Vancouver Travel and Things to Do Guide

Vancouver (Washington) hugs the north shore of the Columbia River across from Portland, Oregon. The newly developed waterfront features several wine tasting rooms, restaurants, and shops and will soon feature two boutique hotel properties. The 90-foot, cable-stayed Grant Street Pier and the new 7.3-acre Waterfront Park add to the fresh identity of the city. Just blocks from the waterfront, downtown offers a vibrant mix of local boutiques, bakeries, and coffee shops for walkable enjoyment. Vancouver event venues reflect a city proud of its roots: The city has been designated as a Preserve America Community for its preservation of cultural and natural heritage resources.

Convention venues in Vancouver include the Vancouver Convention Center, which provides nearly 30,000 square feet of function space on the south end of the 226-room Hilton Vancouver Washington (the first hotel in the world to attain both LEED and Green Seal certification). The city's other sizable facility is the 100,000-square-foot Clark County Event Center, with options ranging from banquet seating for 700 people to theater seating for over 10,000. Hotel venues include the 182-room Heathman Lodge, a Northwest-inspired mountain lodge with 10,000 square feet of meeting space.

Vancouver's non-hotel meeting and special event sites range from a LEED Gold-certified, state-of-the-art library, which features a deck overlooking the Columbia River, to a spate of historic venues at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site. Among the options on the site's grounds: a reception for 500 with a backdrop of vintage planes at Pearson Air Museum and a gathering for up to 150 in the renovated Artillery Barracks, which feature white oak hardwood floors and a restored tin ceiling.

Downtown Vancouver is a 15-minute drive from Portland International Airport (PDX), which is served by 16 major airlines. There are more than 75 nonstop destinations from PDX, including international cities such as Amsterdam and Tokyo. PDX was named the No. 1 domestic airport by Travel + Leisure from 2013 to 2019.

Group activities in Vancouver include historic tours through the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site and Pearson Air Museum, hikes or bus tours on the beautiful Columbia River Gorge just east of Vancouver (with a stop at the Pendleton Woolen Mill), and tours of regional wineries.