Jackson Bottom Loop Hike
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
- Start point: Jackson Bottom Trailhead
- End point: Jackson Bottom North Trailhead
- Hike type: Two loops with a spur
- Distance: 4.7 miles
- Elevation gain: 35 feet
- High point: 155 feet
- Difficulty: Easy
- Seasons: All year
- Family Friendly: Yes
- Backpackable: No
- Crowded: On weekends
- Jackson Bottom Accessibility Information (Access Recreation)
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Contents |
Description
The Tualatin River forms the southern border of this suburban wildlife refuge managed by Hillsboro Parks and Recreation. The Nature Center here has a store, some excellent exhibits (including a 1,600-pound bald eagle nest!), and classroom space. Trails lead around the the small upland area near the Nature Center and Hillsboro Clean Water Services complex. A more extensive complex of trails investigates the riparian woodland along the river and the diked floodplain east of the center. Birdwatching is excellent here any time of year, so make sure you bring binoculars: in winter, look for buffleheads, pintails, gadwalls, blue-winged teals, redheads, ruddy ducks, wigeons, shovelers, mergansers, tundra swans, and dusky Canada geese as well as bald eagles and other raptors. Fall and spring witness the passerine migrants, especially warblers and finches. Wood ducks, Canada geese, and mallards are common in the summer, when blackbirds, cowbirds, and swallows also take up residence. Look for non-native South American nutria and native muskrats. Beaver and mink are also present although not commonly seen. Note that at times of high water some of these lower trails may be inaccessible.
From the parking lot near the Nature Center, head down the wooden staircase at the south end of the parking lot on the River Trail. This wood chip trail leads along above the Tualatin River. Interpretive signs explain the natural history of the riparian forest. This is an Oregon ash woodland with hawthorn, hazel, ninebark and big-leaf maple. There are tables along the way for outdoor exhibits. Soon, the trail heads away from the river. A spur right leads to a viewing platform. Then the trail runs parallel to the river again, separated from the water by a thicket. Stay right at a junction with the Connector Trail. Then turn right at the next junction to enter Vic’s Grove, named in honor of Vic Madsen, a volunteer who was instrumental in the creation of the preserve and spent many years restoring these thickets. This in and out trail leads to a lookout spot and memorial bench above a bend in the river. Returning, you'll bear right past young cottonwoods and ponderosa pines to pass the Kingfisher Marsh Viewing Shelter on a little rise above the Kingfisher Marsh. You'll pass over Jackson Slough on a footbridge and reach Pintail Pond, where you can scope for ducks and egrets, which will usually collect at the far side of the pond upon your approach.
Head right on a wide trail atop a dike, and find the Oregon Ash Trail leading off down a wooden staircase. This trail burrows through thickets above the Tualatin River before emerging near a viewing platform above Pintail Pond. Keep to the right of the platform to continue on the Oregon Ash Trail, which now follows a grassy road track. At the junction with another maintenance track in a copse of cottonwoods, bear right, cross a rocky dip, and pass the first junction with the Coyote Hill Seasonal Trail. (This area can be closed to public entry at certain times of the year.) To your left is the Salamander Slough, where old logs and stumps have been placed to create shelter for aquatic creatures and waterfowl. Vast rafts of pintails take over this pond in mid-winter. There's a big field to the right, and soon you'll reach a sign that announces the end of the Jackson Bottom Wetlands Trail.
The Coyote Hill Seasonal Trail leads off to the right and takes you around the edge of an open field where, at the beginning or end of the day, a coyote may be seen prowling or flocks of cackling geese may be resting and feeding. Raptors may be perched on the surrounding trees, and there's a great blue heron rookery on the east side of the field. The low green profile of Coyote Hill, actually part of the Hillsboro Landfill, is just to the south. Farther south is Bald Peak topping the Chehalem Hills and to the west South Saddle Mountain, Round Top, and Wildcat Mountain in the Coast Range become visible. After you pass through a cottonwood-shaded draw, you'll reach another field and a view over a loop in the Tualatin River. Here, the trail turns and heads north to reach the maintenance track (the Jackson Bottom Wetlands Trail) near Salamander Slough.
Turn left and keep straight to reach Pintail Pond again. In winter, this pond is alive with rafts of shovelers, along with geese, buffleheads, redheads, and ruddy ducks. A side trail leads down to a closer viewing area. Bear right at the northwest corner of Pintail Pond and enter a bottomland of willow and red osier dogwood. For the longer spur to the Jackson Bottom North Trailhead, stay right at a signposted junction for the Kingfisher Marsh Loop.
A high lookout platform on the right gives you a view over open Wapato Marsh to the east and thicketed Bobcat Marsh to the west. Pass the north junction with the Kingfisher Marsh Loop (you'll be returning to this one), and get a view over the open waters of Wapato Marsh to Mount Hood. The route then branches at a shortcut, so stay right to pass a viewing blind and get more views of Mount Hood. Pass water treatment pipes on the left at the north end of the shortcut and continue hiking north as the surface turns from gravel to wood chip, with a broad shallow marsh to the right. The small open expanses of Northwest Pond to the left host numerous waterfowl, while on the right the vast expanse of Oak Island Marsh needs to be scoped with binoculars. By the end of fall, tundra swans, pintails, cackling geese, and buffleheads will have established themselves here. The trail turns left and passes through a metal gate to reach the Jackson Bottom North Trailhead.
Return along the track to the north junction with the Kingfisher Marsh Loop, and bear right along a road that sometimes floods. (If there’s too much water, take a track leading up to the Clean Water Services parking area and head past the buildings back to the Nature Center’s parking area.) Otherwise, keep straight for the Nature Center, and turn left on the Nature Center Trail. From here, you can explore the short Nature Center and Arboretum trails to the east and south of the Nature Center building before returning to your vehicle.
Fees, Regulations, etc.
- Donation appreciated
- Lower trails can be inaccessible at times of high water (especially in the spring)
- Trails open dawn to dusk; Wetlands Education Center open Monday through Friday from 10:00am to 4:00pm.
- Restrooms, picnic tables and viewing blinds
- Dogs not permitted
- Bicycles not permitted
Maps
Trip Reports
- Search Trip Reports for Jackson Bottom Loop Hike
Related Discussions / Q&A
- Search Trail Q&A for Jackson Bottom Loop Hike
- Great Horned Owl & Chic... Funny pic :)
Guidebooks that cover this hike
- Take a Walk: Portland by Brian Barker
- 100 Hikes: Oregon Coast by William L. Sullivan
- Afoot & Afield: Portland/Vancouver by Douglas Lorain
- Exploring the Tualatin River Basin by Tualatin Riverkeepers
- Oregon Nature Weekends by Jim Yuskavitch
- Wild in the City: Exploring the Intertwine edited by Michael C. Houck and M.J. Cody
- Nature Walks In and Around Portland by Karen & Terry Whitehill
More Links
- Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve (Hillsboro Parks and Recreation)
- Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve
- Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve (Access Trails)
- Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve (Tree for All)
- Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve (Audubon)
- Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve (eBird)
- Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve (Wikipedia)
- "Celebrate Hillsboro: Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve perfect for stroll, bird watching" (OregonLive)
Page Contributors
- bobcat (creator)