GoalTechHikes Oaks Bottom Refuge - "A Gem in the City" 041418

This forum is used to share your experiences out on the trails.
Post Reply
User avatar
mjirving
Posts: 1185
Joined: July 5th, 2011, 10:40 am

GoalTechHikes Oaks Bottom Refuge - "A Gem in the City" 041418

Post by mjirving » April 14th, 2018, 3:19 pm

2018.09 - Oaks Bottom Refuge
“A gem in the city” 

4/14/18
Rating: 2.5 Stars

Miles: 5.3
Time: 1 hrs, 55 min
Avg MPH: 2.7
Elev Min: 10’
Elev Max: 120’
Total Ascent: 255’
Steps: 10,500
Flights of Stairs: 8
Time Up: 5:00am
Start Time: 6:00am
Temp Low: 47
Temp High: 49
Other hikers: 0 (30 people on corridor path)
Longest time without seeing a hiker/person: 45 min
Wildlife: Wide variety of birds, Deer, Mallard duck
Parking Permit Required: No
Parking Lot: Sellwood Park ~50 spaces
Bathrooms: Port-o-potty

Bluff Trail * Oaks Bottom Lake * Deer * Tadpole Pond * River Trail * Springwater Corridor * Oaks Park 

Opening Shot: Oaks Park ferris wheel across Oaks Bottom Lake
Image

I’ve had this local hike on my list for some time. I didn’t have high expectations, so it had never made it to the top of the list. I didn’t have much time today, so it finally made it to the top. 

I got to Sellwood Park right at civil twilight to start my hike at 6:00am. I dropped down the trail from the parking lot and went counter-clockwise, starting my loop on the Bluff Trail. As I wrapped around Oaks Bottom Lake, the morning birds were in full song. 
Image

The trail was exceeding my expectations with it really feeling like I was outside the city. Here is a clip of the morning bird-song taken from a nice viewing platform. 
Oaks Bottom Lake from Michael Irving on Vimeo.

I passed the back side of the Portland Mausoleum which has a series of massive murals to make it better blend in to the refuge. 
Image

The trail was in excellent shape with multiple raised boardwalks going right along the shoreline of the lake. 
Image

I saw a deer that was pretty habituated and unafraid of my presence. 
Image

After the Bluff Trail ends, the tread switches to pavement and spurs out to an alternate trailhead with 9 parking spots and a port-o-potty. After going out and back on this 0.4 mile extra extension of my hike, I cut across and around the Tadpole Ponds where I saw a mallard duck. 
Image

I continued on, but took a short detour on a connector trail back to the Bluff Trail and back. Then I crossed under the railroad tracks and went back to trail tread on the River Trail that follows the Willamette River north towards Portland along the Holgate Channel. I was surprised to see so many boats anchored in the channel, certainly not a bad place to spend the night. I even saw a morning sculler headed south. 
Image

This part of the trail was a tad muddy, but quite manageable. After about 15 minutes, the trail reconnected with the paved Springwater Corridor Path to head back south to Oaks Park. This wasn’t terribly interesting, but it at least accomplished my goal of not repeating my footsteps. 
Image

I did see my only flowers of the day, so far, in the blackberry bushes on this stretch. 
Image

The path runs right next to the railroad tracks and along the opposite side of the lake. Here is another view of the murals on the back of the Portland Mausoleum. 
Image

I approached Oaks Park and got to see the brand new roller coaster they just installed. 
Image

Right at the coaster, I crossed back under the railroad, went out and back a connector trail to the Bluff Trail, and then back to the trail leading back up to the parking lot. I saw one more set of flowers to complete my hike. 
Image

Summary:
This trail actually exceeded my expectations as it was really quite nice in the refuge sections; a real gem next to downtown. The only downer was having to spend a fair bit of time on the asphalt Springwater Corridor path, which knocked it down a peg for me. The Bluff Trail was the best. This would be a great hike while killing time waiting for others at Oaks Park. 

Favorite experience of the day:
All the birds singing along the Bluff Trail along Oaks Bottom Lake at dawn

Least favorite experience of the day:
The paved Springwater Corridor path

Today's elevation:
Image

Google Earth with Track:
Image

GPS Track:
https://www.gaiagps.com/datasummary/tra ... ikingmapHD

-GoalTech (aka Mike)
www.GoalTechHikes.com
@goaltechhikes (Instagram)

Post Reply