Cedar Mill-Johnson Creek Loop Hike

Cedar Mill Falls, Cedar Mill Creek (bobcat)

Pedestrian overpass on Cedar Hills Boulevard, George Foege Park (bobcat)

Japanese maple, George Foege Park (bobcat)

Old beaver dam, North Johnson Creek (bobcat)

File:NorthJohnsonCreekTrailMap.png

Trails near Cedar Mill Creek and North Johnson Creek in Cedar Mill (not a GPS track) (bobcat) Courtesy: Google Maps

Start point: Cedar Mill Trailhead at Cedar Mill Bible Church
End Point: Merritt Woods Natural Area
Trail Log:
Hike Type: Loops and connector
Distance: 5.1 miles
Elevation gain: 350 feet
High Point: 395 feet
Difficulty: Easy
Seasons: All year
Family Friendly: Yes
Backpackable: No
Crowded: No

Cedar Mill is a rapidly developing suburb north of Beaverton: the area was settled early and this hike takes you past a historic home associated with the 19th century mill and the small waterfall on Cedar Creek. Loops are possible on urban trails leading up North Johnson Creek and Cedar Mill Creek and, while there are some busy streets to walk along (Cornell Road, Cedar Mill Boulevard, Barnes Road), there are several quiet wooded refuges to enjoy.

Walk out of the church parking lot to the 1869 John Quincy Adams Young House, which is boarded up and not open to visitors. Then, follow the sidewalk along Cornell Road to a sign announcing the Jones Mill site and the Larry Vincent Memorial Bridge: a short boardwalk here leads in for a closer look at Cedar Mill Creek and Cedar Mill Falls. The Jones Cedar Mill operated from 1855 - 1891 and was begun by John Halsey Jones and his father, Justus. In 1869, it was sold to J.Q.A. Young and William Everson. The house served as a post office and grocery store as well as a residence. The falls are not impressive but look picturesque with fall color. Cedars, maples and hazel shade the area as traffic rushes by.

Keep walking along the sidewalk and cross 118th (or head in to cross the pedestrian bridge overhead), then head into the Timber Ridge apartments on the far side of 118th. Take the steps leading up and go left on a paved walk, turning right where the walk heads east along Cornell. This walk takes you above Cornell, with views across to the Cedar Mill Creek bottomlands, to a cul-de-sac. Here, keep straight up into George Foege Park.

The paved trail leads across a lawn to a large pedestrian bridge over Cedar Hills Boulevard. Go right in another section of George Foege Park and descend the hill with Cedar Hills on your right. Reach the sidewalk and go left on Leahy Road, walk one block and go right on 112th Avenue. Cross Johnson Creek and head up 112th to go right where a right-of-way leads one block to a second large pedestrian bridge over Cedar Hills Boulevard. Here’s another patch of George Foege Park. A loop trail leads around a lawny expanse and play structures. In fall, a line of yellowing poplars highlights larger cedars and Douglas-firs behind. Head down and back to the sidewalk on Cedar Hills. At the dip, there is a view across large wetlands to the right. Cross Cedar Hills past the Kinder Care Learning Center to pick up the North Johnson Creek Trail where it drops below Celeste Lane.

This paved trail leads down below Cedar Hills Boulevard and then bends left above the creek in the shadows of the massive condos of the new Deveraux Glen development. Cedars, grand fir, big-leaf maple, Douglas-fir, hawthorn and some oaks populate the creek bottom. There are views of the creek, where you may notice a couple of beaver dams. Reach Valeria View Drive and go left. Then cross Valeria to Taylor and head up the left side of Taylor into the Peterkort Woods Development to pick up the North Johnson Creek Trail again rising up a creek valley to the left in Merritt Woods Natural Area. You'll see a lot of snags and blowdown in this valley. Keep along the creek and reach an unpaved wood chip trail leading up steps at a junction . The North Johnson Creek Trail heads left over a pedestrian bridge and snakes through a cedar grove to S.W. Washington Street.

Return the junction to pick up the wood chip trail (Creekside Run) as it leads up along a fence line (Signs say: Do not leave the trail). The trail reaches the Peterkort Woods development. Go right and walk above Merritt Woods Natural Area. Pass a gazebo and then, at a corner, take a path between complexes to Taylor Street at a junction with Windwood Way. Cross Taylor Street and head up Windwood a few yards to resume the trail on your left; the path heads down the edge of the property along Peterkort Woods. The route undulates along a creek valley and is bounded by a white fence. There are beaver ponds and great blue herons. Dead trees drowned by beaver activity abound. The trail rises to Windwood Way, where you go left for 15 yards and then left again on Taylor and down to Valeria View. Go left here and retrace your steps on the North Johnson Creek Trail to Celeste Lane and Cedar Hills Boulevard.

Walk north on Cedar Hills for 0.3 miles and pass Foege Park to reach Leahy Road. Go left on Leahy for one block and then make another left on N.W. 114th Avenue. Continue south on 114th to the end and find a trail leading off to your right. This path is shady at first and then passes a pond and a tight row of new dwellings to come to Barnes Road. Keep right on Barnes, cross 118th and then Lost Springs Terrace. After the last set of apartments here (Timber Ridge), find the paved trail and boardwalk that leads up the east side of Cedar Mill Creek (Cedar Mill Creek Greenway). This will take you up the leafy creek valley (on your left), passing a gazebo, until you reach Cornell, where you can go left for the short distance back to your vehicle.

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Cedar Mill-Johnson Creek Loop Hike

Cedar Mill-Johnson Creek Loop Hike

From Oregon Hikers Field Guide

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