Pedestrians’ Progress

Back in 1905, a Portland mayor proposed that alternate streets be razed and then planted with trees and roses. Instead, landowners bequeathed wooded areas to the city on the condition that no wheeled vehicle ever violate the sanctity of these preserves.

Portland decided to emphasize its land, not its port. The city marshaled its resources, natural and human, to make this most bountiful land a most livable city.

The parameters of big-city success are all here--a deep-water harbor, a convention center and a diverse cultural scene. But for Portlanders, a commitment to their city as a place to live is of the utmost importance. Now the city has nearly 200 parks and wildlife refuges.

Set at the confluence of the Columbia and Willamette rivers, Portland is about 90 miles from the Pacific Ocean and 50 miles from the Cascade Range. Mt. Hood rises 11,235 feet in the range. Behind the city rise the park-filled West Hills.

Portland demolished a four-lane freeway that extended along the Willamette’s west bank and replaced it with Tom McCall Waterfront Park, a two-mile belt of lawns, trees and a riverfront promenade.

Not only was the riverfront cleaned up, so was the river. Trout and salmon now abound.

Council Crest, the city’s high point, offers both metropolitan and Cascade Range vistas.

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Downtown measures 13 by 26 short blocks, and a walker can easily crisscross the city in a day. Sidewalks are wide and small parks with benches are plentiful. Making exploration easier still is MAX, the city’s light rail system, and Tri-Met buses, both of which are free in the downtown area, known as Fareless Square.

The best city walk is outlined in a free map/guide offered by Powell’s Bookstore (1005 W. Burnside St.), one of the West’s great independent booksellers.

City-strollers should tour the Skidmore Historic District, Portland’s old downtown, with buildings dating from the 1880s. Prevailing architecture is brick with cast-iron facades and Italianate interpretation.

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In recent years the city has decreed that 1% of the cost of every new building must be spent on public art. The Regional Arts and Culture Council (309 S.W. 6th Ave., Suite 100) offers a brochure that suggests a walking tour that visits more than three dozen works of art. Not surprisingly these public art projects have Northwestern themes. “Allow Me,” located in Pioneer Courthouse Square, is a bronze sculpture of a man carrying an umbrella. Then there’s blocklong (Southwest Clay Street) Ira Keller Memorial Fountain, which depicts the Pacific Northwest’s many creeks and cascades.

The International Rose Test Garden in Washington Park, where more than 400 rose varieties blossom, is the base of Portland’s annual June Rose Festival to champion its “City of Roses” nickname.

The 14-mile-long Wildwood Trail in Washington Park had its origins in the early 1900s when famed landscape architect brothers Frederick and John Olmsted came to work on the fairgrounds for the 1905 Lewis and Clark Exposition. They left behind an ambitious park plan and a proposal for a 40-mile loop trail through the 4,700-acre Forest Park and around a greenbelt.

Portland’s 40-Mile Loop Land Trust is working to complete the project, as well as another 100 miles of connecting pathways that link parks along the Columbia and Willamette rivers.

Tom McCall Waterfront Park, 1.75 miles one way

Back in the late 1960s, Oregon Gov. Tom McCall and Portland conservationists envisioned a green way, not a freeway, along the west bank of the Willamette River. That vision became a reality with Tom McCall Waterfront Park, a 1.75-mile-long park and promenade.

The once-constant roar of cars and trucks has been replaced by the soothing strains of the Portland Symphony’s regularly scheduled summer outdoor concerts.

From the south end of the waterfront park, a concrete promenade winds along the riverbank. A pedestrian’s progress is marked by the many bridges en route: Hawthorne Bridge, Morrison Bridge (once a wooden structure, and the first to span the Willamette in 1887), Burnside Bridge, under which Portland’s famed Saturday Market is held, and Steel Bridge.

Urban adventurers could return through the city’s Skidmore Historic District. On the way back walkers can cross busy Naito Parkway (formerly Front Avenue) at Salmon Street to pop into the Portland Oregon Visitors Assn.’s Information Center.

Access: Begin this walk at the RiverPlace development on Front Avenue at S.W. Montgomery Street. Park at the pay lot at this corner or compete for one of the metered spaces along nearby streets.

