside a bridge, he has provided a liability policy each year that meets the required one-million-dollar limits. This is by far the greatest expense in leading these walks. In addition, Nathan does all the scheduling for the walks, makes all the arrangements, assumes all responsibility-- in short, he acts not only as tour guide but as small business administrator in order to make these tours a reality.
If you believe in these tours as much as Nathan does, and if you have the means to provide a scholarship to cover the fees for one or more classrooms to attend the bridge tour each year, please email [email protected] and we will make it happen. Thanks in advance for considering this possibility.
In the meantime, if you are an educator or school administrator who finds that the discounted rates for the bridge tour still present too great a challenge for your classroom community, please note that there may be other tour options for your students. The Urban Tour Group leads 6,000 third graders through Portland every year at no charge. Like the bridge tour, their schedule fills up fast, and schools are advised to book dates well in advance.
As one of the conditions of the Multnomah County permit that allows Nathan to take groups inside a bridge, he has provided a liability policy each year that meets the required one-million-dollar limits. This is by far the greatest expense in leading these walks. In addition, Nathan does all the scheduling for the walks, makes all the arrangements, assumes all responsibility-- in short, he acts not only as tour guide but as small business administrator in order to make these tours a reality.
If you believe in these tours as much as Nathan does, and if you have the means to provide a scholarship to cover the fees for one or more classrooms to attend the bridge tour each year, please email [email protected] and we will make it happen. Thanks in advance for considering this possibility.
In the meantime, if you are an educator or school administrator who finds that the discounted rates for the bridge tour still present too great a challenge for your classroom community, please note that there may be other tour options for your students. The Urban Tour Group leads 6,000 third graders through Portland every year at no charge. Like the bridge tour, their schedule fills up fast, and schools are advised to book dates well in advance.
are you affiliated with willamette bridgewalk?
From 2010 until 2015, the bridge tour led by Nathan Hoover was called the Willamette BridgeWalk, and was found online at www.willamettebridgewalk.com. Since mid-2015, the tour has been renamed PDX Bridge Tours. For those folks who might be looking for information about the bridge tour and unaware of the switch, the old email address [email protected] will still work, and the old website still exists but reroutes to this new web address.
how can i report a problem with your website?
We would very much like to know about any problems you may be having with our website! Please email nathan@pdxbridgetours to report a technical issue.
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PDX Bridge Tours and all site content, except where otherwise specified, copyright Nathan Hoover © 2023
Click here to learn more about the images on this site.