Sexton Mountain-Hyland Woods Loop Hike
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
- Start point: Sexton Mountain Trailhead
- End Point: Hyland Woods Trailhead
- Trail Log:
- Hike Type: Lollipop loop
- Distance: 2.6 miles
- Elevation gain: 200 feet
- High Point: 430 feet
- Difficulty: Easy
- Seasons: All year
- Family Friendly: Yes
- Backpackable: No
- Crowded: No
Contents |
Description
Hyland Woods, formerly Hyland Forest Park, is a 30-acre remnant block of mixed woodland that is laced with trails and serves as a quiet haven in a quiet neighborhood. The trees here are up to 70 years old and form a dense canopy over a varied natural understory. A nature play area allows kids to go off-trail and get messy in the natural environment. The walk described begins across Murray Boulevard at Sexton Mountain Park, once an old quarry and now housing an underground reservoir.
From the street, take a paved road that leads up past a play structure and then curves to the left. At a junction, go right before a maintenance building and head up below a development. There’s a grassy meadow up here where the path peters out, and you can get clear views across to the Tualatin Hills. Descend the slope to the sidewalk along Murray Boulevard and reach the traffic signal. Cross Murray and walk up Sexton Mountain Drive with a fenced field to your right. Soon reach houses and a signed entry way to Hyland Forest Park on the left at the Hyland Woods Trailhead.
Enter the forest at a split-rail fence and a coyote warning sign. At a junction, go left to begin the saunter around the perimeter. Alders, Douglas-firs, hazel, big-leaf maples, trailing blackberry, Oregon grape, thimbleberry, snowberry and sword fern make up the leafy forest. The lack of non-native species is quite remarkable, and there are ongoing projects to eliminate all invaders. Keep going around the perimeter, even noticing one or two madrones. Paths go right into the middle of the woods and also left to the neighborhoods. Go right at the 142nd entryway. The trail winds up and then down in Douglas-fir forest. Reach a four-way junction at the 139th entryway. Keep straight here through an ash swale. At a junction, make a left and then continue straight around a small artificial pond which breeds northern red-legged frogs. The trail heads up for a few yards (To your right, at this end of the park, is the new nature play area, designed for children to get down and dirty with the wild). At a junction, turn left and then right at the next junction (before S.W. Davies Street). Keep straight to continue along the perimeter. The trail rises gradually. At a crossroads, keep straight again. At the next junction, after a madrone, make a left and exit the park the same way you came in - at the Hyland Woods Trailhead. Walk down Sexton Mountain Road, cross Murray Boulevard, and reach your vehicle.
Fees, Regulations, etc.
- Keep dogs on leash
Maps
- Maps: Hike Finder
- Hyland Forest Park (Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation District)
- Nature and Trails Map (Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation District)
- Tualatin Hills Parks and Recreation District: Trails
Trip Reports
- Search Trip Reports for Sexton Mountain-Hyland Woods Loop Hike
Related Discussions / Q&A
- Search Trail Q&A for Sexton Mountain-Hyland Woods Loop Hike
Guidebooks that cover this hike
- Wild in the City: Exploring the Intertwine edited by Michael C. Houck & M.J. Cody
- Nature Walks In and Around Portland by Karen & Terry Whitehill
More Links
- Hyland Woods (formerly Hyland Forest Park) (Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation District)
- Sexton Mountain Park (Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation District)
- Hyland Forest Park (The Intertwine)
- Beaverton Oregon Parks: Hyland Forest Park (Living Beaverton)
Page Contributors
- bobcat (creator)