The Freya Brand has been a front-runner in the lingerie world since 1998, so in 2002 when they launched their own swimwear line, their devoted followers and fans rejoiced! For harder to fit girls, Freya is always the perfect fit. Since they are a lingerie company first, they know how to make a perfect fitting top, and who can say no to that! Freya’s Swimsuits are girly, classic, retro, flirty, and just plain perfect. In Freya we carry sizes 30D to 40G, and our selection from their collection continues to grow. You can find Freya Bikinis and One Piece suits in our Popina Swimwear Portland Boutiques along with over 25 other swimwear brands!
Located in the ultra hip Mississippi Shopping district, Black Wagon is a destination in itself for the next time you want to shop for that something special for your own little one or when you are killing yourself trying to figure out something fun to get for a friend.
Miraclesuit Swimsuits are available in Popina’sPortland Swim Suit Boutique. Miracle Suit has gained many tried and true customers by providing a Swimsuit with a built in girdle to back up their slogan “Look 10 lbs Lighter in Just 10 Minutes”.
For some Miracle Suits seem miraculous. To many Miraclesuits are more than just a bathing suit. Anyone with any body “issues” will know that a bathing suit is much more than something to swim in and that a good one is priceless.
If you fall in the hard-to-fit category (which includes many) or just want a swimming suit that you can feel really great about, then Miracle Suit is definitely the a good line to check out. In Portland Miraclesuits can be tried on in person at our Swimwear Shop in NE Portland.
L*Space Swimwear has just arrived at Popina Swim in the Portland Swimwear Shop. L*Space is a California based swim suit line that like Popina Swimwear produces all of their bathing suits in the United States.
Founder Monica Wise grew up in Ohio and moved to the beaches of Florida during her young adult years where she first expressed her interest in swimwear. Her passion for the industry drew her to sunny California in 1997. With a vision of staying focused on the hipster fit that the L*Space customers love, the Collection exudes a fresh, directional and outright sexy style.
Constantly recreating itself, L*Space is a collection of swimsuits that’s uncomplicated and effortlessly hip.
Belknap Hot Springs, is a great weekend get away, or a place you could easily spend a week checking out what in my mind what I thought Oregon would look like before I moved to Portland. Very lush, green, forested, simply beautiful. Belknap, an hour east of Eugene is a developed hot springs resort that is accessible to any budget. Belknap offers many lodging options ranging from hotel rooms in their main lodge to secluded camping spots by the McKenzie River and all points in between including RV spaces, and cabins ranging from single room to large enough to sleep 10-12.
First time I visited Belknap was in 1999, at the time I had just got engaged to my husband and we were undecided where to have our wedding, after touring the beautiful grounds of Belknap we knew this would be our spot.
Belknap features two hot pools, one is directly behind the main lodge adjacent to the McKenzie River, the other is the “upper” pool which is closer to the majority of the cabin sites and the upper gardens. The lower pool is definitely more scenic and worth the short walk if you are not staying in main lodge.
Lower pool pictured to the left, upper to the right.
There is a bridge that takes you across the McKenzie River to extensive gardens (this is where we got married). There is a Japanese garden, a Secret Garden with an amazing gravity fed fountain and a huge meadow area with an abundance of plantings. The story I heard is that the owner (ex-logger) loved Butchart Gardens in Victoria and that inspiration guided the development of the grounds and wanted to emulate the Butchart Gardens feel in Oregon. Across the clearing from the Japanese Tea House we planted a Hemlock Tree at our wedding (it should be about 10 feet tall by now). To check it out from the Tea House follow the path into the woods that cuts through the center of the grassy area, our tree is just to the right before the path takes you into the woods.
There is lots to do at Belknap, outside of vegging out by the hot springs. Outside of exploring the beautiful gardens, the McKenzie River Trail runs through Belknap. This trail is absolutely amazing. When you start on the trail you go along side road 126 for a little while, but you quickly tuck into the woods along side the amazing McKenzie. When the sun shines on the river you see the most amazing hues of green and blue.
Belknap is right around the corner from probably the most amazing scenic drive in America mile for mile the McKenzie Pass which starts off in the most lush of lush Oregon dominated by Douglass Fir, peaks out at the pass at a volcanic lava field where you can see 5-6 mountain peaks on a clear day and virtually no trees then slowly transitions to the drier climate of Central Oregon and Pines and drops you into Sisters a quaint Western feeling town.
Also make sure to check out Clear Lake where you can rent boats…..
And Sahalie Falls right up the road for an amazing double water fall hike.
Enjoy your trip and be sure to rub our tree for good luck!
Popina Swimwear’s, Portland Swimsuit Shop is proud to carry Sunsets Swimwear. Sunsets is owned by the Stager family and is based in Torrance, California. Designer Kathy Stager has grown her company over the last 10 years and is routinelly featured in National magazines.
At our shop, if you care to do so you can mix and match Sunsets tops or bottoms with Popina, Swim Swim Systems, Le Tarte, L*Space or any of our other many brands. Sunsets greatest strength is their underwire tops, they do a great job of providing support and looking great.
Below is a clip from the Sunset’s Swimwear 2008 line, most of these styles are available in our shop.
Bagby Hot Springs is the closest outdoor, forested, hot spring to Portland, approximately an hour and a half drive from the big city. This is a bathing suit optional hot spring.
