Revision as of 16:07, 24 March 2018

Beech trees and covered picnic area, Dabney State Recreation Area (bobcat)

The Stark Street Bridge, Sandy River, from the Dabney State Recreation Area (bobcat)

Bonnie Brook Footbridge, Dabney State Recreation Area (bobcat)

White campion (Silene latifolia), Dabney State Recreation Area (bobcat)

• Start point: Glenn Otto Trailhead
• End point: Beaver Creek North Footbridge
• Trail Log:
• Hike Type: In and out with loops
• Distance: 4.8 miles
• Elevation gain: 325 feet
• High Point: 175 feet
• Difficulty: Easy
• Seasons: All year
• Family Friendly: Yes
• Backpackable: No
• Crowded: No

Hike Description

A network of trails courses the bottomland along the Sandy River at Glenn Otto Park in Troutdale, but it’s also possible to use a short stretch of sidewalk along the old Columbia River Highway to ascend the high bluff above the river and then descend into steep-sided Beaver Creek Canyon. You’ll pass the historic Harlow House, site of the trout ponds that gave Troutdale its name, and follow the gully used by many Oregon Trail pioneers. The trails down in Beaver Creek are deteriorating, and one of the bridges is out with the other slowly listing. The loop here are no longer possible, but you can hike up and down the remarkably secluded creek. This is a good walk in the wet months; as soon as the weather gets hot, the Sandy River beaches will be crowded with noisy humanity.

Walk to the east end of the parking lot, and find the gravel path leading down the low bluff. An interpretive sign here recounts the naming of the Sandy River, originally called the ‘Quicksand River’ by Lewis and Clark. Lahars from Mount Hood’s Crater Rock eruption of 1780 had flowed down the river and formed a huge soft fan at its mouth.

The trail crosses some of this sandy lahar into an alder/cottonwood bottomland and reaches the river in what is now the Sandy River Greenway. In summer, this area is packed with youngsters sunning and swimming (A sign warns of the 12 drownings in the area), but at other times of the year only a few fishermen are present. Broughton Bluff looms across the Sandy, and just downstream is the Columbia River Highway bridge. At low water, you can walk upriver along the beach; at other times of the year, take a wide trail leading right through the trees, with Douglas-firs and cedars also in the mix. Sword fern, snowberry, and invasives like ivy, blackberry, and holly form the understory. Spurs lead out to the river. The trail arrives at another favorite fishing spot. From here, you can wander along the bank here through stubby willows. Note the picturesque stand of bamboo across the river. Come to an open, willow-studded bar, and turn in to follow the trail back into the cottonwoods and alders. Keep to the main path through the center of this stand, and close the loop. Heading towards the bluff, take a trail leading left through blackberries up into the tall Douglas-firs shading Glenn Otto Park’s picnic area.

A short paved loop trail leads around the park. You’ll see Beaver Creek below you. Look up into the fork of a cottonwood across the creek. There’s a bald eagle nest that was constructed in 2017. In 2018, the eagles came back to nest for another season. Pass a building with a meeting hall and kitchen and reach the parking area.

Go left, and cross the two-lane bike/pedestrian “walking bridge” over Beaver Creek. Take the sidewalk on the Columbia River Highway, and reach Jackson Park Road. You can cross the road to Visionary Park, a cast bronze statue by Rip Caswell of Sam Lancaster and Sam Hill, the two men behind the original concept for the highway. Up to your left is the Caswell Sculpure Garden, which might be open if there isn’t an event scheduled. Stroll around the area admiring the moon gate at the pond, with its scudding mallards and wood ducks. Bronze sculptures of local creatures adorn the fringes of the lawn behind Caswell’s studio. You’ll also discover some old hatchery ponds.

Back on the sidewalk, continue north now along the highway until you come to the Barn Museum of the Troutdale Historical Society; inside there’s an exhibit on the old highway. Outside, an interpretive sign tells about the Oregon Trail where it headed up through the Harlow Canyon. Next to the museum, is the Harlow House, constructed in 1900 by Captain John Harlow, who built fish ponds here in 1870. He stocked them with trout and named his farm Troutdale. The Harlow House is open most Sunday afternoons from 1:00 – 3:00.

