Category: Portland

Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge – 05/25/2026

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date May 28, 2026
3 Comments on Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge – 05/25/2026

On the morning of Memorial Day I headed to the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge in hopes of photographing some wildlife while taking my longest hike since beginning physical therapy. Heather wasn’t able to join me for this one, so I was on my own when I set off from the Roy Rogers Road Trailhead just before 5:30am.

I followed the same general route as I had last year on May 1st (post) so instead of describing it here please refer to that post if you are interested in those details. Instead, here are some of the sights that I saw on this visit.

Mt. Hood at sunrise.

Lots of lupine in bloom.

Yarrow

Mourning dove

Gadwall and a cinnamon teal drakes

Gadwall

Savannah sparrow

Mallards and a nutria

Mama and ducklings

Cedar waxwings

Northern shovelers and a killdeer

Northern shoveler drake

Nutria

The Visitor’s Center on the hill ahead.

Geese and nutria

Hardhack

Grand collomia and an insect

Goose family

Swallow and purple martin

This viewpoint paid off big today.

A buck and a duck from the viewpoint.

White pelicans from the viewpoint.

Great egret near the viewpoint.

Tree swallow

I got hissed at by a goose from each of these families ahead. We eventually came to an agreement and they allowed me to pass.

Gadwall pair

Purple martins

Common madia

Oregon sunshine

Savannah sparrow and daisies.

Red-winged blackbird

Bald eagle

Song sparrow

Rabbit

Heading toward the Visitor’s Center.

Great blue heron

Blue-winged teal

Barn swallow

Female wood duck and ducklings

Robin

Mule’s ears?

The difference between today’s hike and the route in 2025 was I took a handful of short out-and-back detours at various exploration sites.

Junco

Finch

Rock Creek

Bushtit

Tualatin River

Fringecup

Thimbleberry

Douglas squirrel

Spotted towhee

Bleeding heart

For once this “Wildlife Ahead” sign was correct. There was a rabbit at the far end of the bridge.

Hummingbird

Northern harriers harassing ducks.

Ookow

Cedar waxwings

This covered bench was new.

I spotted a pair of deer in the field shortly before arriving back at the Roy Rogers Road Trailhead.

I was also spotted.

Wildflower garden next to the trailhead. (TH is in the trees.)

Biscuitroot and checker mallow.

A few golden paintbrush were still in bloom.

I wound up adding half a mile to my 2025 route with the out-and-back detours with today’s hike coming in at 5.2-miles.

This was my first time over 5-miles since my injury which was encouraging. So far, I don’t seem to be any worse for the ware. The hike itself was great. After a somewhat disappointing visit to Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge earlier in the month (post) it was nice to see such a variety of wildlife. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge

Tags hiking, Oregon, Bald Eagle, great blue heron, Wildlife, tualatin river, Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge, Blue-winged teal, cedar waxwings

Hiking Portland Trip report Willamette Valley

Parrett Mountain West Loop – 05/23/2026

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date May 25, 2026
No Comments on Parrett Mountain West Loop – 05/23/2026

I visited Bob and Crystal Riley Park for the first time on my previous outing. On that visit I hiked the 3.5-mile Parrett Mountain East Loop (post) described in the Oregon Hikers Field Guide. I had really enjoyed that hike and knew I wanted to return at some point to try the slightly longer West Loop that is also described in the Field Guide.

I hadn’t planned on that visit being my next hike, but after looking over nearby options for hikes in the 4 to 4.5-mile range the Parrett Mountain West Loop was the one that I hadn’t previously done. It also gave me the opportunity to introduce Heather to the park.

Like my previous hike we began the West Loop from the Farmhouse Trailhead.

For the West Loop we crossed Parrett Mountain Road and passed through an opening along a fence to pick up Curtis’ Field Loop (trail #5).

The opening next to the sign across Parrett Mountain Road.

We turned left next to a field of crimson clover and followed the wide track next to Parrett Mountain Road.

Coastal manroot and crimson clover

Robin. Just like my experience on my previous visit we could hear birds almost constantly throughout our hike.

At the end of the field, we left trail 5 and stayed straight along the fence following trail 6 aka Bobcat Loop on the 2026 park trail map.

Rabbit

The trail turned right along a fence line at a vineyard and entered a nice forest.

The trail quickly split with trail 7 Forrest’s Loop on the left and trail 6 heading right. We stayed left along the fenceline.

Thimbleberry

Columbine

Inside-out flower

At the next fork we stayed right. A narrow connector path on the left dropped steeply along the fence line before rising just as steeply to rejoin the official Forrest’s Loop which avoided this drop and climb.

After the connector trail rejoined the Forrest’s Loop this trail made its own steep climb. We stayed left at junctions as we followed the fence line to a 90-degree turn. The trail steepened again here as it continued along the fence.

Rose

Honeysuckle

Starflower

Plumed solomonseal

Coming up on another junction with trail 6 (Bobcat Loop).

There are some older signs with trail names on this side of the park. One thing to note is that trail 6 which is named the Bobcat Loop on the park map is signed as Ed Casey’s Way on the signs.

Forrest’s Loop arrived at a junction near another field with Bert’s Field Loop (trail #9) where we turned left.

We stayed along the edge of this field until we came to a sign for “Bert’s 80 Field Loop” on our left next to a narrow trail heading into the forest.

The old wooden sign in the distance.

This path, Donald T. Everest Family Heritage Trail (shown as a part of the Bert’s Field Loop trails on the current map) began by dropping through a nice forest full of sword ferns and Oregon grape before coming to a more open grassy section where things got interesting.

There had been some occasional poison oak along the trails so far, but the amount increased drastically in the more open section. On the plus side we did come across a group of blooming ookow.

Head high poison oak on both the left and right.

Ookow with poison oak behind.

More ookow and poison oak.

There was enough poison oak that Heather decided to turn around at the ookow and go back to Bert’s Field Loop where we would join back up. I kept going hoping to be able to finish the loop I was on. I did a lot of dodging before the trail left the grassier section and for a moment, I thought I’d made it past the worst of the poison oak.

Then I came to this hanging over the trail.

It was about chest/neck high across with a branch hanging straight down in the middle of the trail. Luckily, after several minutes of studying the understory, it appeared that the ground next to the trail was clear. I wound up doing a duck walk with my head down, and my hands off the ground just in case, to get past the obstacle. There was a little more dodging to be done after that, but this was by far the trickiest bit to navigate.

I kept an eye out for hidden leaves of three in the bracken fern here.

A lone iris in bloom.

Toward the far end the trail rejoined the fence line and denser forest where the poison oak was back to just an occasional plant off to the side.

When I arrived back at the field I turned right on Bert’s Field Loop and headed for Heather who was making her way toward me along the field.

