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L.L.Stub Stewart State Park April 3

Posted by bjul49 (2008-04-03)

      The thing with State Parks is, if there are horse trails there is lots of gooey mud, and then there are always trails riddled with large uncomfortable bits of gravel. This park is no exception. Lots of money went into building this park, in fact you could have two perfectly adequate parks with the money this one must have cost, and I guess my first reaction would be why? It's not on the way to anywhere that cannot be reached for a day hike. There are nicer campgrounds elsewhere near. It has no remarkable views or water features. The camping areas are bleak, expensive, crammed together, and not scenic. There are some cute cabins, all in a row. Lots of trails have been rudely constructed without much thought for what goes beside a trail,( like perhaps not cut down branches and spare mud), with cute names but no namesakes. If you name a trail Boomscooter, I want to see one!
     I tried to visit 2 out of 3 viewpoints, though actually the best viewpoint is from the Hill Top day use area where you park. . For the first, the person at the Welcome Center neglected to tell me the trail hadn't been made yet,and, as the trail petered out, I could see across the valley to various scenic clearcuts, for the second, I climbed much further than was neccessary to an old road with some garbage and lots of (?) ATV tracks and pretty much the same view that I'd seen before.. yes, more clearcuts. I must have hiked about 9 miles, and while I was happy, and had a good time,( fresh air, sunshine, green leaves), I won't be returning. There were a few yellow violets and 6 trillium; there will be nice foxgloves, bleeding hearts,some wild ginger in about 5 weeks, but most of the ground is still very torn up from making the trails. The Banks-Vernonia Trail goes through the park, and is paved, and has interesting signage. The park is also open to horses, bikes and mountain bikes.
    The cynical part of me thought that Mr Stewart, having logged the area almost to death, then donated it for a nice tax deduction. If you want to drive for an hour, go instead to Cape Horn,(closer) and see what a beautiful trail can be created or restored by volunteers who actually hike.

Re: L.L.Stub Stewart State Park April 3

Posted by Jane (2008-04-03)

Although I hope they succeed as a park, there is much to be skeptical about. I was hoping the trails would have been improved upon by now Judith :(

Here's some photos from my visit last July:

http://portlandhikers.com/forums/thread/19718.aspx

Re: L.L.Stub Stewart State Park April 3

Posted by bcostley (2008-04-04)

A main consideration for the park location was to get one with camping in close proximity to Portland and in Washington County in particular.

The current trails are all (or mostly) created from old logging roads, which is a cheap and fast way to create trails, though not necessarily resulting in the prettiest trails.

More trails are in the works, primarily single track mountain bike trails which I understand are in low supply in close proximity to Portland (not being a mountain biker, I don't know if this is accurate).

I understand that there is also a low supply of near in horseback camping and trails, which this park satisfies (not being a horse person, I don't know if this is accurate.

Judging from how full the campgrounds were on weekends last summer, the park is meeting its goals nicely; it is just that the goals don't necessarily mesh well with readers of this board.

Re: L.L.Stub Stewart State Park April 3

Posted by jley (2008-04-04)

I think you have to consider that this park was created for people who like calm bike rides, equestrians, and people who car-camp with kids who just like to get into the woods, away from the city. It's not intended to be a spectacular hiking destination - it is what it is... I mean, you can't manufacture views. As for the clearcuts and such, hopefully the park will age well - the construction damage will fade, and trees will grow. I think it's a lot better to have the park there, than not to have it.

Also, I think it's important to remember that a lot of our landscape simply doesn't have sweeping views and remarkable waterfalls. If you plan every trip to see such wonders, it gets really hard to appreciate the ordinary. If that happens, we'll be left with a decreasing number of hiking gems that everyone visits, and a lot of less remarkable areas that become forgotten and lost.

For me? I'll visit LLStub if I want a relaxing bike ride, and don't want to drive too far... I'd love to see them extend the Banks-Vernonia trail beyond the current end-points, it has to start somewhere. Hopefully, LLStub will inspire some grass-roots efforts to do just that.

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