Fanno Creek Tigard Hike
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
- Start point: Woodard Park Trailhead
or
- Start point: Tigard Library Trailhead
- End point: Fanno Creek Drive
- Hike type: In and out
- Distance: 8.0 miles but can easily be done in shorter segments
- Elevation gain: 40 feet
- High point: 160 feet
- Difficulty: Easy
- Seasons: All year
- Family Friendly: Yes
- Backpackable: No
- Crowded: On weekends and after work
Contents |
Description
The Fanno Creek Trail is a suburban walking/jogging/cycling greenway that currently runs through Beaverton and Tigard. A small portion of the route is on city roads and sidewalks. Long-term plans are to extend the trail from the Tualatin River to Willamette Park in Portland. The total length of the existing trail is 8.3 miles one-way including the short extension beyond the Tigard Library. Most people do only parts of this trail, which runs through several parks in each city. The description below divides the Tigard section of the trail into two parts.
1. Englewood Park to Woodard Park
Distance: 3.3 miles round-trip
If you are continuing the trail from Greenway Park in Beaverton, as part of the Fanno Creek Beaverton Hike, cross Scholls Ferry Road into the eastern section of Tigard's Englewood Park. The trail heads along a corridor with Fanno Creek and its shady ashes and alders on the left. Pass a basketball court and a log weir on the creek. There are lots of blackberries in this area, ripe for the plucking in late summer. Reach North Dakota Street and go right 25 yards. Cross the street and resume the trail. Pass a grand old shaded farmhouse with grape vines. Cross over Tigard Street and enter Dirksen Nature Park. A rustic buck and rail fence borders a restored meadow on the right, while a riparian bottomland of hawthorn, ash, and sedge verges Fanno Creek on your left. Soon, you'll pass a restroom and an enchanting new playground (2019), which includes a "living willow" tunnel and a secret rock cave. The trail passes a soccer/baseball field on the right and bridges Summer Creek to reach S.W. Tiedeman Avenue.
Cross Tiedeman, and resume the trail past a nature mural before passing over Fanno Creek on a wide, sturdy pedestrian/bike bridge. You'll reach the oak and ponderosa pine-shaded lawns of Woodard Park. The trail passes the Woodard Park Trailhead near a playground, drinking fountain, and picnic tables. Walk through a mature oak/ponderosa wood before winding to the right through more parkland. Take a footbridge over Fanno Creek to reach Johnson Street.
2. Woodard Park to the Tigard Public Library
Distance: 4.8 miles round-trip
Go left to follow Johnson Street. When you reach Grant Street, turn left towards Fanno Creek. As you approach the creek, you'll see the trail resuming to your right before the road bridge. Follow the paved path as it loops along with the creek near an apartment complex. The low concrete barrier was painted by aerosol artist Ashley Montague. Pass behind George Morlan Plumbing Supply, and take the LED-lit passage under busy Highway 99W to reach Tigard's Main Street at a spectacular mural of native wildlife by Jeremy Nichols.
Cross Main Street in Tigard, and go left to pass over Fanno Creek. You'll pick up the trail on a boardwalk at Max’s Brew Pub. Use a footbridge to cross over the creek again and enter Fanno Creek Park. There are a confusion of turns to follow, but one can recross the creek and keep to its north bank (The alternative is a winding, but more natural, loop on the south side of the creek). The north bank option takes you past an unsightly equipment yard and then an area with a picnic table and a pond where ducks are ever-present. A spur leads left up to the Tigard City Hall and police station. The trail reaches Hall Boulevard. Once across the street, follow the curving Woodruff Bridge over Fanno Creek. A paved path at the library takes you past signs in English and Spanish that extoll the benefits of reading and tell a children’s story.
The library is the official southern terminus of the existing trail, but it is possible to continue aon a paved trail, the Colony Creek Trail, for 0.4 miles. From the library parking area, head east to a sidewalk that proceeds south across Pinebrook Creek to a sign for the Colony Creek Trail where it continues behind condos/apartments with a willow swamp to your left. Then the views open up above tight meanders in Fanno Creek. Deciduous trees such as white oak, Oregon ash, and red alder dominate the canopy, with invasive species like blackberry in the understory. At a viewpoint over the creek, there’s a small bench. You’ll continue the trail on the left from the end of Deann Court and then Char Court. The last section is hemmed in by fences on both sides. When you come to Fanno Creek Drive, you can turn around.
In addition to the Woodard Park Trailhead and the Tigard Library Trailhead, there are trailheads at:
Englewood Park: park on Ironwood Loop
Main Street in Tigard: park along the street
Tigard City Hall: 13125 SW Hall Boulevard
Fanno Creek House: 13335 SW Hall Boulevard
Fees, Regulations, etc.
- Dogs on leash
- Share trail with cyclists
- Restrooms, play area, picnic tables at Dirksen Nature Park and Woodard Park
Maps
- Maps: Hike Finder
- Fanno Creek Regional Trail (Imagine Tigard)
- Tigard Fanno Creek Greenway Trail (Metro)
- Walk Tigard (City of Tigard)
- City of Tigard: Downtown Tigard Walking Map
- Nature and Trails Map (Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation District)
Trip Reports
- Search Trip Reports for Fanno Creek Tigard Hike
Related Discussions / Q&A
- Search Trail Q&A for Fanno Creek Tigard Hike
Guidebooks that cover this hike
- Discovering Portland Parks by Owen Wozniak
- Walk There! 50 Treks In and Around Portland and Vancouver edited by Laura O. Foster
- Wild in the City: Exploring the Intertwine edited by Michael C. Houck and M.J. Cody
- Exploring the Tualatin River Basin by Tualatin Riverkeepers
- Best Bike Rides: Portland, Oregon by Lizann Dunegan & Ayleen Crotty
- Off-Street Paved Bike Paths in Oregon by Rick Bronson
- Biking Portland by Owen Wozniak
More Links
- Fanno Creek Trail (City of Tigard)
- Fanno Creek Greenway Trail (Metro)
- Englewood Park (City of Tigard)
- Dirksen Nature Park (City of Tigard)
- Woodard Park (City of Tigard)
- Fanno Creek Park (City of Tigard)
- Fanno Creek House (City of Tigard)
- Fanno Creek Trail (Tualatin Valley)
- Fanno Creek (Wikipedia)
- Fanno Creek: Englewood, Greenway and Hall-to-Ash (Tree for All)
Page Contributors
- bobcat (creator)