Lake Oswego Neighborhood Guide

If you love nature, trees, water, views, wide open spaces, and extensive walking trails (and seriously, who doesn’t?), you’ll love Lake Oswego, a uniquely beautiful community, with an iconic blue lake at the center. Lake Oswego’s namesake, Oswego Lake, is fed by the Tualatin River and spans 415 acres.

Just 10 miles south of downtown Portland, nestled against the west bank of the Willamette River, Lake Oswego has a reputation as one of the most affluent suburbs of Portland (if a city with 37,000 residents can be called a suburb).

The area offers dazzling hilltop abodes, modern estates, and custom-built new homes, with the most expensive of these gracing the banks of Oswego Lake.

And yet, more modest homes for more modest budgets are plentifully available as well.

The official heart of Lake Oswego, nestled against downtown Millennium Plaza Park, which overlooks the lake, has numerous upscale restaurants, bakeries, coffee shops, and specialty shops, including a few you likely know and love, such as St. Honore Bakery, Pete’s Coffee, Sur La Table, and Chico’s.

Lake Oswego schools are among the best in Oregon and even the country. Add high graduation rates and the opportunity to compete for the best colleges, and you can see why education-focused families choose Lake Oswego.

Lake Oswego Neighborhood Guide

Who Lives Here

Lake Oswego is a family and education oriented, highly engaged suburban community. With a school system that rates among the best in the state and even in the country, successful professionals who want a quality education and wholesome environment for their children are drawn here. Older adults value the community for its spectacular golf courses, lovely parks, gracious lifestyle. 66% of residents over the age of 25 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Neighborhoods

There are 21 recognized neighborhoods in Lake Oswego: Birdshill, Blue Heron, Bryant, Childs, Country Club North Shore, Evergreen, First Addition, Foothills, Forest Highlands, Glenmorrie, Hallinan, Lake Grove, Lakeview Summit, Lakewood, McVey, Old Town, Palisades, Rosewood, Springbrook Park, Stafford, and Westridge.

SkyBlue Portland Neighborhood Guides

We’re hard at work this summer creating comprehensive guides for each of Lake Oswego’s 21 beautiful neighborhoods. Check back often for links to completed guides:

Birdshill
Blue Heron
Bryant
Childs
Country Club North Shore
Evergreen
First Addition
Foothills
Forest Highlands
Glenmorrie
Hallinan
Lake Grove
Lakeview Summit
Lakewood
McVey
Old Town
Palisades
Rosewood
Springbrook Park
Stafford
Westridge

Zip Codes

Lake Oswego encompasses two zip codes: 98034 and 97035.

Schools

The Lake Oswego School District is the third best school district in the country with the most affordable homes, according to a May 2013 report by ZipRealty. The real estate brokerage company ranked school districts by coming up with a 1 to 10 score for schools—based on 2010 test scores and student-to-teacher ratio—and using the median price per square foot for a home in the district. Lake Oswego’s 9.6 school score combined with a median price per square foot of $167 netted it the third-place spot. The majority of the districts in the top ten are suburban districts outside major cities.

The Oregon State Department of Education awarded all schools in the Lake Oswego school district a grade of “Outstanding” for the 2011-12 school year. They achieved the same grade in previous years.

Parks | Recreation

Lake Oswego is a community of parks. In fact, the Lake Oswego parks and recreation system, which includes over 600 acres of parks, open spaces, and recreational facilities, is considered the town’s “crown jewels.” Lake Oswego residents value and support their park system, as it contributes significantly to the family-oriented quality of life that gives this community its special vibe.

Theatre | Arts

The Lakewood Theater Company is the cornerstone around which Lakewood Center for the Arts is built. It was launched in 1952 by community members who felt Lake Oswego was not complete without its own theatre company.

Restaurants | Coffee Shops | Bakeries | Bars

There are plenty of eating and drinking options in Lake Oswego, but it would be disingenuous to call this Portland satellite community a fine dining destination. Culinary talent tends to establish itself in the close-in Portland neighborhoods. Thus, many of the bigger name Lake Oswego eating establishments are satellites of their Portland mother ships. Nevertheless, you won’t go hungry.

Babica Hen Cafe (breakfast/brunch)
Blast Burgers (the Cod Almighty!)
Clarke’s (American Eclectic)
Dang’s Thai Kitchen (Thai)
Jefe (Mexican)
Kyra’s Bake Shop (gluten-free)
La Provence Bakery & Bistro (French)
Lake Oswego Ice Creamery
Oswego Grill (mesquite and apple wood grill)
Riccardo’s Ristorante (Italian)
Scratch (American Eclectic)
St. Honoré Boulangerie (French)
Tucci Ristorante (Italian)
Zeppo (Italian)

Markets

With the recent addition of Zupan’s Market in Lake Oswego, it’s getting harder to justify a trip into Portland for all of the specialty ingredients that good cooks love and need.

Farmers Markets

Nearly every Portland neighborhood and surrounding community has a first-class farmers market, and Lake Oswego is no exception. This European-style open market brings local growers and specialty food producers to Millennium Plaza Park, at the heart of the community.