Sign for the Donald T. Everest Family Heritage Trail at the north end of the trail.

It had gotten a lot cloudier than we’d expected which was unfortunate. On a clear day Mt. Hood and the top of Mt. Jefferson would be visible from this trail.

After reconnecting with Heather, we continued back along Bert’s Field taking a short detour to the right into the forest along Lind’s Vista Trail at a sign on the right.

There is no vista along this spur loop, just some shade in the trees.

Lind’s Vista Trail popped us back out along Bert’s Field and we continued back to the junction at the SE corner of the field.

At the junction we turned right on the trail we’d come up on earlier then took a left at the signed junction with trail 6 (Bobact Loop on the map but signed Ed Casey’s Way) where we forked left.

We forked right at the next junction near Dani’s Field following the sign for Ed Casey’s Way.

This trail briefly joined Dani’s Field Loop along Dani’s Field before splitting off to the right at a trail 6 post.

Bachelor button with crimson clover behind.

We forked left at the first junction we came to.

Then stayed left at the edge of Dani’s Field leaving trail 6 which forked right to join the Dani’s Field Loop. We headed right along this field until we came to a sign at a junction.

The sign just says Dani’s Field Loop. The path to the right is a short connecter for trail 6.

We forked right to rejoin the Bobcat Loop (Ed Casey’s Way) on the trail 6 system.

The connector brought us to a four-way junction with the trails on the right, left, and straight ahead all marked with trail 6 posts.

We turned left.

We soon arrived at a three-way junction where again all trails belonged to the trail 6 system. We turned left again which led us back to the edge of Dani’s Field where we turned right.

The old signpost at the three-way junction is for Willard’s Way and the Tomcat Trail.

Following Dani’s Field Loop (trail #8) brought us to another four-way junction at the edge of Curtis’ Field.

Trail 8 (Dani’s Field Loop) to the left, trail 6 (Bobcat Loop) to the right, and a connector to trail 5 (Curtis’ Field Loop) straight ahead.

The Field Guide mentioned a short detour left along Dani’s Field Loop to Parrett Mountain Road at Bob’s Corner Park. The park was gated closed in 2025 most likely due to the entrance being next to the sharp corner.

The sign and gate for the closed park across the road.

We turned around and headed back veering left at a junction to cross over to Curtis’ Field.

We followed Curtis’ Field Loop back down to the four-way junction then made a slight right back onto trail 6.

We stayed on the leftmost trail6 at junctions.

That is poison oak down over the trail. There was no way to avoid our shoes brushing against it.

We eventually wound up back at Curtis’ Field where we turned right on trail 5.

Trail 5 split and we veered right opting for the more forested route.

A brief stint in the trees brought us to the SE end of Curtis’ Field next to Parrett Mountain Road where we turned left and returned to the Farmhouse Trailhead.

The trailhead was pretty full at 8:30am.

The GPS showed 4.3-miles which was a tenth of a mile less than the Field Guide, but we didn’t actually cross the road and enter Bob’s Corner Park which accounts for the slight discrepancy. Total elevation gain was just under 600′ with some steep sections early on.

West Loop – dotted. East Loop – solid.

On a positive note, my legs, hips and back felt better during this hike than they had in a couple of months and it was my longest outing since the issues flared up.

As we were packing up to leave Heather heard a familiar voice and realized it was our former neighbor Denise and her daughter Emily. We had a nice chat before letting them get started on their hike. It was a pleasant surprise to end another great day on the trails. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Parrett Mountain West Loop

Tags Bob and Crystal Rilee Park, hiking, Oregon, Parrett Mountain, Parrett Mountain Farm

Hiking Portland Trip report Willamette Valley

Fernhill Wetlands – 05/04/2026

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date May 7, 2026
1 Comment on Fernhill Wetlands – 05/04/2026

For our next short outing while I rehab we decided to return to Fernhill Wetlands for some birding. This destination allowed us to do a 3.5-mile hike first thing in the morning then meet up with Heather’s biological father and his wife for breakfast at McMenamins Grand Lodge in Forest Grove.

I had been feeling good following our hike at Wild Iris Park two days earlier in Eugene (post), however I woke up on this morning with a sore and tight right hip (again). It loosened up a little after my morning stretching session, but it was still a bit irritated as we set out from the Fernhill parking lot just before 7am.

We started at Fernhill Marsh and began a counterclockwise loop.

Today’s track.

Heading toward Fernhill Marsh.

We spotted a few ducks, at least one goose, a number of long billed dowitchers, and a sandpiper.

Long billed dowitchers

Goose

Mallard and a dowitcher

Gadwall

Sandpiper on the far side of the marsh.

Camas at Fernhill Marsh.

We made our way around Fernhill Marsh to the gazebo overlooking Cattail Marsh.

Thimbleberry

Twinberry

Sparrows

Roses

The gazebo at Cattail Marsh.

Red-winged blackbird

There wasn’t much to see in the marsh from the gazebo, but we were visited by a rather grumpy looking sparrow while inside the gazebo.

We continued on our loop from the gazebo then took a right when we reached Eagle Marsh. While it is possible to hike out and back along Eagle Marsh looping around it is not possible. With the morning sun low on the horizon the view from the western side of this marsh would be looking almost directly at it which is why we skipped this detour.

Mallard on the path.

American coot in Cattail Pond.

Rabbit near Eagle Marsh.

Green-winged teals in Eagle Marsh.

Cattail Marsh gives way to Fernhill Lake and as we passed between the lake and Eagle Marsh we detoured down a short path to the lake where a great blue heron was hunting for breakfast.

The heron out in Fernhill Lake.

Gadwall in the same area as the heron.

We continued to the junction at the far end of the marshes, and this time did detour on the out and back along Eagle Marsh.

The path between the lake and Eagle Marsh.

Damsel fly

Sparrow

Goose having a bad feather day in Eagle Marsh.

Mallard drake on a log in Eagle Marsh.

Starling

Another great blue heron in Eagle Marsh.

After reaching the end of this spur we headed back to Fernhill Lake and continued our loop around.

Fernhill Lake from the junction.

One of several families of geese along the lakeshore.

Purple martins

These fish, possibly invasive carp, could be seen up and down the shores of Fernhill Lake.

Yet another heron at Fernhill Lake.

We paused at a second gazebo, this one overlooking the Barney Wetlands where we had spotted some tundra swans during our visit in February 2024 (post).

Not much to see in Barney Wetlands on this day.

Cliff swallow in the gazebo.

We continued on to the Dabbler’s Marsh Trail and took a right onto it.

We hiked the Dabbler’s Marsh Loop counterclockwise. There wasn’t much to see on this day but the views across the grassy fields were nice.

