Portland Oregon Gay Sex Clubs and Bathhouses Guide

With one of the highest percentages of LGBT residents in the nation, the progressive city of Portland also has a quite strong reputation as a sex-positive metropolis. Scan the usual dating and hookup apps, and you'll find lots of guys who identify as queer and fairly political, a relatively high number of men in open or polyamorous relationships, quite a few trans persons, and in general a good variety of guys open to sex without many hangups about age, race, body perfection, and so on. It's a pretty great city for finding hot sexual encounters if you identify as a bear, too.

Portland has a pair of venues geared to guys hooking up with guys. Just off of I-84, exit 1 or 2 (depending on which direction you're coming from), the attractive Steam Portland (2885 N.E. Sandy Blvd., 503-736-9999) is a very nicely maintained, clean, and popular gay sauna. Steam boasts the Northwest's largest outdoor sun deck, and inside, features a large steam room with amphitheater-style seating, a rainfall shower, and a relaxing and sweat-inducing 104-degree environment.

Open round the clock, this private club caters to a mix of visitors and locals—it's on the East Side, near the Hollywood and Lloyd Center districts, and it's only a 10-minute car or taxi ride from downtown. Steam is a medium-sized facility, as befits a city the size of Portland—it's busy enough on weekends, but like many saunas, the crowds are sometimes a bit less on weekdays. The crowd here is pretty mixed, from students to professionals in their mid-30s and 40s to older gents.

The city's other gay sex-plex has been around for fewer years, and is actually a cousin to a similar club in Las Vegas: the clean, safe, and well-equipped Hawks (234 S.E. Grand Ave., at S.E. Ash St., 503-946-8659) is just over the Burnside Bridge from downtown, in the Inner Southeast Industrial area. This clean and well-maintained sex club has a big following with fans of S&M, group sex, and role-playing. Inside you'll find glory-hole areas, three slings, an orgy area, a water sports section, bear and fisting parties, and other intriguing elements.

Other amenities at the maze-like spot are lockers, cedar sauna, a steam room, and an industrial vibe that's something of a throwback to classic gay sex clubs or porn flicks of the 1970s and 1980s. Keeping with current trends, Hawks offers an outdoor, clothing-optional private patio where you can smoke cigarettes or marijuana.

Portland also has some legally sanctioned clothing-optional beaches on the Columbia River with strong gay followings, including Collins Beach at Sauvie Island, which is a 40-minute drive northwest of the city center, and Rooster Rock State Park, which is in the spectacular Columbia Gorge and reached via a 30-minute drive on I-84.

Also, check out the Portland Gay Nightlife Guide for more on the city's gay scene.