Home  •   Field Guide  •   Forums  •    Unread Posts  •   Maps  •   Find a Hike!
| Page | Discussion | View source | History | Print Friendly and PDF

Tualatin Hills Nature Park Loop Hike

From Oregon Hikers Field Guide

Cedar Mill Creek wetland, Tualatin Hills Nature Park (bobcat)
Red elderberry, Tualatin Hills Nature Park (bobcat)
Oak and ponderosa pine woodland, Tualatin Hills Nature Park (bobcat)
Tall trees, Oak Trail, Tualatin Hills Nature Park (bobcat)
The outer loop at Tualatin Hills Nature Park (bobcat) Courtesy: Google Maps

Contents

Description

This forested parcel of land west of Beaverton's town center has excellent access via public transit and is open all year. An interpretive center has exhibits on the natural history of the area. There are numerous trails and therefore many possibilities for an outing. The Oak and Vine Maple Trails are universal access trails. The description below takes you counterclockwise around the park and picks on its main features (See the link under the "Maps" subheading below for a map of the park.).

From the parking area, head up past the Interpretive Center onto a paved trail into an oak and ash woodland. At the first junction, bear right on the Oak Trail. Sword fern and salal dominate under white oak, Douglas-fir, ponderosa pine, and grand fir. There are many interpretive signs along the way. Rough-skinned newts run rampant across these trails in the spring. Soon, make a right for a little loop to Tadpole Ponds quietly nestled under powerlines. Pass the junction with the Beaverton Powerline Trail (Westside Trail - See the Willow Creek-Waterhouse Trail Hike), which leads out to the Merlo Road MAX Station, and rejoin the Oak Trail. Switchback down to a boardwalk that zigzags across a sedge and skunk-cabbage swamp. Then, head up under alders, cedar, and Douglas-fir to an elevated boardwalk in an ash, willow, and red osier dogwood swamp. After the boardwalk, go left on the Old Wagon Trail, a mere footpath along Cedar Mill Creek (straight would take you up to the Merlo Road MAX Station). There are some rather surprising old yews here in this bottomland as well as alders, cedars, and cottonwoods. At a junction, keep right to stay on the Old Wagon Trail, and at another junction keep right to enter the North Woods. The trees are ash, oak and Douglas-fir with some ponderosa pines. The trail runs along the boundary of the park below The Tri-Met Merlo Operations Base. Walk along a narrow boardwalk under cottonwoods and go left at a junction, and then left again at the next junction onto the Vine Maple Trail. Reach a paved trail, and take a spur left to the Lily Pond. Return to the Vine Maple Trail and cross a wide boardwalk shaded by cedars. Keep straight until you reach the junction with the Elliot Path leading right.

Enter Douglas-fir woods and, at the junction with the Big Fir Trail, go right. Keep right at the next junction, and descend to a boardwalk through a bottomland. Cross a footbridge over Beaverton Creek and go right on the gravel Chickadee Loop. Cross another boardwalk with a wall of cedars to your left and tall cottonwoods on the right. The creek flows to the right. Reach a viewing platform and take the trail leading up to the left. Enter a dark woodland of cedars and Douglas-firs. At a junction, go right on the Big Fir Trail. Enter the Big Cedar Grove and then make a left onto the Ash Loop Trail. Use a boardwalk to pass through an ash swale. Continue on the loop to pass an overlook of the creek and a pond, and arrive back at the area of Beaverton Creek. Reach the footbridge over the creek and go right. Cross the boardwalk on the Big Fir Trail again and head up a low rise to a spur on the right called the Beaver Trail, which leads to a large pond. Continue straight on the Big Fir Trail, past the junction with the Elliot Trail, to make a right onto the Trillium Loop Trail. This is Douglas-fir forest shading Oregon grape and salal. At the end of the loop, rejoin the Big Fir Trail and go right. Keep right at the next two junctions to begin the Ponderosa Loop Trail through the South Woods. There are also white oaks, ash, and Douglas-firs here with an Oregon grape carpet. At a junction turn right, and then right again at the next junction onto the paved Vine Maple Trail. Keeping right, this leads you back to the Interpretive Center.

Fees, Regulations, etc.

  • No pets allowed
  • Open daily, dawn to dusk

Maps

Trip Reports

Related Discussions / Q&A

Guidebooks that cover this hike

  • Urban Trails: Portland by Eli Boschetto
  • Discovering Portland Parks by Owen Wozniak
  • Wild in the City: Exploring the Intertwine edited by Michael C. Houck and M.J. Cody
  • PDX Hiking 365 by Matt Reeder
  • 100 Hikes: Northwest Oregon by William L. Sullivan
  • Exploring the Tualatin River Basin by Tualatin Riverkeepers
  • Take a Walk: Portland by Brian Barker
  • Afoot & Afield: Portland/Vancouver by Douglas Lorain
  • Peaceful Places: Portland by Paul Gerald
  • Easy Portland Outdoors by Teresa Bergen
  • Nature Walks In and Around Portland by Karen & Terry Whitehill
  • Best Trail Runs: Portland, Oregon by Adam W. Chase, Nancy Hobbs, and Yassine Dibboun

More Links


Page Contributors

Retrieved from "https://www.oregonhikers.org/w/index.php?title=Tualatin_Hills_Nature_Park_Loop_Hike&oldid=119661"
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.

Hiking is a potentially risky activity, and the entire risk for users of this field guide is assumed by the user, and in no event shall Trailkeepers of Oregon be liable for any injury or damages suffered as a result of relying on content in this field guide. All content posted on the field guide becomes the property of Trailkeepers of Oregon, and may not be used without permission.