Laurelhurst-Lone Fir Loop Hike

Under the European beech tree in Lone Fir Cemetery (bobcat)

Dr. James C. Hawthorne grave, Lone Fir Cemetery (bobcat)

Hattie Redmond grave, Lone Fir Cemetery (bobcat)

The Macleay mausoleum, Lone Fir Cemetery (bobcat)

At the west end of Laurelhurst Park (bobcat)

From the east end of Firwood Lake, Laurelhurst Park (bobcat)

The walking route between Laurelhurst Park and Lone Fir Cemetery (bobcat) Courtesy: Google Maps

Start point: Laurelhurst Park Trailhead
End point: Lone Fir
Hike type: Loop
Distance: 3.1 miles
Elevation gain: 70 feet
High point: 180 feet
Difficulty: Easy
Seasons: All year
Family Friendly: Yes
Backpackable: No
Crowded: In Laurelhurst Park

This walk, via city streets in inner Southeast Portland, connects two of Portland’s most venerable green spaces. The 30 acres of Laurelhurst Park were acquired by the City of Portland in 1911 and developed according to the Olmsted Plan. The existing pond was deepened and named Firwood Lake, and various sections of the park were planted according to a “natural landscaping” plan. Eight blocks to the west is Metro’s Lone Fir Cemetery, begun in 1855 as Mount Crawford Cemetery. The cemetery continues to accept burials, and some of Portland’s most notable sons and daughters are interred there. The graveyard is also an arboretum, with over 550 trees of 71 species that have been planted since the original Lone Fir. Please note that dogs are not permitted in Lone Fir Cemetery.

You’re parked on Ankeny, just above Laurelhurst Park, but leave that for last and start walking west along Ankeny. The H. Russell Albee House, built 1912 in Colonial Revival style, and the Mediterranean-style Bitar Mansion, built in 1927, are the two large homes on your left before you reach 33rd Avenue. Both are on the National Register of Historic Places. Cross 33rd, and continue one block to the Old Laurelhurst Church, a 1923 structure now rented for weddings. Turn left down 32nd Avenue, and then turn right on Pine Street after one block. (In this area, take note of the sign caps on street corners, in both English and Amharic, in remembrance of Mulugeta Seraw, an Ethiopian immigrant who was beaten to death here in 1981 by three white supremacists.) You’ll be walking west on Pine for seven blocks until you reach 26th Avenue, where you should make a left and walk the one block past the grounds of Central Catholic High School to the corner of 26th and Stark. Across the street is the Lone Fir Cemetery, with its 25,000 permanent residents, although many headstones are now illegible.

Cross Stark, and walk along the cemetery’s fence until you come to the entrance gate. Walk down the central aisle of the cemetery and turn right to begin your circle around it. The cemetery is divided into 39 blocks designated by granite markers. In block 34 on your left and Block 35 on the right, you’ll notice several Woodmen of the World headstones. The Woodmen was an insurance company with whom an elaborate headstone was part of the benefit. Make a left at the corner under a lovely spreading European beech. Now walk parallel to Stark Street and pass another “street”. On your right is an incense cedar designated a heritage tree, and on your left is the grave of William Williams Chapman, a U.S. Representative from the Iowa Territory who came west on the Oregon Trail and became a member of the Oregon House of Representatives.

Go back to the “street” and walk south a few yards before turning right. Along this block, you’ll see the large obelisk headstone of Dr. James C. Hawthorne, who supervised the Oregon Hospital for the Insane near here. Hawthorne, noted for his enlightened treatment of the mentally ill, provided graves for many of his patients in the cemetery. Near Hawthorne’s obelisk are the graves of the Smith family, including an angel statue for little Ada Smith, who died aged six. The angel went missing for decades until it was discovered in a warehouse in the 1990s. Continuing west, there is the grave of Asa Lovejoy (1808-1882) originally from Boston and a founder of Portland along with Francis Pettygrove, a native of Portland, Maine. The two men flipped a penny to decide whose hometown would serve as moniker for the undeveloped lot they purchased for 25 cents, and the rest is history. Keeping straight, you’ll see the Fireman’s Lot with its flagpole on the left and come to a junction. Go right here. The Lone Fir, marked with a plaque, was the only tree in the cemetery at its inauguration and remained its most outstanding landmark for many decades.

