2/27/12 - Cooper Mountain, a slice of nature in the 'burbs

[bookem]

For my first-ever trip report, I opted to keep it local and revisit Cooper Mountain Nature Park (http://www.oregonmetro.gov/index.cfm/go/by.web/id=16016) located on the southwestern outskirts of Beaverton, a 10-minute drive from my home. I had lofty ambitions of taking all these spectacular photos of everything this area has to offer -- views of the Tualatin River Valley, oak savannah, urban wildlife -- only to find upon arrival at the park that my camera batteries had given up the ghost. I still have plenty of mental pictures of a great little hike, but barring any major technological advances these will be a little difficult to upload to the site

The park boasts a 3.5 mile network of nicely maintained trails with mostly moderate grades, a variety of second-growth evergreen and deciduous trees, wide-open vistas, a small manmade seasonal pond, and areas prepped via controlled burns for planting white oaks and other native vegetation. A sign indicates a bobcat has taken up residence in the park; the only possible evidence I saw of the big kitty was some scat along the trail. Of course, I'm no expert, so it could've been coyote scat (on a previous visit I saw a coyote pup playing at the edge of a meadow). I doubt it was from a dog, unless someone was breaking the rules, because as with several other Metro-run parks, four-legged hiking buddies are not allowed.

I'm pretty sure I saw a western bluebird at one point; can't remember the last time I had the pleasure of glimpsing one of these.

[bobcat]

Cooper Mountain used to be a favorite walk of ours, with the hound, before Metro began developing it in earnest. Adjacent property owners (I have talked with a couple of them) were cool about people walking the user trails on the forested private land below the Metro property. No dogs allowed now and you're restricted to the park area, but it still gives great access to views of the Chehalem Hills, oak grasslands, some threatened plant species, etc. Development is crowding around on all sides, so I'm glad our tax dollars went into effect when they did.

Sorry you didn't get any pictures. Go back in the spring and post something illustrated!

[bookem]

Will do, bobcat. Maybe I'll luck out and get a pic of your namesake

I wholeheartedly agree it was a wise move for Metro to acquire this property when it did; it'll be interesting to see what they do with other recent acquisitions (Chehalem Ridge, East Buttes, etc.)