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Mount Talbert Summit Loop Hike

From Oregon Hikers Field Guide

TKO put tools to trail here.png
On the Park Loop Trail, Mount Talbert (bobcat)
Blacktail deer on Mount Talbert (Steve Hart)
Boardwalk in the oaks, West Ridge Trail (bobcat)
Howell's Violet (Viola howellii), Mount Talbert (Steve Hart)
The loop hike at Mt. Talbert that crosses the summit (not a GPS track) (bobcat) Courtesy: Caltopo
Nettles
Poison-Oak

Contents

Hike Description

Mount Talbert is a forested Boring volcano, and the largest such feature in the Portland area that is almost entirely wooded. In this particular segment of the Boring Lava Field, eruptive activity began about 1.6 million years ago and continued until about 60,000 years ago. Nearby prominences such as Mount Scott, Scouters Mountain, Powell Butte, Mount Tabor, and Rocky Butte are also Boring volcanoes. The local Kalapuyans regularly burned the oak grasslands here, but Douglas-firs began to take over in the 20th century and efforts are being made to restore the oak canopy. The public land here was purchased via a Metro Open Spaces Bond Measure, and the park was officially opened in 2007. Additional land on the north side of the butte was added in 2010. Trails are well-marked, but since it’s a Metro park, dogs are not permitted.

Mount Talbert is probably named after Francis Talbert, who in 1852 established a Donation Land Claim of 300 acres on the north side of the butte. Other members of the Talbert family settled nearby.

First take a brief jaunt around the universal access Prairie Loop to the right of the covered picnic area past the squirrel statue. An interpretive sign explains the ecology of the Willamette Valley oak savannas. In spring, you can look for blooming checkermallow, buttercup, and iris in this small grassland.

Then find the Mather Road Trail leading up into the forest to the left of the restrooms. Switchback up twice into woods of Douglas-fir, big-leaf maple, and sword fern. This is a rocky tread like most other trails on Mount Talbert. Come to the Park Loop-Mather Road Trail Junction, and make a left. Descend slightly to the Park Loop-West Ridge Trail South Junction, and keep left here as well. (You’ll be returning to this junction to complete the loop.)

Wind down, and switchback three times. Woodpeckers swoop through the canopy, and Douglas squirrels dart in the underbrush. You’ll notice that extensive thinning of young Douglas-firs has provided more light for the oak trees. Keep right at the junction for the spur leading to Park Mountain Lane. Stay right at the next junction, and begin gradually ascending along an old road bed. Make a level traverse below a hillside of oaks, and pass an old logging landing (These slopes were cut in the 1920s -1930s). Round the northwest corner of the butte on a slope of mossy maples and sword fern.

Keep left at the Park Loop-West Ridge Trail North Junction. A short distance later, you’ll pass the spur leading out to Talbert Drive. Stay right, and head up the hillside. You’ll get glimpses of Mount Scott through the trees. Then the trail drops to the Park Loop-Sunnyside Road Trail Junction in a grove of western red-cedar. Go right to ascend the slope on a former logging road. Walk through a stand of oaks, and make a right at the Park Loop-Summit Trail Junction. This trail curves up under a canopy of Oregon white oak and passes under the mossy maples at the summit area of Mount Talbert.

Descend into shady Douglas-fir woods, making five short switchbacks to the Summit-West Ridge Trail Junction. Turn left to enter an open oak savanna and cross a boardwalk. An interpretive sign explains the restoration of the oak woodlands. At the Park Loop-West Ridge South Trail Junction, go left and then make a right at the next junction to return to the trailhead.


Fees, Regulations, etc.

  • Dogs not permitted
  • Open one hour before sunrise to one hour after sunset
  • Stay on the trails
  • No bicycles

Maps

Trip Reports

Related Discussions / Q&A

Guidebooks that cover this hike

  • Urban Trails: Portland by Eli Boschetto
  • Take a Walk: Portland by Brian Barker
  • Discovering Portland Parks by Owen Wozniak
  • Walking Portland by Becky Ohlsen
  • Walk There! 50 Treks In and Around Portland and Vancouver edited by Laura O. Foster
  • Portland Hill Walks by Laura O. Foster
  • Wild in the City: Exploring the Intertwine edited by Michael C. Houck and M.J. Cody
  • Oregon Hiking by Sean Patrick Hill

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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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