Tryon Creek Inner Loop Hike
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
- Start point: Tryon Creek Trailhead
- End point: Tryon Creek High Bridge
- Hike type: Loop
- Distance: 2.1 miles
- Elevation gain: 320 feet
- High point: 265 feet
- Difficulty: Easy
- Seasons: All year
- Family Friendly: Yes
- Backpackable: No
- Crowded: Yes
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Hike Description
The easiest way to see Tryon Creek State Park is to grab a map at the Nature Center, which is located at the main trailhead, and explore on your own schedule, heading back to the trailhead when you are ready. There isn't really anything other than the creek itself that is a "must-see", so any hike you do, you won't have to walk away feeling like you missed something. However, the route described below keeps you inside of the park, but on both sides of the creek, to offer a good quick foray any time of the year. If you are planning to hike here in the wet season, you may want to strongly consider bringing shoes that you don't mind getting muddy and possibly a clean change for the car. The park has special trails for bicyclists and horses, and is also popular with joggers, but this route keeps you on trails for hikers only.
The park is named after Socrates Tryon, Jr., who owned these 645 acres in the mid-19th century and then sold out to the Oregon Iron Company in 1874. The forests here were heavily logged by Lake Oswego's iron industry for charcoal production.
Go left at the Nature Center, and then keep right at the junction with the Ruth Pennington Trillium Trail to continue on the very wide path of the Old Main Trail through the lush woods of hemlock, maple, and Douglas-fir. At the junction with the Red Fox Trail, turn left and make four switchbacks down to cross the Red Fox Bridge over Tryon Creek; then head up to the junction with the South Creek Trail. There are views of the alder and maple-shaded creek down to the left and right. Stay right on the Red Fox Trail, and wind up to the junction with the Cedar Trail, marked by an old sign.
Make a left on the Cedar Trail, a more natural hiking trail that follows a ridge and then contours above Tryon Creek. The trail levels on a bluff and then drops into a gully and crosses a footbridge. Then the path rises on steps and passes a large stump before heading through a salmonberry thicket. Pacific waterleaf carpets the forest floor here. The tread rises to the junction with the Hemlock Trail, where you bear right to keep on the Cedar Trail. Down to the right is a seasonal pool dominated by a large cottonwood. The trail drops to Bunk Bridge, which crosses Park Creek. Then it traverses up and makes a level traverse under cedars and maples. A spur leads left to a hollow cedar log. Keep straight to cross the West Horse Trail, and descend the wooded slope to cross the West Horse Loop again and join the Middle Creek Trail in a bottomland of cedar and alder. The Beaver Bridge is to your right, but keep left to hike along Tryon Creek and arrive at the High Bridge.
Several trails meet on both sides of the bridge. Look for crawdads in the creek as you cross the High Bridge. Stay on the Middle Creek Trail to the right, and ascend the bluff above the creek. Soon you'll reach a junction, where you should stay left on the Maple Ridge Trail. This trail passes a connector to the North Horse Loop and swings right to pass above the Glenn Jackson Shelter, which offers views over the leafy mixed forest of this urban state park. The path becomes paved before it reaches the Nature Center.
Fees, Regulations, etc.
- Dogs on leash
- Bicycles on paved trails only
- Open dawn to dusk
- Nature Center open 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily
- Picnic area near Nature Center
- Brochures available at various trailheads, bridges, and junctions.
Maps
- Maps: Hike Finder
- Tryon Creek Trail Map (Oregon State Parks)
- Southwest Portland Walk Map (Portland Bureau of Transportation)
- Oregon State Parks: Tryon Creek State Natural Area (brochure available at the park)
Trip Reports
- Search Trip Reports for Tryon Creek Inner Loop Hike
Related Discussions / Q&A
- Search Trail Q&A for Tryon Creek Inner Loop Hike
Guidebooks that cover this hike
Note that each of the guidebooks below offers a somewhat different itinerary around the state park:
- A Forest in the City: Your Guide to Tryon Creek State Park by Friends of Tryon Creek
- 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Portland by Paul Gerald
- Take a Hike: Portland by Barbara I. Bond
- 100 Hikes: Northwest Oregon by William L. Sullivan
- Discovering Portland Parks by Owen Wozniak
- Oregon Hiking by Matt Wastradowski
- Pacific Northwest Hiking by Craig Hill & Matt Wastradowski
- Afoot & Afield: Portland/Vancouver by Douglas Lorain
- Best Hikes with Children: Western & Central Oregon by Bonnie Henderson
- Portland Hikes by Art Bernstein & Andrew Jackman
- 50 Hiking Trails: Portland & Northwest Oregon by Rob & Roberta Lowe
- Best Easy Day Hikes: Portland, Oregon by Lizann Dunegan
- Peaceful Places: Portland by Paul Gerald
- Nature Walks In and Around Portland by Karen & Terry Whitehill
- Oregon Hiking by Sean Patrick Hill
- Pacific Northwest Hiking by Scott Leonard & Sean Patrick Hill
- Best Trail Runs: Portland, Oregon by Adam W. Chase, Nancy Hobbs, and Yassine Dibboun
- Off-Street Paved Bike Paths in Oregon by Rick Branson
- Oregon State Parks: A Complete Recreation Guide by Jan Bannan
- Best Hikes With Dogs: Oregon by Ellen Morris Bishop
- The Dog Lover's Companion to Oregon by Val Mallinson
- Canine Oregon by Lizann Dunegan
More Links
- Tryon Creek State Natural Area (Oregon State Parks)
- Friends of Tryon Creek
- Tryon Creek State Natural Area (Wikipedia)
- Tryon Creek State Park, Cedar Trail Hike (Hiking Project)
- Tryon Creek State Park (Portland Family Adventures)
- A Playground for the Senses: Tryon Creek State Park (Red Tricycle)
- Tryon Creek State Park (Backpacker Northwest)
- Tryon Creek Loop (Hiking Project)
- Tryon Creek State Park - Hiking (Roots Rated)
- "Oregon Top 5: Best Portland hikes for hipster and non hipster alike" (Statesman Journal)
- Tryon Creek (Northwest Wildflowers)
Contributors
- Martell (creator)