Cinquefoil

Fringecup

Robin

After finishing the 1.4-mile Dabbler’s Marsh Trail we looped through the Water Garden (sans water) before returning to our car.

Brown headed cowbird

Sparrow in the parking lot.

This was least amount of wildlife we’d seen on our three visits here, but there was still enough for it to be enjoyable. Our breakfast at McMenamins Grand Lodge was excellent and we had a great time catching up with Jeff and Mary and even got to meet Mary’s sister and her husband before saying our goodbyes. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Fernhill Wetlands

Tags Cattail Marsh, Dabblers March Loop Trail, Eagle Marsh, Fernhill Lake, Fernhill marsh, Fernhill Wetlands, Forest Grove, great blue heron, hiking, Oregon, Wildlife

Hiking Oregon Portland Trip report Willamette Valley

Chehalem Ridge Nature Park – 02/15/2026

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date February 16, 2026
1 Comment on Chehalem Ridge Nature Park – 02/15/2026

February has been quite a bit wetter than our January was, so we hadn’t been out on any hikes in the first two weeks of the month. A brief window of dry weather was forecast for the Portland-Metro area the day after Valentines Day though and we took the opportunity to revisit Chehalem Ridge Nature Park.

Our first visit to the park was in May of 2022 (post). We had hiked the majority of trails in the park during that visit, but our route had missed the 0.3-mile Castor Trail and missed portions of three other trails. Our plan for this outing was to hike what we’d missed on that first visit.

The website lists the park open from Sunrise to Sunset and Google Maps showed it opening at 7am. (Sunrise was at 7:11am today.) We arrived a quarter after seven and were the first car in the large parking area.

We stopped at the signboard map to confirm our route then headed down Timber Road.

Just over two tenths of a mile along Timber Road we came to the junction with the Castor Trail where we turned left.

Map at the junction, thank you Metro Parks.

The Castor Trail angled us back a bit and climbed up to the Woodland Trail where we turned right.

We followed the Woodland Trail for two tenths of a mile then forked right onto a short spur trail that acts as a connector to Timber Road.

It was just 150′ back to Timber Road along this connector trail.

The spur brought us to Timber Road across from the Ammefu Trail. We had taken that trail in 2022 which loops back to Timber Road further to the NW thus missing a short 0.1-mile section of the road.

At the 4-way junction we turned left and hiked the 0.1-mile section of Timber Road. We stayed on the road a total of 0.4-miles where we turned right onto the Witches Butter Trail.

While the forecast had indicated that it would be mostly sunny here at some point it didn’t happen before our hike ended.

We stopped for a bit to try and get a photo or two of some birds that were flitting between trees. At least one of them was a golden-crowned kinglet which is a species that we hadn’t gotten a photo of yet. After a number of attempts we still don’t have a good photo, however I did manage to get an out of focus shot where it could at least be identified.
DSCN7991

The Ammefu Trail rejoining on the right with another connector to the Woodland Trail on the left.

DSCN7997
Squirrel!

Christensen Creek

Witches Butter Trail heading straight into the forest. The trail to the furthest right is the Ayeekwa Trail. We had taken the 0.7-mile Ayeekwa Trail in 2022 which rejoins the Witches Butter Trail just 0.2-miles from this fork.

This time we stuck to the Witches Butter Trail.

Three tenths of a mile along the Witches Butter Trail we came to one of the benches that are placed around the park.

This bench faced a clearing with some smaller trees. I started to make a comment about the view being nice, but wondered where the deer were, then I spotted them.
DSCN7999

DSCN8005

After watching each other for a while we continued around the clearing and spotted a third doe.
DSCN8015

Beyond the clearing the trail climbed 0.4-miles to its end at the Chehalem Ridge Trail.

We turned right onto the Chehalem Ridge Trail and followed it for 1.3-miles to the start of the Chehalem Ridge Loop.

Camouflaged stump.

Viewpoint along the Chehalem Ridge Trail.

Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge (post) and Gaston, OR.

DSCN8024
Robin

Post for the Chehalem Ridge Loop.

We paused at the start of the loop to decide if we would hike clockwise or counterclockwise. We decided on counterclockwise and just as we started to move, we spotted another deer.
DSCN8029

DSCN8035

We passed the 1.4-mile Madrona Trail part way around the loop. We had hiked that trail in 2022, but today we didn’t want to add the extra 2.8-miles and 400′ of elevation gain needed to climb back up to the loop.

After completing the loop, we followed the Chehalem Ridge Trail back to the Witches Butter Trail junction and continued on it for another tenth of a mile to its end at Timber Road.

DSCN8037

Witches Butter coming up on the left marked by the railings and the Chehalem Ridge Trail continuing to the right.

Timber Road from the Chehalem Ridge Trail. The pointer on the post ahead is for the Mampaɬ Trail which heads off from Timber Road here to the right.

We turned right onto the Mampaɬ Trail and followed it for a mile to Iowa Hill where the trail loops around an open meadow.

A half mile up the Mampaɬ Trail the Zorzal Trail forks off to the right then loops back to the Mampaɬ Trail two tenths of a mile from this junction. Since we had taken the Zorzal Trail in 2022 we’d missed the 0.2-mile section of the Mampaɬ Trail.

The Zorzal Trail rejoining on the right before the trail crossed Timber Road.

The start of the loop on Iowa Hill.

We hiked the loop clockwise this time and stopped at the stone viewpoint for a break.

Sunlight hitting a field in the valley below.

After a nice break we finished the loop and then made our way back to Timber Road.

A little bit of blue sky over Iowa Hill.

We turned right on Timber Road and followed it downhill 0.6-miles to the Woodland Trail.

We turned right onto the Woodland Trail and followed it 1.4-miles back to Timber Road near the trailhead.

Switchback on the initial climb from Timber Road.

Passing the Castor Trail where we’d come up earlier in the morning.

It wasn’t until we could see the trailhead that the sun finally broke through the clouds enough for us to feel its warmth.

Oregon grape blossoms beginning to form.

Today’s hike came in at 8.6-miles and 750′ of elevation gain.
Screenshot 2026-02-15 132653

While we didn’t get the mostly sunny skies that had been forecast, we did stay dry and we got to see the four deer and a number of birds. Depending on weather this might be our only outing in February, and if so, at least it was a good one. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Chehalem Ridge Nature Park

Tags Castor Trail, Chehalem Mountains, Chehalem Ridge Loop, Chehalem Ridge Nature Park, Chehalem Ridge Trail, Chehalem Ridge Trailhead, hiking, Iowa Hill, Mampaꞎ Trail, Oregon, Timber Road, Witches Butter Trail, Woodland Trail

Hiking Oregon Portland Trip report Willamette Valley

Wildlife Week – Day6: Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge and Fernhill Wetlands 05/02/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date May 4, 2025
4 Comments on Wildlife Week – Day6: Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge and Fernhill Wetlands 05/02/2025

Originally I had planned to do my hike at Finley Wildlife Refuge (post) on the Friday of Wildlife Week, but going into the week the forecast called for rain showers. I rearranged the order to move Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge and Fernhill Wetlands to Friday morning feeling in hopes that I could finish these hikes before 11am when the showers were forecasted to start. By the end of the week the chance of showers had been replaced by mostly sunny skies.

