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Wildwood Trail in Linnton Park/Forest Park?

Posted: July 9th, 2008, 9:46 pm
by Janderson
I'm flying in to Portland to visit family and I'm hoping to drag my nephews away from the Xbox.

Fore the first hike I'm hoping for something local to Portland's west side (they live in the south end of Beaverton, near Scholls Ferry Rd), and backpacker.com provided what looks like a good recommendation: Wildwood Trail in Linnton Park/Forest Park. I was a little surprised that I didn't find it reviewed here, and that nothing shows up on the site's map in Forest Park.

So:
Any comments on this hike? All backpacker.com says is "Roam dense forests and lush ravines on this 6.4-mile trek just minutes from downtown Portland."
and
Any other hikes pretty close in that might get stronger positives?

For a second hike, I'm thinking Ramona Falls. The ideal would be seven or eight miles, maybe 1000 to 1500 foot elevation gain, and awesome enough it'll even impress blasé teenagers. Any ideas that sound better than Ramona Falls?

Thanks!

Re: Wildwood Trail in Linnton Park/Forest Park?

Posted: July 9th, 2008, 10:05 pm
by Janderson
Oh, and I'm a fan of clubs, like the Trails Club of Oregon, so if there is a hike (which comes close to my criteria?) that cruises by their Nesika Lodge, that'd be cool. My childhood is full of memories of a similar lodge and club near Donner Pass in the California Sierras, so I'd be happy to nudge my nephews in that direction.

Re: Wildwood Trail in Linnton Park/Forest Park?

Posted: July 9th, 2008, 11:45 pm
by Spoonie_B
Wildwood Trail is a great hike, across any section of its 38 miles, but I don't know if it's impressive enough for blase teenagers who don't normally hike. There's very little elevation and not too much variety. It's just a lot of pretty trees, some nice flowers, and a gorgeous creek or two. If you want to wow the kids with the kind of mileage and elevation you're talking about, I'd consider Cape Horn or the Multnomah Falls/Wahkeena Falls loop in the Gorge. Both are on the western end of the Gorge; Cape Horn in WA and Multnomah in OR, and both would be an hour or less from home.

If you really want to stay closer to the city, I'd recommend the Upper Macleay Trail through the Balch Creek area over the Wildwood hike you mentioned. It is the prettiest part of the city's trail network that I've seen, and you can follow trails to both the Audobon Society, which has recovered hawks, falcons, and owls you can meet up close and personal, and Pittock Mansion, which gives views of Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Ranier, Mt. Hood, and downtown Portland.

Just my $0.02... have fun no matter what you choose!

Re: Wildwood Trail in Linnton Park/Forest Park?

Posted: July 10th, 2008, 5:30 am
by retired jerry
I like to go up Lower Macleay Trail, continue straight uphill on Wildwood Trail, and continue uphill on it to Pittock Mansion. Nice hike through forest. Great views from Pittock Mansion, but it can be crowded. It's a nice conditioning hike of several miles and almost 1000' of elevation gain when I don't have time to drive to a "real" hike.

To get there, from Vaughn Street, go South on 27th, then immediately right on Upshur to it's end.

We need more Portland hikes in the field guide. I'm remiss : )

Re: Wildwood Trail in Linnton Park/Forest Park?

Posted: July 10th, 2008, 8:24 am
by Spoonie_B
Right, Lower Macleay Trail is the one I meant, too.

Re: Wildwood Trail in Linnton Park/Forest Park?

Posted: July 10th, 2008, 9:47 pm
by Janderson
OK, so Lower Macleay Trail is a unanimous consensus between the two of you. However, a quick search shows that it ain't in the trails database -- so where is the trailhead, route, etc? Is this in a different portion of Forest Park, or some other segment of the Portland altogether?

And: Thanks! for your help. Yes, the trail guide is somewhat lacking in hikes in the immediate Portland vicinity, but y'all have done a great job nevertheless.

Re: Wildwood Trail in Linnton Park/Forest Park?

Posted: July 11th, 2008, 6:44 am
by retired jerry
Janderson wrote:OK, so Lower Macleay Trail is a unanimous consensus between the two of you. However, a quick search shows that it ain't in the trails database -- so where is the trailhead, route, etc? Is this in a different portion of Forest Park, or some other segment of the Portland altogether?

And: Thanks! for your help. Yes, the trail guide is somewhat lacking in hikes in the immediate Portland vicinity, but y'all have done a great job nevertheless.
Check out http://www.artofgeography.com/maps/pdfs ... shpark.pdf

Start at the "P" at the end of Upshur. Go up the Lower Macleay trail until it ends at the Wildwood Trail. Keep going straight, now on the Wildwood trail which takes you up to Pittock mansion. There are many other trails around that are also good.

Check out all 4 maps at http://www.artofgeography.com/maps/fp/index.html for other trails that are also good.

Re: Wildwood Trail in Linnton Park/Forest Park?

Posted: July 11th, 2008, 6:53 pm
by Jane
Here's a trip report from March, sorry for some reason some of the photos are not functioning:

http://portlandhikers.com/forums/thread/29945.aspx

Re: Wildwood Trail in Linnton Park/Forest Park?

Posted: July 13th, 2008, 9:29 am
by Janderson
That was an excellent quick day hike. Three of us did that one Friday afternoon, then eight of us did a Multanomah Falls loop Saturday, and three or four will probably do the Ramona Falls hike on Saturday. The nephews were more inclined to hiking than I expected.