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George Rogers Park Hike

From Oregon Hikers Field Guide

Beach at Oswego Creek, George Rogers Park (bobcat)
Oregon Iron Company Furnace, George Rogers Park (bobcat)
View down the Willamette from Old River Road (bobcat)
The Willamette River Greenway alongside Old River Road (bobcat)
Red traces the route described (not a GPS track) (bobcat) Courtesy: Google Maps
  • Start point: George Rogers Park TrailheadRoad.JPG
  • End point: Hog Island Viewpoint
  • Hike type: In and out plus mini-loop
  • Distance: 3.4 miles
  • Elevation gain: 150 feet
  • High point: 80 feet
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Seasons: All year
  • Family Friendly: Yes
  • Backpackable: No
  • Crowded: Yes

Contents

Description

George Rogers Park fronts the Willamette River at its confluence with Oswego Creek, where a sandy beach attracts swimmers and sunbathers on warm, sunny days. The park is also the site of an old blast furnace, a remnant of Lake Oswego's iron industry. To extend a walk, cross Oswego Creek and take the paved trail alongside Old River Road into West Linn, getting views across the Willamette to riverfront homes in Oak Grove. George Rogers was the Lake Oswego resident who donated the land for the park, the city's first communal open space.

Walk from the parking area and into the Memorial Garden to view the 1866 Oregon Iron Company Furnace, the oldest industrial structure in Oregon. Then head down a zigzagging path to the rocky shore of the Willamette River. Tame geese and ducks may be tarrying expectantly for your handouts here. Walk south along the beach and turn up Oswego Creek. Then you should return to the stairs and go left alongside Memorial Garden’s lawn, passing some restrooms. Then make a left over a pedestrian bridge above Oswego Creek, and keep left along a paved trail above the river. Oregon ash, bigleaf maple, Douglas-fir, western red-cedar and cottonwoods form the canopy. Invasive ivy dominates the understory. Spurs lead up to the right to homes and streets. There are a couple of views down the Willamette. The trail passes a sign denoting the 1905 Tug Master’s House, a white craftsman home up on the bluff. On the left is a large structure, the remains of a log hoist built by the Crown Willamette Paper Company. Then you'll cross a footbridge and reach Old River Road.

Here keep left, passing a through a small plaza with Douglas-fir cone sculptures. From the sculptures, walk along little-traveled Old River Road on a section of the Willamette River Greenway. The trail separates from the road at one point. After this, you can cross the road and head up a trail that leads into Mary’s Woods, a retirement community near the former Marylhurst University. Back on the road, keep heading south, noting Hog Island in the river to your left. There is no legal access to the bluffs above the river because it’s all private property. At a second separate walkway, take a spur left to a rocky bluff, the Hog Island Viewpoint, overlooking the river. Across the road, stone steps lead up to the property of the former Marylhurst University. Back on the road, walk a little more to a creek and leave Lake Oswego. The path heads along a short section of county road. There are views of Hog Island through the trees. After you pass a private driveway, you'll reach Riverwood Place in West Linn. Sidewalks line the roads in this modern suburb.

Walk back into George Rogers Park to reach the first footbridge and go left to head up Oswego Creek on a gravel trail. Maples studded with licorice fern dwell in this gully. The trail passes under the Highway 43 span. Here, a rope dangles for daring swingers. The path then gets rougher as it heads up through licorice fern-draped boulders drenched with ivy and cherry-laurel. You'll reach a roundabout at the end of Maple Street and go right to its junction with McVey Avenue. Cross McVey to walk back 0.4 miles towards Rogers Park, passing the Oswego Lake Dam. Cross Highway 43 (State Street) and walk down Green Street to your car.


Fees, Regulations, etc.

  • Dogs on leash
  • Park hours 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Maps

Trip Reports

Related Discussions / Q&A

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
  • Take a Walk: Portland by Brian Barker
  • Nature Walks In and Around Portland by Karen & Terry Whitehill
  • Wild in the City: Exploring the Intertwine edited by Michael C. Houck and M.J. Cody
  • The Willamette River Field Guide by Travis Williams
  • Canine Oregon by Lizann Dunegan
  • The Dog Lover's Companion to Oregon by Val Mallinson

More Links


Page Contributors

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Oregon Hikers Field Guide is built as a collaborative effort by its user community. While we make every effort to fact-check, information found here should be considered anecdotal. You should cross-check against other references before planning a hike. Trail routing and conditions are subject to change. Please contact us if you notice errors on this page.

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