Summerlake Park Loop Hike
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
- Start point: Summerlake Park Trailhead
- End Point: East Summer Lake
- Hike Type: Loop
- Distance: 1.0 miles
- Elevation gain: 20 feet
- High Point: 185 feet
- Difficulty: Easy
- Seasons: All year
- Family Friendly: Yes
- Backpackable: No
- Crowded: Sometimes
Contents |
Description
This park, just off of Scholls Ferry Road in Tigard, holds a lake and wetland along with various other facilities, including an off-leash dog park, baseball field, tennis courts, a playground, a picnic shelter, and a rhododendron garden. This is a good birdwatching spot, especially for waterfowl. Look for flotillas of common mergansers, American wigeons, and mallards in the cool months.
From the parking area, walk through the rhododendron garden and then down to a trail above an alder and willow bottomland. Go left here and then head right to cross the footbridge below Winterlake Drive. Take the paved path along the north side of Summer Lake. Scan the waters and islands for bird life. To your left, suburban residences front the park’s lawns. At a junction, go right to look for birds from the footbridge that crosses the channel between the two halves of the lake.
Return to the junction, and continue around the lake. An old weeping willow above a picnic table adds an accent to the scene. Cross a third footbridge in a thicket of alder and willow. Head past the children’s playground, and then drop off the paved trail to walk through the patch of woodland on the south side of lake. Douglas-fir and western red-cedar predominate here. Reach the alder/willow bottomland and head back up to the parking area.
Fees, Regulations, etc.
- Dogs on leash; there is a fenced off-leash area
- Park open dawn to dusk
Maps
Trip Reports
- Search Trip Reports for Summerlake Park Loop Hike
Related Discussions / Q&A
- Search Trail Q&A for Summerlake Park Loop Hike
Guidebooks that cover this hike
- Exploring the Tualatin River Basin by Tualatin Riverkeepers
- Off-Street Paved Bike Paths in Oregon by Rick Bronson
- The Dog Lover's Companion to Oregon by Val Mallinson
More Links
- Summerlake Park (Tigard Parks)
- "Visit Summer Lake Park in Tigard OR : A Great Place for Everyone" (Yahoo! Voices)
Page Contributors
- bobcat (creator)