A Walk in the Woods (Natural Area)

Portlanders love their parks, and as a result they are prevalent in all parts of town. A quick look at most any map of Portland shows an assortment of green squares of varying sizes peppering the suburbs and downtown alike. Living in Southwest Portland, several of these are within easy reach. One of them, a forested woodland curiously named “Woods Memorial Natural Area” was a recent discovery of mine. I had intended to visit this park in the past, but had been unable to find parking, and so gave up in dismay. This time, I handled the logistics (and of course, snacks) before setting out. I would park off site, and then research the dilemma during my trip.

March seemed like a good time to make the trip. While winter maintains its chokehold on the region (as recent snows clearly demonstrate) blossoms dot fruit trees, and the temperatures are once more bearable. Because the snow level retreated to 4000 feet, the tops of the hills looking north across the Columbia are dusted in a mantle of white I mistook it for a cloud. More of these hills dot the horizon, and patches of clear-cut forest are revealed by squares of solid white on some of these hills.

These distinctive signs, inspired by older wooden signs in forest park, guide travelers along the trails in Woods Natural Area.

I had to be “creative” when solving the parking dilemma (*cough* TriMet park-and-ride *cough*), and after walking to the bus shelter and checking schedules to throw off  those TriMet security guards that obviously were not following me (just for good measure), I set out along Taylor’s Ferry Rd., following the signs for Southwest Trail 5, which leads to the entrance to the park on Southwest 43rd, which meets South West Trail 7, which goes into the park. The Southwest Trails are a community project designating routes that are safe for pedestrians to travel around town. Just because they are safe thought, doesn’t mean the trails are necessarily easy to follow. Signs for Route 5 are easy to find along Taylor’s ferry, but those for 7 are trickier. A traveler must always keep their eyes peeled: The sign for Trail 7 leading into the park caught me off guard.

A staircase leading up and out of the canyon. the staircase here made creative use of existing tree roots, incorporating them into the staircase in places.

I had intended to only use Route 7 to get into the park as part of my covert parking operation. When I noticed that it went all the way through the park and kept going however, curiosity got the better of me, and I decided to proceed. At the end of the street, I found a sign that Route 7 proceeded left. I did just that, and ended in a dead-end with a canyon wall dropping off in front of me. I assumed myself to be at the butt end of a joke by the organization to put these trails together. I could picture them chuckling while imagining people trying to make sense of this vanishing trail. I though surely I had fallen victim to a cunning form of vandalism. It turned out to be less of a joke and more of a riddle but instead: left does not always mean a hard left. It was only upon returning to the sign and trying to figure out if the signs had been switched, that I noticed it was not pointing left down the alley, but actually at an angle, toward a narrow corridor carved into the woods. Slightly frustrated by the confusing signage, I decided not to go far, for fear of getting hopelessly lost.

The hidden passage on SouthWest Trails 7. This cutoff is difficult to see from the road, but is a nice walk once you find it.

The Woods natural Area was just as enchanting as usual. The woods are filled with the police whistle-like calls of unseen Varied thrushes, and the chirping of sparrows. The entire ambience is finished by the white noise of nearby highways, and the soft muck formed by rain on unfinished dirt trails. The main trail follows a staircase built into the hillside partly using tree roots. After descending the staircase, the trail levels off and follows the creek in the bottom of the canyon, snaking along, following its every bend. About halfway along the creek there is a junction, with one trail leading out of the park to 45th Avenue, and another leading to the appropriately named "stairway trail,” so-called because about fifty percent of the trail is the aforementioned staircase leading directly up the side of the canyon, and up to the abandoned stretch of Wood Parkway. The stairs are strenuous, but offer a fabulous view of the canyon from the top. All of the staircases are very well engineered, and stumps offer many good resting places.

The namesake stairway of the stairway trail.

Perhaps there's nothing that makes Woods Natrual Area truly unique. There are many such wooded parks in Portland. But it's location in the middle of the southwest neighborhoods, and it's charming network of trails make it a nice place for an afternoon stroll. Or an evening stroll if you are a night owl. -KP