We visited Wapato Lake in February 2024 (post) and had enjoyed the short hike. Located in Gaston, OR the trailhead is just under an hour from Salem. A paved path leads to a footbridge over Wapato Creek and then dikes lead right for 2 miles and left for 0.6. We hadn’t done the full 2-miles to the right in 2024, so I started with that section then hiked to the end of the 0.6-mile section before returning to the car for a total of 5.6-miles with virtually no elevation gain.

All trails are open from February 1st through September 30th, then from October 1st through November 30th the final 1.3-mile stretch to the right (south) is closed, and there is no hiking allowed during hunting season from December 1st to January 31st.

There were a lot of ducks, geese, and herons at the lake along with smaller birds in the surrounding trees.
Geese

Osprey

Killdeer

Meadow checker-mallow

Wood ducks

Northern shovelers

Ducks, geese, and a heron.

Scrunched heron

Stretched heron (same heron)

Sparrow

A different heron and a duck.

Yep, it’s a nutria.

Spotted sandpiper

One of several benches located along the dikes.

American coot

Gadwall

Dove

Crow

American kestrel

Swallow

Cinnamon teals having a disagreement.

End of the trail to the south.

View from the end of the trail.

Wood ducks

Robin

Short billed dowitchers

Green winged teal

Hooded merganser and a gadwall

Ring-necked ducks

Heading to the left (NNE) now.

Red-winged blackbird

Egrets, herons, and ducks.

Great blue heron and egret

Cinnamon teal and northern shoveler

Hooded mergansers and a cinnamon teal

Northern shovelers and a northern pintail on the right.

California quail

End of the trail in this direction.

One thing to note is that the bathroom is currently closed due to budget shortages. Other than that, this was a great hike with a nice variety of wildlife and no other people.

From Gaston it was just a ten-minute drive to Fernhill Wetlands.

We had also been here in February 2024 (post), but not on the same day as Wapato Lake. I did virtually the same route today as on that trip which is described in detail in that trip report.
My 3.3-mile track with minimal elevation gain.

The wildlife was sparser here than it had been on our previous visit, but there were a few species about. I also saw my fourth and fifth Bullock’s oriole of the week. Every one of these I’ve spotted have been while flying past me with their bright orange feathers flashing momentarily only to disappear into a tree or bush. I did have some more cooperative subjects though including the first hummingbird of the week.
Swallow

Osprey

Killdeer

American coot

Mallard

Anna’s hummingbird

A bit of the pink on it’s throat.

Ring-necked ducks
Bald eagle

Gadwalls

Song sparrow

Purple martins

Pied billed grebe

Mallard and ducklings

Mallards

Fringecup

Rabbit

Sandpipers

Ground squirrel

American goldfinch. I’d seen a number of these this week but had only managed a picture of the back of one at Finley Wildlife Refuge.

This was another fun morning of looking for wildlife, but my feet and legs are more than happy that there is only one day of Wildlife Week left. The plan is for Heather to join me on the last hike, and we are hoping to check out a couple of waterfalls before stopping at Fern Ridge Wildlife Area west of Eugene. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Wapato Lake NWR and Fernhill Wetlands

Tags Fernhill Wetlands, Forest Grove, Gaston, hiking, Oregon, Wapato Lake, Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Wildlife, Willamette Valley

Hiking Oregon Portland Trip report Willamette Valley

Wildlife Week – Day 5: Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge and Jackson Bottom Wetlands 05/01/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date May 3, 2025
1 Comment on Wildlife Week – Day 5: Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge and Jackson Bottom Wetlands 05/01/2025

A day after my long hike at William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge (post) I dialed it back a little. For day 5 of my “Wildlife Week” vacation I had two short hikes planned to revisit a pair of wildlife areas along the Tualatin River the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge and Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve.

First up was the Tualatin River NWR. We’d visited this refuge twice previously, first in March 2019 and then again in May 2023. The seasonal trails at this refuge are closed from October 1st through April 30th so today was the first day the Wetlands Loop would be open this year.

I parked at the Roy Rogers Road Trailhead as we had done in 2023 primarily because it was a little closer to Jackson Bottom.

My route utilized portions of the seasonal Wetland Trail and the River Trail to make a loop with a short out-and-back on the Ridgetop Trail. It came to 4.7-miles with about 100′ of elevation gain, most of which was on the Ridgetop Trail.
The orange track is a portion of the Wetland Trail that I had not previously hiked.

Mt. Hood from the Wetlands Trail.

I spotted a couple of deer shortly after setting out.

I believe this is a savannah sparrow.

Geese families

Killdeer

It was just under 40 degrees Fahrenheit when I started, but the forecast called for temperatures to reach 80 by the afternoon.

Geese, goslings, and goose eggs.

Sandpiper

Not sure what type of fish this is but they were thrashing about near the shoreline, and I had seen similar behavior the day before in McFadden Marsh at Finley NWR.

Duck and ducklings

Sleeping nutria

Purple martins and a swallow (bottom left).

Egrets and a great blue heron.

Closer look at the egrets and heron.

Robin

I stopped at the Refuge Headquarters to use the facilities, and this pair of bald eagles arrived at the same time.

The eagles on the tree behind the headquarters.

Mallard

Sandpipers

Riverside Trail

Tualatin River

Song sparrow

Inside-out flower

The Ridgetop Trail to the left. There is a bench and railed overlook but the view is blocked by trees. If there hadn’t been any leaves there may have been a view but today there wasn’t.

The only trillium I saw with any petals left.

Bleeding heart

Northern flicker

I spotted an American kestrel in this snag. I had been hoping to see one during this week’s hikes.

American kestrel

Crow

Northern shoveler

Wildflowers near the trailhead.

Lupine, plectritis, checkerbloom, and golden paintbrush.

Not a huge amount of wildlife here today but the kestrel was a nice addition to the list of species seen this week. This was by far the busiest hike of the week, possibly due to it being the first day of the seasonal trails being open. I was done with the hike at 8am so not only was it busy, they were early birds.

It was a 20-minute drive from the refuge to Jackson Bottom Wetland so it was still fairly early when I arrived at the trailhead.