In the back of the house, there’s a boardwalk that leads over a wetland and past a gazebo. At a junction go left, and follow the trail up the slope into Harlow Canyon. Note the layers of cobbles deposited by thousands of years of river action. Cross a footbridge over tumbling Harlow Creek, and continue up under alders and maples to an interpretive sign and picnic table. The sign tells us that this trail, named Robins Way, honors Robin Dix, who was the last berry farmer here. This was also a section of the Oregon Trail and, before that, a Native American path to the river.

Keep left at a junction. Now you’re on the Strawberry Meadows Greenway, named after the former berry fields below the bluff. Douglas-firs and maples forest the slope to the left, with occasional views to Broughton Bluff offered. you’ll be passing back yards on your right. You may need to dodge blackberry vines dangling over the trail. Soon, you’ll come to Beaver Creek Lane, where you need to turn left. Walk 100 yards and, opposite Chapman Avenue, find a paved trail heading back towards the bluff.

Follow this trail to where it drops below the lip of the bluff and travels under Douglas-firs, offering views down into the steep-sided Beaver Creek Canyon. At a junction below a long set of stairs, keep left (straight), and descend the slope on a stepped trail below licorice fern-clad slopes. Near the bottom of the canyon, go left at a junction, and head downstream above Beaver Creek. Pass the Beaver Creek North Footbridge, twisted inelegantly in 2018 but still permissible to cross. You can continue farther down the creek to where the trail turned steeply up the slope. The upper portion of this loop has been destroyed by slides, so return to the footbridge and cross it.

On the opposite bank, the trail rises up a low bluff and bends right. Pass along a bench of young incense and red-cedars, and keep right at a junction. You’ll descend to the creek and reach the site of the south footbridge. To get to the other side, you’ll need to ford, or simply return the way you came across the Beaver Creek North Footbridge. When you get to the west bank of Beaver Creek, hike past the junction on the slope, and continue on boardwalk to pass the site of the former south bridge. A steep trail leads up the slope to a short loop on a forested bench, but it’s not advisable to hike up here in the wet season. Instead continue on a user trail along the stream bank until you sight a steep cliff jutting into the course of Beaver Creek ahead.

Turn around and hike back up the slope to Robins Way; then descend to Harlow House, and follow the sidewalk along the Columbia Gorge Highway to your car.

Fees, Regulations, etc.

• NO dogs permitted in Glenn Otto Park or on the Sandy River acreage.
• Glenn Otto Park open 8:00 a.m. to dusk
• Picnic tables, restrooms at Glenn Otto Park

Maps

• Maps: Hike Finder

Glenn Otto Park Trail Map (City of Troutdale)

Trip Reports

• Search Trip Reports for Lower Beaver Creek Canyon Hike

Related Discussions / Q&A

• Search Trail Q&A for Lower Beaver Creek Canyon Hike

Guidebooks that cover this hike

• none

More Links

• “Troutdale, Oregon” (The Columbia River: A Photographic Journey)
• Glenn Otto Community Park (City of Troutdale)
• Sandy River Greenway (City of Troutdale)
• Caswell Sculpture Garden
• Barn Exhibit Hall (Troutdale Historical Society)
• Harlow House (Troutdale Historical Society)
• Harlow House Park (City of Troutdale)
• Beaver Creek Greenway (City of Troutdale)
• Glenn Otto Community Park (Outdoor Project)
• Glenn Otto Community Park (Oregon Discovery)
• “Troutdale’s Glenn Otto Park a much safer place since arrival of lifeguards, despite recent drowning” (Oregon Live)
• Sandy River Greenway (The Intertwine)
• “Well known berry farmer Bob Dix dies at age 84” (Portland Tribune)
• Stawberry Meadows (U.S. Fish & Wildlife)
• Beaver Creek Canyon (U.S. Fish & Wildlife)

Contributors

• bobcat (creator)