Jenne Butte Hike
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
- Start point: Linneman Station Trailhead
- End point: Jenne Butte Water Tank
- Hike Type: In and out or loop option with cross-country section
- Distance: 3.3 miles
- Elevation gain: 690 feet
- High Point: 630 feet
- Difficulty: Easy
- Seasons: All
- Family Friendly: Yes
- Backpackable: No
- Crowded: No
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Hike Description
Right off the Springwater Corridor, and a neglected sister to Powell Butte, Jenne Butte is one of the Portland area's multitude of Boring volcanoes. This lava field was active for 2 1/2 million years and became extinct about 300,000 years ago. Trails around the two summit cones of the butte are unofficial, but it is possible to make a loop by doing a short bushwhack across steep-sided gullies. This is native forest, mostly deciduous red alder and big-leaf maple. There are no substantial views, but if you spend enough time on the butte, you should scare up the resident black-tailed deer herd. There is a nicely benched trail in addition to use trails and deer trails in various stages of utility, but this is a good family hike for kids who like to get dirty and explore a little.
Jenne Butte is named after Lemuel Jenne, who built a homestead at the base of the butte along Johnson Creek in 1853.
Walk west on the paved Springwater Corridor with Paesano’s Cedarville Park to the left (No Trespassing). Johnson Creek flows to the left. Near Linneman Station is a sign explaining its role on the electric rail line which once ran all the way to Estacada. Pass under the Highland Drive road bridge. Sixty yards after crossing a bridge over Johnson Creek, go left down into a gully and then up into the woods of Jenne Butte. Hike up to the left at a junction. Traverse up in Douglas-fir, hemlock, big-leaf maple, and alder woods with a sword fern carpet. The trail switchbacks up four times. At a junction, turn left and make a traverse in alder/maple woods. The trail passes into a cedar grove and heads up to the right. There are homes to the left. Pass through a blackberry thicket, and cross over the forested east summit of the butte.
At a junction, go left and down through an elderberry thicket. At another junction, go right and down to a wider trail, where you go left. Drop and cross a gully to keep right at the next junction. Rise past another junction to the summit of the west butte, with its tall white water tower. Signs say it is protected by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. A gravel road leads down to Brittany Drive, and there’s a view to the Gresham Buttes. If you don't want to bushwhack across steep gully to make a loop, head back the way you came from here.
To extend your time on the butte, return past the water tower and descend from its southwest corner to drop down the slope, keeping left at junctions. Enter an open area of blackberry thickets to reach Equestrian Drive. Head back up, and then branch off to the left in a cedar grove. This becomes the deer trail bushwhack portion of the exploration. Cross two gullies: don't join a trail going down the second gully, which deadends at a blackberry thicket above a house. Instead, climb up the gully, and then bushwhack left to cross a third gully. There are lots of stinging nettles in here, so a good time to do this is in the winter. Keep taking deer trails to traverse the slope. Pass the corner of a fence line and hit an old road bed, which leads out to the main trail. Go left and head back down to the Springwater Corridor.
Note: Jenne Butte is just east of Powell Butte, and both can be accessed via the Springwater Corridor so it is possible to combine the two for a good half-day outing.
Fees, Regulations, etc.
- Trails vary in quality and are not signed
- Share some trails with horses
Maps
- Maps: Hike Finder
Trip Reports
- Search Trip Reports for Jenne Butte Hike
Related Discussions / Q&A
- Search Trail Q&A for Jenne Butte Hike
Guidebooks that cover this hike
- none
More Links
- Jenne Butte Park (Things to do in Portland with children)
- Jenne Butte Park (The Intertwine)
- Jenne Butte Park (City of Gresham)
Contributors
- bobcat (creator)