Tri-Met buses make frequent stops along Naito Parkway. Walk down to the Willamette waterfront from the nearest stop.

Washington Park: Wildwood National Recreation Trail, 14 miles round trip

Portland’s Washington Park is an attractive combination of nature trails, garden paths and some must-see natural and historical attractions. Perched in the hills high above downtown and the Willamette River, Washington Park, along with adjoining Forest Hills Park and Hoyt Arboretum, forms one of the largest municipal parklands within an American city.

Wildwood National Recreation Trail is a 26.3-mile path extending from Washington Park to the northern end of Forest Hills Park. From Washington Park, hikers can follow Wildwood Trail to the World Forestry Center and/or Pittock Mansion. (Washington Park Rose Garden to the World Forestry Center is four miles round trip; to Pittock Mansion is four miles round trip.) The Forestry Center’s 70-foot “Talking Tree” offers a good introduction to the museum.

In 1853, young printer’s apprentice Henry Pittock came to Portland. In eight years he rose to editor of the Oregonian. In 1908 he began construction of his 16,000-square-foot, top-of-the hill chateau.

Guided tours of Pittock Mansion, offered most afternoons from 12 to 4 p.m., provide an insight into Portland’s growth and development.

Walk up a gravel path, then ascend on the switchbacking Japanese Garden Trail, climbing first through an exotic landscape dominated by English ivy, then pass through Oregon grape, sword fern, Douglas fir and Western hemlock. High above the Japanese Garden is the junction with Wildwood Trail.

Go left on Wildwood Trail to reach the World Forestry Center. You’ll pass plenty of alternate pathways as you work your way to the Oregon Vietnam Veterans Living Memorial, then over to the sprawling cedar shingle-roofed World Forestry Center building. With a park map (available at the Forestry Center) you can improvise an alternate return route.

Go right on Wildwood Trail to reach Pittock Mansion. You’ll cross some paved roads and encounter lots of native California trees--giant sequoias and coastal redwoods--on your way to the mansion. Wildwood Trail continues far into Forest Park.

Access: Follow West Burnside Street to Tichner Street into Washington Park. Head south on S.W. Tichner Street and follow the signs for the Japanese Garden. Best parking is just above the International Rose Test Garden by the tennis courts. Begin your walk at a sign and gateway for the Japanese Garden opposite the tennis courts.

Council Crest: Marquam Nature Trail, 4 miles round trip

From Marquam Nature Park to Council Crest, there is a 900-foot elevation gain. The reward for the climb on a clear day to the city’s 1,070-foot high point is a panorama of Cascade peaks, including Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Hood.

The path up to Council Crest--the only way up--is part of Portland’s 40-Mile Loop. Combine this trail with others to walk north to Forest Park or south and east to the Willamette River and the city.

The path climbs through a thick forest of Douglas fir, big-leaf maple and red alder. At times the zigzagging, fern-lined trail leaves civilization far behind; other stretches meander near hillside homes.

Access: From S.W. 6th Ave., follow S.W. Sam Jackson Road. Make a right on S.W. Marquam Court and leave your car in Marquam Nature Park’s lot. This walk begins on signed Sam Jackson Trail.

Powell Butte: Mountain View, Wildhorse Trails, Three-mile loop

Powell Butte is Portland’s volcano. It lacks the stature (elevation 630 feet) and name recognition of nearby landmark volcanoes, but this now-quiet volcanic mound does offer a pleasant excursion and some great metropolitan views.

Powell Butte is the centerpiece of a city park located in southeast Portland. Depending on your time and inclination, you can make a beeline for the summit on 0.6-mile long Mountain View Trail or fashion a more circuitous route via Wildhorse Trail, Mt. Hood Trail or Meadowland Trail. Nine miles of trail weave through the park.

Access: From Portland, follow Interstate 205 east and exit on Powell Boulevard. Drive three miles east on Southeast Powell Boulevard to 162nd Avenue. The entrance road to Powell Butte’s parking lot is at S.E. Powell Boulevard and 162nd Avenue.