I typically consider hot springs in two general categories, primitive and developed. Both have their place and time and both styles have degrees of success in their execution. In order for a hot spring pool to be formed there is typically some human intervention involved ranging from diversion of cold stream water with hot spring water contained by rocks and sand to form a pool to digging out a swimming pool sized hole, lining that hole with concrete.
Bagby is the most developed, primitive hot spring I have visited and it is executed beautifully. It is as if the professor from Gilligan’s Island wanted to install a spa for the Howell’s this is what it might look like.
The setting is quintessential West of the Cascades Oregon, located in the Mount Hood National Forest. The hike to the hot springs is a moderate mile and half through old growth forest. The hike is mostly level, once you get close to the end of the hike there is a decent uphill grade, so you will know you are getting close once you start climbing up hill.
Friends of Bagby accepts donations from visitors at a collection box at the entrance, it is unbelievable that there is not a fee to visit Bagby, please suck it up and donate what you can afford to help support Friends of Bagby who maintain the site as volunteers.
Driving Directions: From Estacada, drive south on Highway 224 for about forty miles. Watch for a sign indicating Bagby. The sign leads to Forest Service Road 63. Then watch for Forest Service Road 70. Turn onto Road 70 and go about ten miles to the parking area and trail-head. The last three miles are the hardest as the road turns to gravel and becomes very narrow. From the parking area, signs point to the 1.5 mile trail. The trail can be slippery in the spring, so wear shoes or boots with good traction. One additional word of guidance: Near the end of the trail you will come to an unmarked split in the trail. Go left over the bridge. The hot springs is directly ahead.
The Sandy River is a great local swimming spot. Of course being Oregon the water never gets super warm but when the temperatures reach the mid to upper 80’s the Sandy River provides great relief and I have always found that after the tough initial plunge in I get used to the water quickly.
The Sandy River is about a 20 minute drive from Portland. The quickest way to get to the Sandy River is interstate 84, take Exit 18 to Lewis and Clark State Park/Historic Columbia River Highway. A great alternative to I-84 is Marine Drive which hugs the Columbia River, on a clear day you can get great views of Mount Hood on the way. The day of the week you visit and your river pleasure will give you direction on where to park.
Lewis and Clark State Park is your first opportunity to park and provides free parking as such this stretch of the river is always be the most crowded. Typically the only time I park at Lewis and Clark is when I am tubing, in that case, this is a great place to park as you need two cars to shuttle back and forth from your put in. More on Tubing later…
Your first right headed east you can go over a narrow bridge to Depot Park. This park is a City of Troutdale Community park with a nice beach, however this area tends to get very crowded very quickly and has limited parking. The best time to visit this park would be during the week - I would not recommend this park on weekends.
Proceeding east on the Historic Columbia River Highway (past the narrow bridge) there are many turnouts where you can have a little piece of the Sandy (more) to yourself. Be careful of where you park, last summer I noticed new “No Parking” signs. Once you find a suitable place to park, be sure that you have a decent pair of shoes to hike down to the river. Most of the access is higher on the bank and can be slippery.
For tubing, I recommend going with two cars, parking one at Lewis and Clark State Park and putting in at Dabney State Park . If you want to make a day of it, Dabney has a Frisbee golf course that I have not tried yet, but looks really fun. There is a $3 day use fee. In the past I have found it a bit of a bummer to have to pay to enter a state park that you would think our taxes would pay for. In the end I suppose it is a use tax, but at least this park is very nice. There are lots of amenities, a nice beach, trails, the Frisbee golf, and lots of great picnic areas. The other advantage of the day fee and limited parking is that the park is never too crowded, particularly when you consider a healthy number of cars in the lot are parking just to shuttle for tubing. The tube ride is approximately two hours you go over a few minor rapids but it is mostly a nice relaxing float. When you float by keep your eyes out for places you might want to come back to swim if your just looking for a place to take a dip.
Much further up the Sandy is Dodge Park. I have not tubed this stretch of the Sandy yet, but it is my personal goal to do so this summer! Hard to believe but this 14 acre park is actually owned by the City of Portland Water Bureau! Decades ago an old trolley line took hundreds of visitors from Portland to the park for quick get-aways from the city.
The major downsides to the Sandy can be littering, it is really nice to bring a trash bag along to collect a little. It can be very crowded at times, and often there can be unleashed dogs that have inconsiderate owners who don’t control their dogs properly.
The upsides are that it is a great opportunity to connect with the river and cool off, plus there is always great people watching and a fun opportunity to have some random interations with people either floating by if you are on the beach or being a floater.
On the way home I would recommend stopping by McMenamins Edgefield a great place to stop for a handmade brew you can drink outside at the Loading Dock Grill. Be sure to check out the new Ruby’s Spa where the geniuses at McMenamin’s have built a new outdoor heated soaking pool that is very nice. I would not necessarily recommend this in the summer, but maybe a fun preview of an activity for the fall or winter. While there be sure to tell them that your friends at Popina sent you. We sell some of our our one piece bathing suits at Ruby’s Spa.
This just the tip of the iceberg for recreational opportunities on the Sandy River. Go out and explore and create your own favorite place! But this will definitely get you going off on the right foot.
If you would like any personal tips on swimming at the Sandy please do not hesitate to ask me when you visit my Portland Swimwear Shop.
Bagby Hot Springs is the closest outdoor, forested, hot spring to Portland, approximately an hour and a half drive from the big city. This is a 
