It's described in these links:
https://westlinnoregon.gov/parksrec/fields-bridge-park
https://www.oregonhikers.org/field_guid ... ridge_Hike
The trail is flat and paved all the way to Dollar Street. I rather enjoyed watching the river flow by, looking at the trees across the river, watching the birds (and a squirrel), and smiling at the people fishing and floating. I can imagine coming here in cloudy or rainy weather, early in the morning, to watch wildlife while the fog rose from the river.
As it was, the weather was sunny and warm, and there were a fair number of people along the trail, walking or fishing or just hanging out. We were all careful about social distancing, and of course, the developed part of the park (i.e. the playground) was closed for now. Gardeners were wearing masks.
I followed the suggested extra walk through the neighborhood and along the Tualatin River that is suggested in the field guide. One walks on city sidewalks and then on a mowed grassy dirt/gravel path without good views of the river. I didn't really enjoy that very much. It doesn't seem to hook up with the "nicer" part of the Tualatin River Open Space (https://westlinnoregon.gov/parksrec/tua ... open-space). Maybe it's more enjoyable at other times of the year or would have been less dull if I had been in a different sort of mood. I didn't have time to get to the other part of the open space to see what was there.
Even though both segments are very urban, the paved trail between Epperly Way and Dollar Street is the more interesting area in which to walk, in my opinion.
Another fun thing about this park is the description of the Willamette Meteorite and its known history. There are several interpretive signs about the Missoula Floods and how glaciation and then flooding probably brought the meteorite to the shores of the Tualatin River. Some of the signs talk about its spiritual significance for local Native Americans, and how it was taken away to a museum in the early 20th century. There's even a scale model of the meteorite.
- fields bridge trail 2 may 2020.jpg (40.34 KiB) Viewed 1631 times
The park/trail is considered to be part of the Ice Age Floods Interpretive Trail, for those who might be interested:
http://thecentralcascades.com/fields-br ... ive-trail/
This was my first time to this particular park. I've canoed and walked on parts of the Tualatin River but haven't walked along this segment that is so close to where it joins the Willamette. If one likes the Tualatin (which I do), it's a nice little walk.
