Browns Ferry Hike
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
- Start point: Nyberg Lane Trailhead
- End point: Browns Ferry Pond
- Hike type: Short connected loops
- Distance: 2.2 miles
- Elevation gain: 25 feet
- High point: 120 feet
- Difficulty: Easy
- Seasons: All year
- Family Friendly: Yes
- Backpackable: No
- Crowded: No
Contents |
Description
Browns Ferry Park in Tualatin is on 28.3 acres of land acquired by Zenas Brown in 1850 under the Donation Land Act. Brown operated Tualatin’s first ferry upstream from here between 1850 and 1856. An old barn reminds visitors that this suburban area was once farmland. The centerpiece of the park is the Browns Ferry Pond, which is a hive of activity for various species of birds from fall through spring. The Tualatin River Greenway has sections that stretch east and west from the park: the section running west now provides a walking connection all the way through to Tigard (see the Tualatin River Greenway Loop Hike). A private canoe/kayak rental service is also based in the park from Memorial Day to mid-September. An outdoor art camp here in the summer makes that season the park's busiest.
Head east from the parking area over a footbridge on ash and willow shaded Nyberg Creek into a large grassy area (the "prairie"). Turn left on a trail that heads toward the river, and then walk toward the confluence of the creek and the river. An interpretive post here indicates the high water mark of the 1996 floods. A wide trail leads east on the south side of the line of Douglas-fir, big-leaf maple, and grand fir above the Tualatin, but pick up the narrow footpath that allows you to look down on the river and the homes across in Rivergrove, most with their little boat/canoe landings. Nest boxes on the trees are for wood ducks. The Browns Ferry Pond is to the right.
After you cross the outlet creek for the pond on a footbridge, you'll enter a woodland dominated by maple and Douglas-fir with Indian plum, salal, Oregon grape, ivy, and sword fern. A new footbridge leads right over a swampy area, but keep left over another bridge. The trail here becomes graveled and then veers to the right. Here, go left on a muddy track that continues straight along the river bank and past a duckweed pond to a shelter near a house and a wide paved trail. A sign declares that it's 0.5 miles to the east end of the Tualatin River Greenway.
The paved trail crosses a wide footbridge and leads east into the 8.5 acre addition to the park. Some grand fir and cedar mingle among the Douglas-firs on the slope to the right. Cottonwoods, red alders, English laurel, Pacific ninebark and maples also shade the trail. There are also many plantings, especially of red osier dogwood. A road cutting leads down to the river with a fence built here to prevent boat launches. There’s a grassy field to the left with a footpath along the river bank. Come to a road leading up to the small Orchard Hills Pump Station. and then turn around.
Head back past a tie trail up to 50th Avenue and reach the small shelter again, but now keep left to head out to Nyberg Lane. Follow the sidewalk west past the closed Browns Ferry Community Center, and soon reach the fence at the Browns Ferry Pond. Here you can spend time observing the wildlife. Red-winged blackbirds are especially active here in the spring. You might also see mallards, green-winged teals, shovelers, ring-necked ducks, Canada geese, and hooded mergansers. Nutrias are common and often seen. At the southwest end of the pond is a blind that now looks through the grown-up rose bushes, and a sign saying the pond was probably built by beavers.
Continue west and turn towards the river, passing the restrooms, a shed-like building (where rental canoes are stashed), and an old barn with a wagon axle by an interpretive sign. A gangway leads down to a floating canoe dock. You can take a wide raised wooden walkway leading west above the river. As you scan the Tualatin for wildlife, pass the Stonesthrow Apartments to your left, and reach the site of a newly constructed section of the walkway. A paved trail continues the Tualatin River Greenway west past the modern Commons on the Tualatin River, once the site of an RV park. (See the Tualatin River Greenway Loop Hike.)
To finish this loop, however, go left on a path between the two apartment complexes. You'll pass a marker for the Willamette Meridian tilted at the angle of the Earth's axis, 23.5°. After passing through a large gate for the Tualatin River Greenway, turn left on the sidewalk, and follow it east to the entrance of Browns Ferry Park.
Fees, Regulations, etc.
- Dogs on leash
- Picnic tables, restrooms, interpretive panels
- Bring binoculars for birdwatching
- Canoe rentals in summer
Maps
- Maps: Hike Finder
Trip Reports
- Search Trip Reports for Browns Ferry Hike
Related Discussions / Q&A
- Search Trail Q&A for Browns Ferry Hike
Guidebooks that cover this hike
- Take a Walk: Portland by Brian Barker
- Exploring the Tualatin River Basin by Tualatin Riverkeepers
More Links
- Brown's Ferry Park (City of Tualatin)
- Brown's Ferry Blues (Tualatin Life)
- Brown's Ferry Park (Explore Tualatin Valley)
- Rent a Kayak or Canoe at Browns Ferry Park! (City of Tualatin)
- "Jack Broome memorialized with redwood in Brown’s Ferry Park" (Tualatin Life)
- Death at Brown's Ferry Park (Alex the Historian)
- The Brown's Ferry Park block is #27 (Quilt Barn Trail)
Page Contributors
- bobcat (creator)