Our previous visit here was last April (post) and we hiked the majority of trails here during that visit, so this was a near repeat except I went in the opposite direction (clockwise).
This route came to 4.4-miles and just 35′ of elevation gain.

In addition to wildlife the preserve has some nice flower gardens near the visitor center.

Camas

Larkspur

Not a native wildflower but pretty.

Columbine

Rabbit

The look on their faces seems to indicate they were not expecting to see me there.

Going back the other way.

Karaoke

Helpful maps and/or pointers are located at trail junctions.

Swallow

Swallows

Cinnamon Teal

Ring-necked ducks

Purple martins

Canada geese

Jackson Bottom Wetlands Trail passing Oak Island Marsh.

Crow harassing an osprey over Oak Island Marsh.

I thought flamingos were pink.

American coot in NW Pond.

Another napping nutria.

Robin

Gadwall

Egrets at Wapato Marsh.

Great blue heron in Pintail Pond.

Lupine along the trail.

Green winged teal

Heading toward Salamander Slough.

Two turtles and a mallard.

Long billed dowitcher

Cabbage white?

Checkerbloom along the Coyote Hill Trail.

Common yellowthroat

Savannah sparrow

Spotted towhee

Tualatin River

Deer crossing Pintail Pond. I think these are the same three I saw earlier.

I’ve been spotted.

Rabbit on the left along the River Trail.

Salmonberry

Western meadowrue

Wild rose

Stairs leading to the trail on the River Trail.

Jackson Bottom was noticeably less busy than the refuge had been. It was a nice hike with a fairly steady supply of wildlife. These are both good destinations and were a nice addition to wildlife week. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Tualatin River WLR and Jackson Bottom

Tags Coyote Hill Trail, hiking, Hillsboro, Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve, Jackson Bottom Wetlands Trail, NW Pond. Salamander Slough, Oak Island Marsh, Oregon, Pintail Pond, River Trail, tualatin river, Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge, Wapato Marsh, Wetlands Trail, Wildlife

Hiking Oregon Portland Trip report Willamette Valley

Fanno Creek Trail – 04/26/2024

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date April 28, 2025
No Comments on Fanno Creek Trail – 04/26/2024

The Fanno Creek Trail is part of the Tualatin Hills Parks and Recreation District offering several miles of paved trail along Fanno Creek in Beaverton and Tigard. The current trail is 8.3-miles in length with plans to eventually extend the trail between Willamette Park in Portland to the Tualatin River in Durham. The urban trail passes through a number of parks, and we planned on hiking a section that included five such parks. Before starting our hike though we made a short detour to check out Koll Wetlands.

There is no hike at Koll Wetlands, you just park behind some businesses and look for birds and other wildlife.

We arrived too early for decent pictures due to cloud cover limiting light, but we spotted a rabbit and a number of ducks and other birds.

Duck and ducklings along with a killdeer.

After checking out the wetlands we drove to the Denney Road Trailhead.

We headed south on the trail into Fanno Creek Park and followed the paved path 0.7-miles to a crossing of SW Hall Boulevard.

Chickadee

Mallards

Fanno Creek

Thimbleberry and service berry

We crossed SW Hall Boulevard and entered Greenway Park.

Northern flicker

There are several loop options available in this park if the water isn’t too high. The water was low enough today that we were able to stay left at all junctions and only had to navigate a few feet of muddy, flooded trail.

Hummingbird

Red-winged blackbird

Squirrel

The Greenway Loop Trail had the only flooded section on this day.

Wetlands along the Greenway Loop Trail.

Goose

Hooded mergansers

After rejoining the Fanno Creek Trail at the southern end of Greenway Park we passed under SW Scholls Ferry Road.
This is another section that may flood at high water times.

Shortly after passing under the road the trail passes a sign for Englewood Park.

We spent some time here watching a female mallard attempt to join the drakes along with her ducklings only to be repeatedly chased off.

Mallards ducklings

The ducklings finally making it across the trail.

Goose and gosling

Avens

The trail jogged right at a crossing of SW North Dakota Street then crossed SW Tigard St to enter Dirksen Nature Park.

Camas

Dirksen Nature Park

Viewing platform

Wetlands from the viewing platform.

Dove

Finch

Robin

We continued through the nature park and crossed SW Tiedeman Ave. Two tenths of a mile later we arrived at the Woodard Park Trailhead near the park’s playground.

Lupine

Woodard Park Trailhead.

We made this our turnaround point and headed back. We stayed left again in Greenway Park to complete the three loops there. The trail was fairly busy on the way back but not too crowded and there was still quite a bit of wildlife to see.
This may be a lesser goldfinch, I wasn’t able to see anything but its rear end though.

Spotted towhee

Wood duck

Our out-and-back on the Fanno Creek Trail came to 7.1 miles with minimal elevation gain.

This was a nice urban hike, and we can see why it’s popular with all types of trail users. Dirksen Nature Park was a highlight and looked like it would be a great place to bring the kiddos. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Koll Wetlands and the Fanno Creek Trail

Tags Beaverton, Englewood Park, Fanno Creek, Fanno Creek Trail, Greenway Loop Trail, Greenway Park, hiking, Hooded merganser, Koll Wetlands, Koll Wetlands Park, Oregon, Tigard, Wildlife, Wood Duck, Woodard Park

Hiking Oregon Portland Trip report Willamette Valley

Jackson Bottom Wetlands and Rood Bridge Park – 04/20/2024

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date April 22, 2024
2 Comments on Jackson Bottom Wetlands and Rood Bridge Park – 04/20/2024

In the original version of our 2024 hiking schedule we’d planned on visiting Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve and Rood Bridge Park in March, but the thing about wetlands is that they tend to be wet. We’d been waiting for all of the trails at Jackson Bottom to dry out, and according to online reports that had finally happened.

Both the preserve and park are located in the city of Hillsboro with the preserve being home to a nature center open 10am – 4pm seven days a week. We began our day at Jackson Bottom by parking at the south entrance near the nature center. (We did not visit the nature center primarily due to the fact that we finished our hike here before 9:30am.)

A network of trails provides numerous options to explore. For our hike we began on the River Trail at the SW corner of the parking lot.

This trail descended a staircase to a view of the Tualatin River.

The trail follows the river through woods with several varieties of Spring wildflowers.

Camas

Solomonseal

Fawn lilies

Thimbleberry

Giant purple wakerobin

The River Trail ended at the Kingfisher Marsh Loop where we turned right.
The trail signs were very helpful in keeping us on track.

Anna’s hummingbird

Viewpoint overlooking Kingfisher Marsh.

The trail crossed Jackson Slough on a footbridge.

After crossing the slough we turned right on a connector trail that brought us to the Pintail Pond Loop where we once again turned right.
Pintail Pond Loop

American goldfinch

A short distance from the connector trail junction we passed the Ash Trail which was temporarily closed due to unstable conditions.

