FAQ

Slabtown Tours: Frequently Asked Questions

The Portland Walking Tour Experience

What is the “hook” of a Slabtown tour? Our history tours are unscripted. Specifically, the Sole of Slabtown tours are fluid and adapted in real-time to the specific interests of our guests. No two walks are ever the same. The Ghost Tours have stops where your guide will read from primary sources.

What problem does your tour solve? We provide the deep-dive local knowledge that “canned” corporate tours miss. Whether you are a tourist or a lifelong Portlander, you’ll find our content refreshing. Tanya’s enthusiasm is contagious; she is constantly researching and using her curiosity to refresh the routes, ensuring that even after a decade of leading tours, the material never feels stale.

What is the maximum group size? For our public tours, we cap the group at 14 guests. We keep groups small to foster a genuine personal connection and to ensure everyone can hear the stories clearly. Our Women of Nob Hill tour is capped at 6 guests. If you are seeking a tour for a larger group you can book a private tour directly. 

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Our Guides & History

Are your guides local to Portland? Yes. The original routes for our Nob Hill, Slabtown, and A Night with Ghosts tours were co-created by Tanya Lyn March PhD and the late Mike Ryerson, a legendary fifth-generation Portlander and newspaperman.

• Tanya Lyn March: Moved to Portland in 2002 on a full scholarship to PSU and has been an anchor in the local history scene ever since. A note on style: Tanya is opinionated and high-energy. A great tour is a “drama in motion”—a mix of cadence, weather, and the chemistry of the group. We aren’t for everyone, but for those who love deep dives and big personalities, we are a perfect match.

• The Team: Following Mike’s passing in 2015, Tanya retooled the content and recruited a “tag-team” of docents, including local scholars, family members, and even her landlord.  Our guides are Rose City Certified having complete Travel Portland’s destination training course.

Are your guides certified in CPR/First Aid? Safety is a priority. Tanya March has worked at the Lloyd Center Ice Rink for over a decade and is not only certified but has extensive first-hand experience in urgent care. On two occasions in the last five years, tours were ended abruptly to provide life-saving aid to non-guests in the neighborhood.

Is Slabtown Tours Local and Women Owned? Yes, Slabtown Tours LLC is local woman owned company. The company is a COBID-certified firm in Oregon. Slabtown Tours is a certified Women Business Enterprise (WBE) Certification No.: 15433.  

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Accessibility & Inclusivity

Is the tour accessible for strollers or wheelchairs?

We strive to be as flexible as possible because accessibility is personal to us. Our founding partner of Mike’s History Tours, Mike Ryerson, lived with Parkinson’s, and we adjusted our original routes to ensure they worked for him.

• Best Routes for Rolling: Our Women of Nob Hill and A Night with Ghosts tours offer the smoothest “rolling” experience without needing any route changes.

• Modified Routes: The Sole of Slabtown tour can be easily modified to avoid obstacles/stairs—just reach out to us directly so we can plan ahead.

• Restrooms: While our tours start on the street and do not have dedicated facilities, we can assist guests in finding ADA-compliant and all-ages restrooms nearby before the walking tour start time.

Do you offer other ADA accommodations?

Yes. Inclusion is at the heart of what we do. As a guide on the spectrum, Tanya understands that traditional tour formats don’t work for everyone.

• Visual Presentations: For those who are excited about history but unable to complete a walking tour, we offer PowerPoint “slide shows” featuring our unique collection of historic images.

• Flexible Masking/Health Needs: We have a history of adapting to guest health needs, such as offering private tours at group pricing for those with specific medical requirements.

• Certified Expertise: Tanya is a graduate of the 2026 Accessible Tourism Ambassador Training—a statewide initiative by Travel Oregon and Southern Oregon University. She is a certified “Accessibility Ambassador” trained in practical strategies for inclusive service.

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Trust from Reviews t0 Refunds

Are your reviews real? Absolutely. In 2023, we began asking guests to leave detailed Google reviews to help future travelers make an educated choice.

Will you cancel if only one ticket is booked? We will still lead any given tour even if there is only a single guest booked. 

What is your Refund Policy?  Refund requests need to be made 24 hours in advance- of the initial reservation to receive a refund of funds. We can rebook you to another tour time if requested. Tours that have been rebooked are not refundable. No shows are not offered refunds or rebooking. Please email guide@slabtowntours.com if you are seeking to rebook a tour that you failed to attend.

What is your cancellation/weather policy? We will cancel and refund tours if there is a heat advisory, air quality advisory, icy conditions, volcano activity, or public emergency declarations. Typically we follow Portland Public Schools advisories for student outdoor sports as our beach mark for safety as far as heat, snow, and air quality. 

Will you refund a tour if it is 100 degrees? If there is a heat advisory, that means a period of hot temperature expected by the local/national weather service. This can create a situation where heat illnesses are possible and it is recommended to stay out of the sun. Slabtown Tours LLC will call each reservation holder and refund the tour. If the air quality is unhealthy see next bullet point. For Private Tours if there are concerns about a hot weather forecast we can move the tour to earlier in the day or to the the forest.

If it snows are you going to cancel tour? Normally yes. But on Valentine’s Day 2025 it snowed. We offered all A Night With Ghost Guests refunds and one couple reached out and asked us to try.  We as a group determined at the start point that it has warmed up -no ice just slush- and that we all felt safe.   

Do you lead tours if the air quality is bad? We ask that you please evaluate the air quality for you and your family. Your health is our top priority— let’s try to reschedule if needed.  If local schools and parks send out an air or heat advisory not to be active outside we will cancel impacted tours and refund the booked tours. 

Do you leading tours in lightening? No, walking tours are not conducted during lightning storms, as this poses a severe risk of being struck. Safety protocols dictate seeking immediate shelter in a substantial building or vehicle rather than continuing outdoor activities. If there is lightening we shelter until it passes and continue the tour – this shifts the end time – of the tour.