Hiking through Forest Park is to enter another world on the edges of Portland, Oregon.

Duration

3-4 hours

About

When tour guests asks us, ""what one thing should I not miss in Portland,"" we pick the hike in Forest Park. No matter what the season, hiking in the park is entering another world right on the borders (and through the fabric) of the city.

Note: this is a one-way hike! We can alter the route for groups who want to return to the coffee shop.

Our urban hiking tour starts near the center of the city, in front of a coffee shop in NW Portland, accessible by city bus, with a climb of between 800 to 1,000 feet elevation gain. (About 250 meters.) The tour ends in a different location than it begins, but both ends are within a few steps of transit.

Being in Forest Park is to be immersed in a sense of both vitality and stasis, this fluid place that exists both in and out of time. In the forest — within a minute or two of leaving a city street — you can forget, or ignore, or wonder at the fact that you are still in a city. Signs of civilization drop away, only occasionally encountered (on cloudy weekdays) by runners and dog walkers and the few times the pathways cross busy city streets.

We start in front of Haven Coffee NW , a jumping-off point for the 5,000-acre forested area. We’ll start our hike up toward the quixotic Witch’s Castle. While the origins of the building itself are not very magical, it has gathered its magic in the decades since its dismantling in the early 1960s. From here we head up the hill, stopping to see streams cascading into basalt-lined pools, beautiful moss- and fern-covered Western redcedars and big leaf maples, and the stately towering Douglas-firs. We’ll arrive at the Pittock Mansion to view the city laid out before us before descending through the neighborhoods into Washington Park, where we will end at the International Rose Test Garden. Three to four hours, 5-6 miles (8-10 m).

Itinerary

Entry into Forest Park

• We start right near the entrance to the Wildwood Trail, so we'll enter the park almost immediately from the Thurman Bridge (with bonus great views of mountains on clear days!).

The famed Wildwood Trail

• About two miles of our hike will be on the Wildwood Trail, which intersects with a network of over 70 miles of trails in Forest Park. The Wildwood Trail was the first piece of the park developed, and for decades wound through timber land and neighborhoods, before being joined with the city's expansive project to create a forested park in the 1940s. We are hiking from the lowest elevation point on the trail to the highest elevation -- worth it!

Visit the Witch's Castle

• The Witch's Castle is one of the highlights of a visit to Forest Park -- the beautiful old stone building once used as a rest stop is now in ruins, frequently tagged by graffiti artists, and the subject of countless photos. We'll visit the structure, take our own photos, and tell stories of the witches who now make Forest Park their home.

Visit Pittock Mansion and see the view of the city

• The Pittock Mansion is one of Portland's most impressive old homes -- and it's now a museum! Our tour will take us onto the grounds of the Pittock Mansion, from where we can see the expansive view of the city and the mountains surrounding it. If you've worked up an appetite by now, we'll sit down and eat some snacks in some of the city's prettiest public gardens.

Into Washington Park

• We'll cross Burnside and pass into Washington Park (in the months when the roses are not blooming we will give the option of a loop back to the coffee shop). Our tour winds down through the NW Portland neighborhoods (with beautiful views of the city and mountains), and crosses Burnside at a light-metered crosswalk. Once inside the park, we'll talk about the stories of the park, its attractions and our favorite parts of the park.

Past the Japanese Garden

• The Japanese Garden is one of our most-recommended attractions in the city! If you like, morning tour guests can end their hike here at the garden -- we suggest going into the tea house on quiet days for a little snack before lunch! Afternoon tour guests will be encouraged to try the garden on another day, or visit in the early evening hours during the spring and summer.

Into the Rose Garden

• Sometime in late May through October, the International Rose Test Garden is bursting with fragrance and color. We'll stop and smell as many of the 10,000 plantings as we can before heading on with our day. This will be the final stop of the tour, near transit stops and closer to central downtown.