We would have preferred sticking to the Pintail Pond Trail even if the Ash Trail had been open simply because the Pintail Pond Trail provided constant views of the pond where numerous ducks, geese and other birds could be seen.
Red-winged blackbird

Sparrow

Purple martins

American robin

There is a lot of lupine in the preserve but only a few had started blooming.

There was a connector trail down to the Ash Trail near a covered viewing deck, but again we opted to stay on the pond loop.

We paused near the viewing deck to watch the tree swallows glide around their houses.

Pintail Pond

Northern shoveler drake and a gadwall

Green-winged teal

Geese

Killdeer

At the northern end of the pond we arrived at the Jackson Bottom Wetlands Trail where we turned right.

We followed this trail past the northern end of the Ash Trail to a junction with the Coyote Hill Trail where, you guessed it, we turned right.
More camas

The Ash Trail.

Orange-crowned warbler

Jackson Bottom Wetlands

Can’t emphasize enough how helpful the map/pointer combinations are.

The Coyote Hill Trail doesn’t actually climb a hill, but rather it loops around a meadow with a view of Coyote Hill.

Noisy crow

Mourning dove

Our assumption was that that is Coyote Hill in the distance.

Western buttercups

Some houses on the wetlands border.

Golden-crowned sparrow

The Coyote Hill Trail brought us back to the Jackson Bottom Wetlands Trail near its end. We finally made a left turn and headed back toward Pintail Pond.

End of the trail.

Savannah sparrow

Spotted towhee

Passing Pintail Pond.

We stayed right at junctions following the Jackson Bottom Wetlands Trail to its end at Jackson Bottom North Trailhead.
Wapato Marsh

White-crowned sparrow

American robin

American coot

Ring-necked ducks

Wapato Marsh

Cormorants

Raised viewing platform with many tree swallow photobombs.

This couple was having quite the discussion.

The Bobcat Marsh Trail on the left.

Water treatment pipes at the other end of the Bobcat Marsh Trail.

NW Pond

The trail passed between the NW Pond on the left and Oak Island Marsh on the right.

NW Pond had a variety of waterfowl. This is a northern shoveler drake, ring-necked duck pair, four lesser scaups, and an American coot.

Pied-billed grebe in NW Pond

Lesser scaups

Goose and mallards

Yellow-rumped warbler

The northern trailhead.

Viewing platform at the trailhead.

On the way back we took the Bobcat Marsh Trail which passed Meadow Mouse Marsh.

Cinnamon teal on Meadow Mouse Marsh

Near the southern end of the Bobcat Marsh Trail a pair of geese were nesting on a pole and were noisily fending off a second pair of geese.

After rejoining the Jackson Bottom Wetlands Trail we followed it back to the Kingfisher Marsh Loop where we turned right.
Mt. Hood beyond Wapato Marsh

Back on the Kingfisher Marsh Loop.

We followed this trail to a junction below the Nature Center where we stayed straight at a junction and climbed a small hill to the Nature Center Trail.
The Kingfisher Marsh Loop turned left here.

The trail passed behind the Nature Center to some gardens.

Mason bee house

We followed the Nature Trail down to the River Trail which we followed back to the parking lot. Our hike here came in just under 5 miles with just 50′ of elevation gain. From the parking lot we drove 4.3 miles to Rood Bridge Park (it’s less than 2 miles as the crow flies).

The parking area here is rather large, but we chose to park at the northern end near the playground. From our parking spot we made our way toward the rhododendron garden.

Sign for the rhododendron garden.

Numerous paths loop through the garden, but we stayed mostly to the right as we made our way east to the Woodland Pond.

The Woodland Pond

At the pond we turned right on a paved trail which led us to the Rock Creek Trail.
Heading for the Rock Creek Trail.

Rock Creek from the Rock Creek Trail.

We were familiar with the Rock Creek Trail having hiked its two other segments in May 2022 (post). The eventual plan is for the three current segments to be connected to make a single 8-mile trail. We turned right onto the Rock Creek Trail and followed it to a junction with Lakeside Loop Trail where we took another right.
The maps for the park were a little tougher to follow as most of the trails weren’t named and there were a lot of interconnected short segments.

We followed this paved path past a trail leading downhill to a lake.

We stuck to the paved trail which brought us back to the parking lot and the beginning/end of the Rock Creek Trail.

The junction ahead is where the Rock Creek Trail beings/end according to the Rock Creek Trail maps. Maps of Rood Bridge Park simply refer to this as part of the “Main Trail Loop”, if they label it at all.

We followed the Rock Creek Trail downhill past a sign for a watercraft launch along the Tualatin River. The trail then followed the river before arriving at junction with the Lollipop Loop.

Mallards

Footbridge at the start of the Lollipop Loop.

We crossed Rock Creek on the footbridge and quickly found ourselves climbing a short but steepish hill to a forested ridge. The loop began a short distance after the trail flattened out.

As we had for most of the day we went right when the trail split and followed the path through the woods. There were several use trails cutting through the center of the loop as well as some spur trails leading to nearby homes, so it took some trial and error to find the “official” trail. We managed to only veer off course once, but we spent a fair amount of time pondering which way to go at several junctions. The highlight of this loop was the abundance of trillium. We were just catching the tail end of the bloom, but it was impressive.
There was a fair amount of Oregon grape as well.

Violets and trillium

After completing the loop we returned to the Rock Creek Trail, turning right and climbing back to the junction where we’d turned onto the Lakeside Loop earlier.

Western meadowrue

Fawn lilies

We veered right off of the paved trail onto a dirt path since it was a much more inviting surface.

The dirt path rejoined the paved path behind the Rhododendron Garden and playground.

We continued on the Rock Creek Trail as it passed behind the playground area and descended back down to Rock Creek on what was now a dirt/gravel trail.

Sparrow

Footbridge over Rock Creek.

Just over 100 yards beyond the footbridge the trail arrived at S 1st Avenue where the segment currently ends.

We turned around at street and headed back, taking a somewhat muddy spur trail that ran parallel to the main trail for 0.2 tenths of a mile just to change things up on the way back. When we got back to the Rhododendron Garden we passed through again on different paths to see more of the plants.
Left is the dirt path we’d taken earlier, straight is the Rock Creek Trail, and right led to the Rhododendron Garden.

This hike was approximately 2.5-miles with 100′ or so of elevation gain giving us just under 7.5-miles and 150′ of elevation gain for the day.
Jackson Bottom on the left and Rood Bridge to the right.

