Walking Circles Around Portland

By Laurie Morton

A few years ago my walking group decided that we were going to spend the summer discovering Portland. We’d heard of the 40-Mile Loop, but none of us were sure where it was. We picked up a map at the Audubon Society and were on our way.

Sure enough, there is a trail that connects the Willamette River’s east and west promenades to the cities of Gresham, Troutdale, and Wood Village. The trail hugs the curve of the Columbia River, meanders through the community of St. Johns and, on the west side of the Willamette River, connects with Forest Park. We decided to spend the summer walking a section on the east side of the Loop, from the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) to Gresham. This portion features the 21-mile Springwater Corridor, once a commuter light rail route built in the early 1900s.

We launched our exploration early on a misty Sunday. We parked north of OMSI, then, dogs leashed, snacks packed, and water bottles at the ready, we strolled south past the USS Blueback, OMSI’s resident submarine. The trail jogs a bit, looping past an industrial area, before becoming an unbroken path of black top. As the sun burned through the haze, we found ourselves alone with the Willamette River, the birds, and the baby ducks.

Walking south, the foot and bike traffic picked up, but who cared? There wasn’t a car in sight, just other trail users ambling along the bank, between the bluff and Ross Island.

The next week we started at Sellwood Park, walking north past Oaks Bottom to the previous week’s finish point. The third week was a little more challenging. Because of busy city streets that bisect the trail, it wasn’t easy to walk from Sellwood Park, through the adjacent neighborhood, across McLoughlin Boulevard, and over to Tideman Johnson Park. However, Portland Parks and Recreation is building three different footbridges over the biggest roads, so by autumn 2006 that piece of the trail will be easier to navigate.

For logistical reasons, we always walked out and back rather than trying to park cars at both ends. But who could complain about seeing everything twice? The Springwater Corridor follows Johnson Creek, so we regularly saw nutrias, ducks, and lots of birds. We passed the Wichita Feed Store, which operates out of an old wooden building built in the 1900s. As the summer progressed, we walked by Beggars-tick Wildlife Refuge, along the backside of Powell Butte, and past the old Columbia brick factory (where trees were growing out of stacks of ancient bricks). In a brief seven weeks we walked from OMSI right through one of Gresham’s main parks and out past Hogan Road.

We were plumpish desk types, yet we walked from the Willamette River, through industrial backyards, and into rural Clackamas County. Along the way we became serious Loop lovers, and I went on to join the 40-Mile Loop Land Trust Board.

For you history buffs: The 40-Mile Loop was originally proposed in 1904 as one step to modernize Portland for the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition and World’s Fair. City leaders believed the parks should be situated to take advantage of the area’s natural beauty and be connected to each other.

Although land was acquired and parks created, the system of parks and trails was never connected. In the late 1970s, the 40-Mile Loop plan was rediscovered, and by 1981 city residents and Portland Parks and Recreation staff joined together to complete this unique legacy. The original name, 40-Mile Loop, stuck even as the planned trail system lengthened to more than 126 miles, including all of Multnomah County and connecting more than 30 parks.

This year is the 25th Anniversary of our modern 40-Mile Loop. The trail system is now 102 miles long, 24 miles short of completion.

If you would like to explore the Loop or support the project, please visit www.40mileloop.org.

Laurie Morton, a local writer, spends her spare time promoting parks and walking the trails with her dog Hank. Email her at laurie@iyvghosting.com.