My wife and I spent a couple of days exploring new (to us) trails in the Washington County ‘burbs, stitching together various paths, green spaces, and neighborhood streets.
Pathfinder-Genesis Loop
We began this 3 ½ mile excursion at Woodard Park in Tigard, crossing Fanno Creek and taking Johnson Street to the elevated boardwalks at the Derry Dell Creek Wetlands. The wetlands are being restored and now exhibit native cottonwood, willow, dogwood, sedge, etc. We passed a beaver lodge near Walnut Street, and then took a short hop on Pathfinder Way to join the Pathfinder-Genesis Trail at another small wetland on Derry Dell Creek where green-winged teals and mallards came to beg. The path then heads up past back yards, becoming narrower and unpaved past 115th Avenue. It ends at Gaarde Street, where we took a left to get a great view of Mt. Hood and then cut through St. Anthony Cemetery to loop back on streets and trail connectors.
Tigard Heritage Trail
This brand new trail, which uses an old railroad grade and parallels Tigard Street, is still being planted, but the exhibits for its “outdoor museum” are in place. Each post honors a family of different ethnic background (European, Latino, Chinese, Japanese, Native American, African American) who resided in the area. Large native Pacific ponderosa pines are distinctive near the trail. The ¾ mile trail ends at Tiedeman, so we looped back to Tigard Street and used the Fanno Creek Trail through Dirksen Nature Park and the oak and ponderosa shaded lawns of Woodard Park to return to Main Street.
Ascension Trail to Bull Mountain
The Ascension Trail rises 0.6 miles up a deep gully of natural forest dominated by Douglas-firs. From the high point, near Mistletoe Drive, we took streets and a short connector to get to Sunrise Park, a former pasture that offers views to the West Hills. From here, there are user trails that drop to Sunrise Lane, from where you can access the Cach Nature Park across a farm field. This wooded slope facing South Cooper Mountain supports a network of narrow user-created trails around a formerly private pond. To reach the summit of Bull Mountain, we took neighborhood streets to the fenced area at the top, where there are two half-buried reservoirs at 715 feet above sea level.
Mount Williams
The Westside Regional Trail runs for six miles in a powerline corridor which supports a series of parks. The high point of the trail is the Douglas-fir forest near the summit of Mt. Williams, where we connected to the Mt. Williams Trail. This enabled a loop through natural corridors, striking for the abundance of madrones, in a series of parks (Mt. Williams, Thornbrook, Burntwood West Upper, Burntwood West, Tallac Tarrace). The find of the day was a bushtit nest hanging like a sock from a hazel. Inside were six tiny but cold eggs nestled in a fabric of lichen, moss, and feathers of other species stitched together with spider webbing. To extend the walk , we headed south on the Westside Regional Trail to linear Summercrest Park, a thicketed riparian area on South Johnson Creek with spreading oaks and a beaver-enhanced wetland.
Tigard – Beaverton forays, January 2020
Re: Tigard – Beaverton forays, January 2020
Cool! I live right near the Ascension Trail so that’s kind of my home-turf hike/run I go on all the time. It’s incredible to have close access to that in the heart of the suburbs. I take it up to Sunrise Park and the trails in there and then down the Goat Trail (abandoned road) down to Menlor and back to my house. But...I’m not familiar with this Cache Park area! I must investigate! It’s not clear to me where it is accessed from the (Sunrise Lane area?)
Any tips? I’ll head up there this morning.
Mike
Any tips? I’ll head up there this morning.
Mike
Re: Tigard – Beaverton forays, January 2020
I am also a resident of that area (specifically Genesis/Derry Dell Ck). I recently retired and have discovered the wildlife for myself. I have a bike route that keeps me entertained for wildlife every time I go out, every few days. The route is Pathfinder Way to Woodard Park, Dirksen natural area, then on to Koll Wetlands via the Fanno Ck trail. Here's my typical itinerary:
- Pathfinder Way/Woodard Park - many begging ducks (persistent problem for the ducks), beavers, herons. I'm looking forward to the flooding due to future expected dams on the boardwalk side of Walnut St. Funny story: There's a house adjacent to this dammed pond and the beavers have been known to gnaw on the posts that support back porch. I think they solved the problem with metal wrapping.
- Dirksen natural area - deer and coyotes. Check out the large wildlife viewing deck in the center of the woods which I've never had to share with anyone.
- Fanno Creek trail (best viewing in the winter due to heavy brush) - ducks, coyotes, beaver dams. Occasionally a beaver will drop a tree across the trail.
- Koll Wetlands (the jewel of the area) - so many ducks, geese, and numerous other birds big and small, two apparently permanent white egrets (they're big), one or two eagles who visit frequently (saw one last week hunt down a mallard who managed to dive long enough to avoid death). Eagles have a very loud call! There are a number of good viewing spots behind the office buildings all around the wetlands. They are a cinch to visit on a bike (highly recommended). Beavers have raised/flooded the creek just north of Scholls Ferry Rd and Beaverton has kept their hands off them (Yay!) and the birds love it.
Re: Tigard – Beaverton forays, January 2020
There's a map on p. 2 of the Sunrise Park Master Plan: https://www.tigard-or.gov/community/Par ... t_plan.pdf
The meadow east of the Cach Nature Park (marked "existing trails") is also public property. You access via a break in the fence. Go diagonally across the meadow (northwest) to a No Motor Vehicles sign and a junction to begin a loop.
Re: Tigard – Beaverton forays, January 2020
Thanks bobcat for the details. That’s a very interesting plan you linked to. I actually found it this morning and ran the entire network of trails to explore. I never realized that field wasn’t private property so I never even considered going across it. What a great find! I’m definitely incorporating this into my route. Thanks!
- BurnsideBob
- Posts: 538
- Joined: May 6th, 2014, 3:15 pm
- Location: Mount Angel, Oregon
Re: Tigard – Beaverton forays, January 2020
Very nice. Thanks for sharing your OMB adventures!
Burnside
Burnside
I keep making protein shakes but they always turn out like margaritas.