Both of these destinations would be great for kids. (Note dogs and bicycles are not allowed at Jackson Bottom.) We enjoyed Jackson Bottom a little more given the wildlife, but Rood Bridge was a nice park and the trillium display along the Lollipop Loop will not be forgotten. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Jackson Bottom Wetlands and Rood Bridge Park

Tags Bobcat Marsh Trail, Cinnamon Teal, Coyote Hill Loop, hiking, Hillsboro, Jackson Bottom, Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve, Jackson Bottom Wetlands Trail, Kingfisher Marsh Loop, Nature Center Trail, Oregon, Pintail Pond, River Trail, Rock Creek Trail, Rood Bridge Park, Trillium, Wapato Marsh

Coastal Range Hiking Oregon Portland Trip report Willamette Valley

Ki-a-Kuts Falls Fernhill Wetlands – 02/24/2024

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date February 26, 2024
3 Comments on ~~Ki-a-Kuts Falls~~ Fernhill Wetlands – 02/24/2024

A mostly sunny, near 60-degree forecast, looked too good to pass up so we decided to head out and attempt a pair of short hikes in the Oregon Coast Ranges Tillamook State Forest. Our first stop was along Maple Creek Road for a hike to Ki-a-Kuts Falls.
Sunrise from the trailhead.

Clear cut at the trailhead.

The old alignment of the road was said to be located approximately 80 yards from the trailhead, but it appears that between time, storms, and logging operations the old road has become far less obvious.
This was the view through the forest from Maple Creek Road around the 80-yard mark.

We hiked further up Maple Creek Road and checked for a way down to the old alignment, but in the end decided that the slick conditions combined with the amount of blowdown on the hillsides would have made for a much more challenging hike than we were looking to tackle.
We could hear the Tualatin River in the valley below and I managed to get far enough down the hill to get a glimpse of the water. I had descended from a pullout with a fire ring about 50-75′ looking for the old roadbed, but I still couldn’t make out where it actually was and had been slipping a lot on wet wood.

After climbing back up to Heather I called an audible and we turned to Plan B. The second hike we’d originally planned on was a 1.5-mile out and back further into the forest to visit Stairstep Falls, a rapid more than a fall, that requires fording the 25 yard wide Middle Fork North Fork Trask River. We decided against attempting that hike because it would effectively end our hiking day by leaving the only pair of hiking shoes I’d brought soaked. That was fine when it was going to be the final hike of our day, but we wanted to get a little more than 2.5-miles in. (We’d done close to 1 looking for the way to Ki-a-Kuts Falls.)

I’d known going in that there was a chance that we’d need to turn to Plan B because the most recent trip reports I could find for Ki-a-Kuts Falls was from 2014. That Plan B had been Fernhill Wetlands. Located in Forest Grove, OR the trailhead was just 26-miles from where we were. We drove back to Yamhill and then headed North on Highway 47 to the Fernhill Wetlands Trailhead.

Map and information at the trailhead.

There are several loops possible at the wetlands and we hoped to maximize these, so we headed south along Fernhill Marsh.

Starling

Lenticular clouds over Mt. Hood in the distance.

Our first wildflower of the year is Indian plum in 2024.

Egret

Path at Fernhill Wetlands.

We stayed straight at a junction with a path between Fernhill Marsh and Cattail Marsh.
Gazebo overlooking Cattail Marsh.

Great blue heron on a post above Cattail Marsh.

American coot

At the next junction we turned left between Cattail and Eagles Perch Marshes.

Another great blue heron.

Red-winged blackbird

Hawk flying over Eagles Perch Marsh.

Fittingly at the far end of the marsh were a pair of bald eagles.

We turned right and walked along Eagles Perch Marsh for a tenth of a mile to a gate along SW Geiger Rd.

Ring-necked ducks

Buffleheads

This one might be a hooded merganser?

After turning around we headed north passing Cattail Marsh and arriving at Fernhill Lake.

Fernhill Lake

The trail bent eastward along the lake to a gazebo overlooking Barney Wetlands. From the gazebo we watched a flock of tundra swans. This was our second outing in a row (Wapato Lake) seeing tundra swans after not ever having seen them on a hike prior.
This is where the trail turned east (for obvious reasons).

Barney wetlands

There were also quite a few ruddy ducks here which we don’t often see.

After a good long break watching the swans we continued around Fernhill Lake to Dabblers Marsh.
Double-crested cormorant on a post in Barney Wetlands.

Double-crested cormorant

Drying off in the sun.

Nurtia at a bench near Dabblers Marsh

Nutria

Dabblers Marsh

Green-winged teal

Great blue heron

Pie-billed grebe

We turned west between Fernhill Lake and Dabblers Marsh and came to a nice view of the lake and the start of the Dabblers Marsh Loop Trail.

We turned onto the woodchip path along Dabblers Marsh and followed pointers to a loop around some farmland.

Robin

The start of the loop at the edge of the farmland. We stayed left opting to hike the loop clockwise.

Anna’s hummingbrid

A gaggle of geese in the field.

American kestrels manning their posts.

Purple dead-nettle

More geese coming in for a landing.

Near the end of the loop the trail left the field along Dabblers Marsh.

Spotted towhee

Rabbit

After completing the loop and returning to Fernhill Lake we did a loop through the Water Gardens.
Geese on Fernhill Lake

Mallard drake

Mallard female

Water Gardens

Northern shovelers, a mallard, and a coot.

Oregon grape beginning to bloom.

Northern shoveler

Green-winged teal pair

Path along the Research Wetlands.

Egret near the parking lot at Fernhill Marsh

Looking back at the Research Wetlands from the near the trailhead.

We managed to get 3.7-miles in at the wetlands and saw a lot of birds and other animals. While there were quite a few more folks here than we’d seen on our previous hike at nearby Wapato Lake Wildlife Refuge, it never felt too busy. Plan B had earned an A+ in our books. Happy Trails!

Hiking Oregon Portland Trip report Willamette Valley

Forest Park (Germantown Road to Newberry Road) – 02/03/2024

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date February 5, 2024
No Comments on Forest Park (Germantown Road to Newberry Road) – 02/03/2024

Warm weather and possible blue sky prompted us to head out for our February hike the first day we had off. While the very recent weather had been unseasonably warm the Willamette Valley, and especially the Portland area, was still recovering from January’s Winter storm. We had changed our planned January hike due to storm damage in Portland’s Forest Park and found ourselves looking to change our planned February hike now as well.

We had originally planned on visiting some wetlands west of Portland but flooding from the ice storm and heavy rains that followed had left some of those trails flooded. A quick check of the current trail conditions at Forest Park revealed that there were no closures/detours listed for the area of the park we had planned to hike the previous week so that became our Plan B.

