Revision as of 16:24, 21 June 2018

Georgia Pacific locomotive and black walnut tree, Avery Park (bobcat)

On the Wildflower Trail, Avery Park (bobcat)

Poison larkspur (Delphinium trollifolium), Avery Park (bobcat)

The loop around Avery Park, Corvallis (not a GPS track) (bobcat) Courtesy: Google Maps

• Start point: Avery Park Trailhead
• End Point: Lions Kitchen
• Trail Log:
• Hike Type: Loop
• Distance: 1.3 miles
• Elevation gain: 30 feet
• High Point: 225 feet
• Difficulty: Easy
• Seasons: All year
• Family Friendly: Yes
• Backpackable: No
• Crowded: No

Description

Avery Park, located in a bend of the Marys River, is a leafy haven with many of the usual park amenities although the petting zoo, which included a non-petting bear pit, was closed many years ago. In addition, however, there's a formal rose garden and a trail that leads through native woods above the river: in the spring, forest wildflowers, including poison larkspur, cow parsnip, fringe-cup, sweet cicely, wild rose and woods violet, bloom here in profusion. This park has everything for a family with young children, but others should consider stopping by for a picnic and a slow amble. The area was first the property of J.C. Avery, the founding father of Corvallis, and later the woods here became the venue for outdoor forestry classes before the area was converted to a city park.

Cross the street from the parking lot and walk through the Corvallis Rose Garden toward an avenue of sequoias. Pass millstones brought in from Kings Valley and walk out to the road bridge for a view of the Marys River. Thick vegetation, primarily big-leaf maple, Oregon ash, willow, and red osier dogwood, cloaks the river banks. Take a muddy trail just before the bridge to walk anti-clockwise around the park. This is the beginning of the Wildflower Trail.

The trail heads parallel to the river banks on a wide meander of the Marys River. It is densely shaded by maples, ash, and Douglas-firs. Pass the parking area for the Maple Grove Picnic Area. In spring, the cow parsnip is blooming and so are fringe-cup and tall poison larkspur. Cedars, oaks, and grand firs complete the canopy. At a T-junction, a spur leads right down to the river and a stone platform that used to be the site of a canoe rental operation. These days, it’s a summer sunning spot and swimming hole. Continue around to reach the maintenance yard at the end of the Wildflower Trail.

Walk past the district parks offices, open weekdays, and up a road. To the left are a playground, restrooms and a soggy, grassy expanse with a line of oaks. Pass a house on the right and pick up a trail leading into the woods where the road begins to rise past blooming rhododendrons. You can see the horseshoe pits to the left. Part of the trail is lined by a fence here and there are steep, slippery spurs leading down to the river. Drop down steps and up out of a shallow, muddy gully. The trail turns sharply left at the park boundary and heads along a hedgerow that serves as a backdrop to camas lilies in the spring. The horseshoe pits are to the left and you soon enter a grassy field with a Community Garden sign although there’s no community garden in sight. Reach a paved road and cross it to walk across an oak-shaded lawn. To the right are the Lions Kitchen Picnic Shelter, with its huge table crafted from a single slab of 600-year-old Douglas-fir, and the Avery House Nature Center. Down to the left, you can see the dinosaur bones play structure. Walk towards a Georgia Pacific locomotive, driven here for display on tracks specially laid down in 1960, near a huge spreading black walnut tree. From here, head straight out to the road, where you can pick up a sidewalk and head left back to the parking area. There’s a kiosk here which explains the Applegate Trail and early settler history.

Fees, Regulations, etc.

• No fee
• Dogs on leash
• Interpretive sign
• Restrooms, picnic area, children's play area, swimming hole

Maps

• Maps: Hike Finder
• Avery Park (Corvallis Parks & Recreation)

Trip Reports

• Search Trip Reports for Avery Park Loop Hike

Related Discussions / Q&A

• Search Trail Q&A for Avery Park Loop Hike

Guidebooks that cover this hike

• Corvallis Trails by Margie C. Powell
• A Guide to Trails in the Corvallis Area by Phillip R. Hays
• Canine Oregon by Lizann Dunegan

More Links

• Avery Park and Natural Area (Corvallis Parks & Recreation)
• Rose Garden in Avery Park (Corvallis Parks & Recreation)
• Avery Park Loop (Every Trail)
• "Lions, Kigers and bears in Avery Park" (Corvallis Gazette-Times)

Page Contributors

• bobcat (creator)