Now that I have Wildwood Trail, the roads, and all the firelanes under my belt, I’ve decided to polish off the remaining trails. Many more trails exist than the “Hiking and Running Guide to Forest Park” map shows because quite a few have been recently added. However, the All Trails Challenge webpage of the Forest Park Conservancy has a comprehensive list with a brief description of insertion points for each. The elevations and mileages I’ve posted below are mostly taken directly from this list.
The trails are arranged here from north to south, rural to urban respectively. In a nutshell, I can tell you that if you want a quiet hike of sublime serenity, your odds are better if you stick to the trails north of Firelane 1. That seems to be the cut off line for the mobs of frenzied trail runners and most of their organized races. There’s less noise pollution from the city traffic up there, too. A good rule of thumb is that any trail whose dirt section is wider than 18″ is a popular one and is likely to be an oozing mud pit in the wet winter months. Narrower, overgrown routes will deliver a more natural forest experience.
The Tao of Slug
6-25-11 to 7-20-11 Wildwood Trail 5,160′ elevation gain, 30.16 miles RT
The longest and most varied route in all of Forest Park, spanning it’s entire length from north to south. I wrote up my extended adventures on this trail in a separate post.
8-30-11 Keyser Trail 50′ elevation gain, 0.70 miles RT
I’m pretty sure that Keyser Trail is the little divergence that loops south off Firelane 10 and then returns back to it again but I’m waiting for confirmation on this from the Forest Park Conservancy. At any rate, it looked more like a firelane to me than a trail, so I did it during my firelane sorties.
8-30-11 Linnton Trail 420′ elevation gain, 1.16 miles RT
At the very bottom of Firelane 10 is the top of Linnton Trail, which will lead you down a veritable ladder of tiny switchbacks to a creek, a bridge, and a Y junction right after that (above). If you
take the path to the right, you’ll head straight to a bus stop on Highway 30 (right). The left path goes up some stairs and out of the Forest Park boundary. It curves around a while and ends up branching out into multiple user trails, the most obvious of which ends at NW 3rd Street in the city of Linnton, itself. There is zero parking there and multiple unfriendly dogs, so turn around fast if your hiking partner is on a leash.
Cartilage lichen Ramalina farinacea
9-29-11 Cannon Trail 160′ elevation gain, 0.64 miles RT
Cannon Trail connects the Wildwood Trail parking area to the Leif Erikson Road parking area with an easy, ambling trail suitable to any hiking experience level. For these reasons, it tends to be crowded but at least it is a cinch to follow. Traffic on Germantown Road is audible the length of this route.
9-29-11 Tolinda Trail 430′ elevation, 1.5 miles RT
Tolinda Trail is unmarked at its origins on Leif Erikson Road, a mere mile from Leif’s Germantown Road trailhead. If you look for a wooded birm with a trail sneaking around it to the left at milemarker 10.2, that’s Tolinda (below).
The trail takes a pretty sharp downhill turn from there and stays relatively steep the entire way to it’s own parking area off Germantown Road (just Google 9401 NW Germantown Road, it’s right across the street from there). The route is rife with toe-stubbing tree roots and
knots, so keep your eyes peeled. When you get to the little open grassy patch, look around a bit because it’s absolutely blanketed with tasty Pacific Blackberry. A few hundred feet above that spot is a collection of tall, rotting snags where I saw three different kinds of woodpeckers in the space of five minutes: Red Shafted Northern Flicker, Red Breasted Sapsucker (right), and Pileated Woodpecker. They didn’t pause very long for paparazzi but I did get serenaded by all three: very nice. Hanna, thanks so much for hiking with me, it was a kick talking with you. And Pippin is a hottie!
6-30-11 Hardesty Trail 380′ elevation gain, 1.12 miles RT
Hardesty connects the top of Firelane 7 with Leif Erikson just before Leif’s 9 mile marker. It’s short, steep, and quiet, a convenient tangent to avoid the crowds in the Springville parking area who usually opt for the road or the firelane. About 180 yards south of Hardesty’s intersection with Wildwood Trail, on the north side of the trail, stands the noted Big Stump, a remnant of old-growth cedar with a pair of springboard notches cut into its trunk that resemble eyes.
Banana Slug inspecting a slime mold.
Mmmmm, tasty slime mold.
