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Gabriel Park Loop Hike

From Oregon Hikers Field Guide

Cedar on the Canyon Trail, Gabriel Park (bobcat)
Skiers taking advantage of a "snow event", Gabriel Park (bobcat)
Vermont Creek, in Gabriel Park (bobcat)
Meadow checkermallow (Sidalcea campestris) in the pollinator meadow, Gabriel Park (bobcat)
The loop around the southern part of Gabriel Park (bobcat) Courtesy: Gaia GPS
  • Start point: Little Gabriel TrailheadRoad.JPG
  • End point: Vermont Creek Upper Bridge
  • Hike type: Loop
  • Distance: 1.2 miles
  • Elevation gain: 130 feet
  • High point: 410 feet
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Seasons: All year
  • Family Friendly: Yes
  • Backpackable: No
  • Crowded: Yes

Contents

Hike Description

In the late 19th century, Swiss immigrants settled on undeveloped land in what is now Southwest Portland and started several dairies, the last of which survived as Alpenrose. One of the immigrants, young Ulrich Gabriel, developed the pastures where Gabriel Park is now situated as the Pine Creek Dairy, and the Gabriel farmhouse used to stand opposite the Little Gabriel Trailhead. (In 2022, the farmhouse was demolished to make way for a new development.) The City of Portland purchased 90 acres of the Gabriel land and some of the Multnomah Dairy Farm land in 1950. Portland Parks terms this a “hybrid park,” i.e. it is a mix of developed and natural areas. Old growth Douglas-firs survive along Vermont Creek and a tributary and, in the early 1990s, a project was begun to revert more of the watercourse areas to a natural state. A “nature patch,” featuring labeled native plants, and a pollinator meadow have recently been added, along with a signed trail system.

Walk west to the end of the parking area and then across the top of the playing field. A trail leads into woods of cedar and maple and drops to a junction with the Canyon Trail, with an apartment complex on your left. Turn right, then keep left and traverse the slope before descending to the left to join an old road bed. Follow this trail above a tributary of Vermont Creek along an ivy-carpeted slope among some large old Douglas-firs. Keep left, and then bear right (don’t descend to 45th Avenue on SW Trail 3), and rise to exit the woods at a large cedar and join a paved trail. (Permanent sign posts were installed along these trails in 2022.)

Go left on the paved path as it winds down the through lawns with big skirted cedars. A fringe of rhododendrons blooms profusely in the spring. The paved trail loops down in shady woods to cross Vermont Creek and wind up past a cluster of ash trees near the summer dog park. Turn right below the tennis courts, and pass through a wooded corridor. Once back in the open, bear right on the grass, and follow the lawn with a natural thicket of wild rose and snowberry to the left and a split-rail fence and screen of maples to the right. Cottontails come out in the evening and nibble on the green sward. Hike along a fence line, and then turn right to cross a footbridge.

Follow this trail, the Vermont Creek Trail, to the right and descend into a dark wood of cedar and Douglas-fir. The trail crosses Vermont Creek at a substantial footbridge. Lady fern, skunk-cabbage, and salmonberry vegetate the watercourse. At a four-way junction, turn left onto the Nature Loop Trail. The trail heads through a carpet of ivy along a section of split-rail fencing. You’ll bear right at another split-rail fence to pass the junction with the Cedar Grove Trail. Keep left to wind up and exit the forest.

You’re in the Nature Patch now, and you can check out the labeled native plants on a short gravel loop. Where you’re done, head right and downhill past an apple orchard. A short spur leads you to a view over the pollinator meadow, explained by a large sign. In late spring/early summer, there are a profusion of blooms here, including lupine, checkermallow, blue-eyed Mary, yellow avens, and cow parsnip. Then drop down the slope next to the winter dog park. At a junction, turn left on the Little Gabe Trail and head up next to a dense thicket. Turn right to cross a draw on a small footbridge (Lon’s Bridge), and bear left to reach a paved trail. Keep left to ascend to the parking area.

For a longer walk in the area, check out the SW Trail PDX site for walking routes of 5 – 6 miles in southwest Portland.


Fees, Regulations, etc.

  • Dogs on leash except in off-leash areas
  • Community center with restrooms, playground, tennis courts, skateboard park, picnic areas in the more developed north end of the park

Maps

Trip Reports

Related Discussions / Q&A

Guidebooks that cover this hike

  • Take a Walk: Portland by Brian Barker
  • Walking Portland by Becky Ohlsen
  • Nature Walks In and Around Portland by Karen & Terry Whitehill
  • Exploring the Tualatin River Basin by Tualatin Riverkeepers

More Links


Contributors

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