Portland’s Glendoveer celebrates 100 years

It’s a happy birthday for Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland. And it’s a big one. Try 100.

Glendoveer is a service of Metro’s parks and nature department and is operated by CourseCo on behalf of the public. The tree-filled 231-acre site in East Portland includes two golf courses, a driving range, a tennis center and a beloved 2.2-mile nature trail, plus a bar and restaurant at Von Ebert Brewing.

“For 100 years, Glendoveer has been providing recreational opportunities and a small slice of wilderness here in the middle of Portland,” said Kevin Niessner, Glendoveer’s general manager.  “It’s such a unique property with golf, tennis, disc golf, foot golf and the walking trail. There is something for everyone, even if it’s just sitting on the patio enjoying a beverage and the magnificent towering Douglas Fir trees. We thought it fitting to celebrate our 100-year anniversary with our neighbors.” Some of the special 100 year celebrations happening in 2026 include the Hickory Tournament, Block Party and the 1926 Rate day.

The Stenzel family built the facility on a former potato farm as part of a planned real estate development. Designed by John Stenzel, the East Course opened first in 1926. The West Course opened two years later, making Glendoveer the first 36-hole golf course in all of Oregon. Despite its popularity, the golf course almost didn’t make it to 100; it was considered as a location for Portland International Airport in the 1930s, and in the 1960s the land was purchased by a hospital.

However, community outcry prompted Multnomah County to purchase the land and maintain it as a golf course. In 1993, the county transferred ownership to Metro at the same time it transferred its parks and historic cemeteries to the agency. In 2013, Metro hired CourseCo to manage the property.

Metro manages the 2.2-mile nature trail that circles the course, creating even more recreational opportunities for community members. The woods on the trail’s east side are a rare urban home of Douglas squirrels, a small, tuft-eared species that need big conifers to thrive. If ever there was a perfect community recreational center, it would be Glendoveer.

The entire facility encompasses over 240 acres with golf and tennis as the main attraction of the property.  It also has a popular 2-mile fitness trail for joggers and walkers that borders the golf course.

There are two excellent 18-hole courses at Glendoveer: the east course, at 6,295 yards, a par 73 and slope of 123, is considered the more demanding of the two because of its length and tight, tree-lined fairways and bunkers.

If you are feeling adventurous, you can rent a golfboard and surf. Glendoveer’s practice facility includes practice greens and a covered double-decker driving range with 30 hitting spaces. Some offer heated stations for winter practice.

Being one of the few facilities in Portland that has 36 holes, groups of up to 288 players can be accommodated on the East and West golf courses. This allows for larger group tournaments. Their recently built outdoor patio area offers a wonderful area to gather afterwards for food and awards.

The other big attraction at Glendoveer is tennis, which includes 4 indoor courts and all of the amenities you could want like ball machines, coaches, racket repair and more.

It doesn’t end there: Not only do they host the PNW Open for the Disc Golf Pro Tour but they have onsite monthly disc golf open to the public as well as hosting tournaments for the local disc golf associations. Glendoveer will cohost the Disc Golf World Championships in 2027.  

For those who don’t play golf or tennis, but enjoy soccer, Glendoveer integrated the two sports when it opened the first FootGolf course in the NW in 2014. FootGolf is available for special events at Glendoveer.