We had hiked in the 5200-acre Forest Park on five previous occasions with each hike including part of the approximately 30-mile Wildwood National Recreation Trail. The trail begins in Washington Park’s Hoyt Arboretum (post) and ends at Newberry Road to the NW. Our previous outings had covered all but approximately 3.3-miles of the Wildwood Trail between the arboretum and Germantown Road (post). A 2022 visit to the Pittock Mansion via the Wildwood Trail (post) connected to the hike from Hoyt Arboretum and to a 2020 loop starting on Leif Erickson Drive from Thurman Street (post). A 2019 loop from the Lower Saltzman Road Trailhead (post) didn’t connect to any of the other hikes leaving a 1.3-mile gap in the Wildwood Trail between the Maple Trail and Nature Trail junctions, and a 2-mile gap between Firelanes 5 and 7A.

We were missing all of the Wildwood Trail between Germantown Road and Newberry Road though, so that was the goal of today’s hike. We decided to start at the Germantown Road Trailhead as opposed to the Newberry Road Trailhead which was a choice we would regret later. We were the third car at the Germantown Road Trailhead at 7:15am.
Some of the damage from the ice storm at the trailhead.

One of the nice things about Forest Park is the numerous loops that are possible off of the Wildwood Trail which allows one to avoid straight out-and-back hikes. There is a price for the loops which is paid in the currency of elevation gain. The route I’d planned for the day included three loops beginning at the trailhead where instead of taking the Wildwood Trail we took the Connector Trail to the Cannon Trail and followed it downhill to the Leif Erickson Drive North Trailhead.
Sign for the Connector Trail at the trailhead.

Cannon Trail

From the Leif Erickson Trailhead we crossed Germantown Road at the gate for Firelane 9 then hiked uphill along the shoulder of Germantown Road just over 100 yards to Firelane 10.
Firelane 9 across from the trailhead.

Firelane 10

We followed Firelane 10 downhill to a stream crossing then climbed to a junction with the Linnton Trail.

Unsurprisingly the recent weather had most of the stream beds flowing which we hadn’t witnessed on our other visits.

Heading up to the junction.

The Linnton Trail heads down a ridge to the Linnton Trailhead.

We turned left at the junction sticking to Firelane 10 which climbed back up to the Wildwood Trail. The 1.7-mile detour from the Germantown Trailhead came with an elevation loss of 375′ and gain of 550′.

We passed the Keyser Trail which rejoins Firelane 10 just a quarter mile ahead. We stuck to Firelane 10 which climbed very steeply in that quarter mile leading us to believe the Keyser Trail may have been a little more gradual as the map showed it bowing away from Firelane 10 before rejoining.

The first of only three trees that were still down over the trails we hiked. In the distance is a Wildwood Trail sign at the junction.

We turned right onto the Wildwood Trail and followed it for just over a mile to the BPA Road.

The trail repeatedly bows into the hillside to cross creek beds.

We passed three pointers for Newton Road and then crossed Newton Road along this section of the Wildwood Trail. We would be using Newton Road to make another small loop on our way back.

The Wildwood Trail crossing Newton Road.

Not all of the junctions have maps, but most of the major ones do to help keep hikers and runners on track (or to give them more ideas).

Climbing up to the BPA Road crossing.

The BPA Road heading uphill with the Wildwood Trail we’d just come up to the right.

We turned off of the Wildwood Trail here and took a right onto the BPA Road. After a brief climb the BPA Road dropped to a saddle where Firelane 12 joined from the left at the Fix-the-Hole plaque.

Firelane 12 on the left.

The middle of three plaques commemorating the 1999 acquisition of 73-acres that was in danger of being developed.

We turned left onto Firelane 12 and descended for half a mile to Firelane 15 near another unnamed creek.

Once again varied thrush 1 – Deryl 0. If I was keeping score, it would probably be something like 179-10.

Firelane 15 on the left ahead.

We turned left onto Firelane 15 and climbed over 230′ in 0.4-miles to the Wildwood Trail.
The small creek along Firelane 15.

Blue sky and powerlines above Firelane 15.

Wildwood Trail crossing Firelane 15.

We turned right onto the Wildwood Trail once again and followed it nearly 1.8-miles to its end at Newberry Road. There were no firelanes or side trails along this final stretch of the Wildwood Trail.

The fanciest bridge we crossed all day.

Why is the trail way down there when the road is up above on the far hillside?

Woolly bear

Climbing to Newberry Road just to say we made it to the end of the Wildwood Trail.

Newberry Road Trailhead.

After a brief break at the trailhead we headed back. We stuck to the Wildwood Trail passing both Firelane 15 and the BPA Road. Just under 4-miles from Newberry Road we arrived at Newton Road were we turned right and left the Wildwood Trail.

Another sub-par bird photo, but it took us quite a while just to spot this woodpecker who was way up in the treetops (and mostly in the shade).

Crossing Firelane 15.

Another blurry bird. This one a wren, one of many we heard but the only one we were able to spot.

Uprooted trees along the Wildwood Trail.

Newton Road to the right of the Wildwood Trail.

We turned uphill onto Newton Road and followed it just over half a mile to the Newton Road Trailhead where we paused to use the facilities.
Mile marker along Newton Road.

Douglas squirrel

One of several small habitat restoration study areas along Newton Road.

The Newton Road Trailhead in the distance.

After our break at this trailhead we followed Firelane 10 at the far end of the parking area 0.2-miles to the Wildwood Trail.

It was just over three quarters of a mile on the Wildwood Trail from Firelane 10 to the Germantown Road Trailhead.
One of only two benches we saw all day.

Cars parked along Germantown Road in the distance.

According to the Garmin our hike was 12.2 miles with approximately 2200′ of elevation gain. A good challenge for us this early in the year. (Our feet were not too happy with us.)

Despite the challenge it had been a nice hike with excellent weather, and while Forest Park is much busier than many of the trails we visit it never really feels too crowded.

While our experience on the trails had been good we arrived back at our car to find that people had parked along a fence behind us in the parking lot which didn’t leave us enough room to back out from between the cars on either side of us. We hadn’t expected anyone to park there because of the lack of room, but we should have known better. We spent the next half hour or so waiting for the owners of any of the three cars parked around us to return and set us free. (Although the SUV parked on our right was most likely going to be in the same predicament we were.) Fortunately the people that had parked directly behind us returned and we were able to escape. There have been other times I worried about having the car get trapped, but until today it had just been my own paranoia. Hopefully we will choose our parking spots more carefully in the future. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Northern Forest Park

Tags BPA Road, Cannon Trail, Connector Trail, Firelane 10, Firelane 12, Firelane 15, Forest Park, Germantown Road Trailhead, hiking, Leif Erickson Northern Trailhead, Linnton Trail, Newberry Road Trailhead, Newton Road, Newton Road Trailhead, Oregon, Portland, Wildwood Trail