Grimm's Episode 9, La Llorona

Love the location choices in this episode.

St. John's Bridge and Cathedral Park, in North Portland is where the woman walks into the river and site of the first abduction. Back before the area grew up a bit and a series of higher-density condos were built, I'd felt that it was a semi-secret hideaway that most people ignored due to the neighborhood.

The second abduction location, supposedly at Sauvie Island, isn't. The trick or treat park scene shows a paved walkway, and the second I saw that, along with the denser and deeper vegetation, I knew where this was actually shot: Kelley Point Park. With the final scenes set at Kelley Point Park, it seemed clear: they shot both scenes from KPP out of convenience, because both have very similar backgrounds of the Columbia River, but to get out to Sauvie Island Park requires a lot longer drive and driving over a section of a narrow, rough road.

Notice the paved path -- no such path in Sauvie Island.

The tip of the confluence at KPP -- the line of wooden piers leading out to a warning sign

In order to reach KPP's front gate, you have to drive through a lot of industrial areas, and you'd miss it if you didn't know where to look; there are a lot of city parks like that in Portland (hidden). It's not a popular park, but at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers, KPP is a great spot to watch the frequent river traffic, from barges carrying grain to cargo ships dropping off cars from Asia. That it's not very popular, is a plus, to me.

But another great park -- and much larger -- is Smith & Bybee Lakes, just down the road from Kelley Point Park. There is more wildlife there to watch, and a lot of great scenery.