Canby Logging Road Hike
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
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- Start point: Eco Park Trailhead
- End Point: 13th and Sequoia Intersection
- Hike Type: In and out
- Distance: 7.3 miles
- Elevation gain: 90 feet
- High Point: 175 feet
- Difficulty: Easy
- Seasons: All year
- Family Friendly: Yes
- Backpackable: No
- Crowded: No
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Contents |
Description
Between 1944 and 1974, Weyerhaeuser operated a private logging road between Molalla and Canby in order to transport logs to the Willamette River. Once at the logs reached a landing on the Willamette, they were formed into rafts that floated down the river to the Columbia, and thence downstream to the big mill in Longview, Washington. Many years after its abandonment, the City of Canby has rehabilitated the northern section of this haul road, which makes a level hike through the eastern reaches of Canby. Add in some diversions off the road section in Canby’s Eco Park and a disc golf course for a little variety.
Note that the return trip north to the Willamette River from the Eco Park Trailhead is 3.1 miles; the extension south to 13th Avenue, the southern terminus of the hikeable section, is 4.2 miles round-trip. You can also begin the hike near this southern terminus at the Timber Park Trailhead.
Take the wide chip trail at the north end of the parking area. Keep right at a fork to hike under tall Douglas-firs and big-leaf maples. Stick to the main trail as you hike through an understory of hazel, elderberry, and thimbleberry. Trilliums and violets bloom here in the spring. At a T-intersection, go left (Heading right leads out to Redwood Street, the entry road for the wastewater treatment plant, and some hay fields). Exit the Eco Park at the paved logging road, and go right.
You’ll see the 2.5 mile marker (as measured from the trail's southern end at 13th Avenue) painted on the tread. Armenian blackberry forms thickets next to the trail, and shining geranium and nipplewort infest the trail verge. To your left are the fairways and greens of the Willamette Valley Country Club. Pass the Canby Waste Water Treatment Plant on your right. At a junction, go right for a loop around the park’s disc golf course. Cross a creek, and veer left to reach the Willamette River. Before this, a path leads right to wander in an eastward direction above the Willamette - a quiet diversion if you have the time. Pass an old concrete structure, and recross the creek under rustling cottonwoods. Hike under ivy-draped trees with disc golf trails leading left and right. Reach the logging road again, and go right.
Get an open view of a fairway, and walk past a line of oaks and madrones. Walk by an open field, and go right at a junction. The trail leads down to the Willamette River, where you’ll see the remains of a gantry and other structures used to unload logs from trucks and assemble log rafts. Pilings that were used to moor the rafts remain in the river. Circle up past a patch of Japanese knotweed and blackberry to close the loop and return to the Eco Park Trailhead.
For the southern section of this excursion, head south to cross Territorial Road and pass through a gate. There’s an apartment complex with picnic tables on the right and the back yards of homes on your left. Some home owners have created flower and berry gardens along the trail. Soon, at 1.25 miles, the road heads up a ramp to cross both the Southern Pacific Railroad and four-lane Highway 99E. Look to your right to get a view towards downtown Canby, and then look left as you descend to get a great sighting of Mount Hood across a Fred Meyer parking lot. There's a grove of cottonwoods on your right; to your left, behind a screen of shrubbery, is the privately-operated Oregon Pacific Railroad, which runs as far south as Liberal (north of Molalla). Pass the cul-de-sac at SE 3rd Court and then JV Northwest, which manufactures stainless steel tanks. There's a drinking fountain at 0.75 miles before the tread dips to pass under 4th Avenue.
Blackberry thickets and locust trees shade the railroad to your left. An arched wooden pedestrian/bike bridge crosses Township Road. Baker Prairie Middle School and its sports fields appear on the left. Then you see little Timber Park, part of a new development, to your right. Tall Douglas-firs shade restrooms, picnic tables, and a drinking fountain. From the park, it's only 0.25 miles to the end of the trail at 13th Avenue. You'll be hiking next to Sequoia Parkway with a filbert orchard across the road.
Fees, Regulations, etc.
- Eco Park open from dawn until 10:00 p.m.
- Dogs on leash
- Restrooms, picnic area at Timber Park Trailhead
Maps
Trip Reports
- Search Trip Reports for Canby Logging Road Hike
Related Discussions / Q&A
- Search Trail Q&A for Canby Logging Road Hike
Guidebooks that cover this hike
- none
More Links
- Molalla Logging Road (Oregon.com)
- Canby’s Logging Road Trail (Days of Holly)
- Where to Walk Canby Logging Road Trail (Clackamas County)
Page Contributors
- bobcat (creator)