Around the corner in Block 2, there’s a distinctive urn marking the grave of James Frush, a bartender. Frush used the urn to dispense punch in the saloon belonging to Colburn Barrell, the man who purchased the land for the cemetery. It was Barrell’s wife who later suggested a name change from Mount Crawford to Lone Fir. A little farther west, in Block 1, the headstone depicting James B. Stephens holding the hand of his wife stands out. Stephens came to the area in 1844 and operated the Stark Street Ferry. The area had been the Stephens family farm, and James’ father, Emmor, was buried here as the cemetery’s first resident soon after their arrival in Oregon. At the corner of Block 1 is the obelisk headstone of Crawford Dobbins, who died when a steamship owned by Colburn Barrell exploded on the Willamette in Oregon City. Barrell purchased the land for the cemetery and buried Dobbins here, naming it Mount Crawford after him.

Now walk south past the distinctive, if crumbling, George F. Bottler crypt. George F. Bottler and his brother, George M., were two of the first brewers in the Portland area. There are plans to restore the structure. At the corner of Block 8, turn left on the main avenue, and walk about 60 yards to find the graves of Sarah Wisdom and Andrew Johnston on the left. The couple had begun their lives as slaves in Maryland and flouted Oregon’s Black exclusion laws to run the first African American restaurant in Portland.

Return to the junction now, and turn left. Under a large cottonwood in Block 9, you’ll find the grave of Hattie Redmond (1862-1952) an early Black suffragist in Portland. At the corner, you’ll come to Block 14, where a government building once stood. In 2004, it was realized that numerous graves still remained in the section, particularly from Portland Chinese community and patients from Dr. Hawthorne’s Hospital for the Insane. The building was razed and there are plans to build a memorial garden at the location.

Now walk east. Where Blocks 13 and 18 meet is a Celtic cross marking the former grave of Alice Oberle, one of Portland’s most notorious madames, believed to have personally entertained at least 6,000 paying customers. The large headstone was erected by many of those grieving johns, but her sister later moved the body to a more discrete location (the grave had become a place of pilgrimage) and erased the wording on the monument. Look to your left to the imposing but disintegrating mausoleum of the Macleay family. Donald Macleay, a prominent Portland entrepreneur, donated the land for Macleay Park, and the structure was built when his wife died in 1877. Continuing on, walk the line between Blocks 19 and 29 to find the little headstone for Julius Caesar, with “Play Ball” carved on top. Caesar was a blind ex-slave with a passion for baseball, and it was he who coined the term that has today become a cliché.

Continue around the cemetery, and exit through the gate. Turn right on 26th, and walk down to Morrison Street before turning left. Walk two blocks and make a left on 28th. Proceed one block, and go right on Alder. After two blocks on Alder, make a little jink left on 30th, and continue right on Alder. When you reach Alder Court, turn left and follow this winding street to 33rd Avenue. Turn left, and walk two blocks to Oak Street and the southwest corner of Laurelhurst Park. Cross Oak and continue a little farther until you pick up a trail leading into the park opposite Pine Street.

At a fork, bear left to drop below large sequoias and plane trees. At the next junction, keep left to walk north of the park’s off-leash area. Then bear right and left to take a path above Firwood Lake. Here there are redwood trees and, above the path, three deciduous dawn redwoods and a larch. The park’s horseshoe pits are also above the path. When you reach the end of the lake, circle around to take the outer trail that parallels Ankeny Street. (You can also visit the north shore of Firwood Lake if you prefer to be accosted by begging waterfowl.) Large grand firs tower overhead, and you’ll soon reach the restrooms with their distinctive ginkgo tree. A path to the right takes you through the rhododendron plantation, and a staircase will take you out to Ankeny and your vehicle.

Maps

Regulations or restrictions, etc

Restrooms, picnic tables, play structures at Laurelhurst Park
Dogs on leash in Laurelhurst Park (except in off-leash area); NO PETS in Lone Fir Cemetery.
Laurelhurst Park open 5:00 a.m. – 10:30 p.m.; Lone Fir Cemetery open 7:00 a.m. to sunset.
Guided tours of Lone Fir Cemetery on the first Saturday of each month.

Trip Reports

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Related Discussions / Q&A

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Guidebooks that cover this hike

Discovering Portland Parks by Owen Wozniak
Urban Trails: Portland by Eli Boschetto
Take a Walk: Portland by Brian Barker (Lone Fir)
Walking Portland by Becky Ohlsen
Portland City Walks by Laura O. Foster
Peaceful Places: Portland by Paul Gerald (Laurelhurst)
Portland Townscape Walks #1 by Tyler Burgess (Laurelhurst)
Portland Step-by-Step by Joe Bianco (Laurelhurst)
Nature Walks In and Around Portland by Karen & Terry Whitehill (Laurelhurst)

Contributors

bobcat (creator)

Laurelhurst-Lone Fir Loop Hike

Laurelhurst-Lone Fir Loop Hike

From Oregon Hikers Field Guide

Contents

Hike Description

Maps

Regulations or restrictions, etc

Trip Reports

Related Discussions / Q&A

Guidebooks that cover this hike

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