7-4-11 Trillium Trail 200′ elevation gain, o.50 miles RT
There are a couple truly steep places in Forest Park but Trillium Trail is like a StairMaster that’s out of control. It’s not even really a trail, it’s more like tree roots holding hands. If you want a quad workout, head here first, just watch out for the wild bee hive in the tall, lightning-scorched snag on the west side of the trail about a third of the way down. If you can avoid getting stung, you’ll enjoy the fastest route to the middle of Wildwood Trail (milepost 18.57) at an intersection decorated by the North Fork of Doane Creek.
9-17-11 Ridge Trail 980′ elevation gain, 2.70 miles RT
The most beautiful trail in Forest Park has a dirty little secret. It starts out okay at about a third of the way down Firelane 7 with a straight, shallow shot through the trees. At Wildwood Trail, it shifts onto a steeper track with a more open understory. Below Leif Erikson, it opens up into full-on cathedral ceilings of Vine Maple and makes elegant, sweeping loops around ridges and drainages (above). Be advised: the “Hiking and Running Guide to Forest Park” is wrong. It shows Ridge Trail jogging to the right where it crosses Wildwood but here it crosses directly. It shows Ridge Trail crossing Leif Erikson directly but it actually jogs left (north) before doing so.
The dirty part comes near the bottom. There are several user trails striking off into the woods from Ridge Trail but do not take them. Let’s just say that where Firelane 7 and Waterline Road have transient camps, Ridge Trail has a transient metropolis. I stopped counting after I reached nine camps. Yes, you read that right, and all of them are carpeted with garbage and debris. Signs have been erected at a place close to the bottom where Ridge Trail makes a Y and travels to two separate insertion points along Bridge Road. The signs encourage you to make a right and I concur: most of the camps are to the left. Unfortunately, so is a spectacular view of the St. John’s Bridge, but for one lone tree (above left). This left route makes one switchback and sends you to a bridge that lifts Bridge Road over a deep creek gulch and a private home. However, if you follow the signs at the Y junction obediently and turn right instead, you won’t miss out. When you see a well-constructed wooden bridge up ahead, get your camera ready because the St. John’s Bridge has more than one good side (below).
The end of the trail is actually those concrete stairs with the metal railings that you’ve probably passed on Bridge Road and wondered about (right). The sidewalk there leads to bus stops on Highway 30. Atop the concrete wall is a disintegrating patio with evidence of what might have been a viewing area for the St. John’s Bridge at one time. But trees grow and views disappear.
9-29-11 Wiregate Trail 180′ elevation gain, 0.62 miles RT
The only quick way to get to Wiregate Trail is to take Trillium Trail down to Wildwood Trail from the Springville Road parking area…so you can add that bit of incline to Wiregate’s otherwise benign descent. Wiregate itself is fairly wide on its lower half–obviously a former road–but because it hugs a creek so close in such a steep-sided little gully, there’s a fair amount of year round moisture and the usual accompanying Stinging Nettle to contend with. Wiregate drops you off on Leif Erikson at a nice bend at mile marker 7.13 where the selfsame creek opens a bit into a mini-meadow. 
9-25-11 Quarry Trail 70′ elevation gain, 0.25 miles RT
You won’t find Quarry Trail on any map or even Google, it’s that new. The All Trails Challenge by the Forest Park Conservancy neglected to list it. But don’t let that stop you, it’s worth taking this little connector from Leif Erikson to Maple Trail. It’s easy to find: that famous rest spot on Leif with the picnic table where Saltzman Road passes by, look for the Quarry Trail sign right there in the Himalayan Blackberries. The brambles only last a few yards, then the soft, moist forest takes over and you’ll enjoy a gentle grade for about a quarter mile. I saw my first Northern Pacific Tree Frog here (above left). He was about two inches long and in his brown morph, attempting to blend in with the leaves. Somebody should have told him to stop hoppin’.
9-25-11 Maple Trail 1230′ elevation gain, 7.04 miles RT
Maple Trail is officially my favorite trail in all of Forest Park. It’s peaceful, lovely, easy on the knees, and relatively devoid of people–I’ve never seen more than two on the entire trail. It crosses two sizable creeks, providing critters of the aquatic persuasion (above) as well as the furry sort that chatter aloft (below).
At just over 7 miles long, round trip, Maple Trail gives you a decent workout, too. The best way to reach it is to park at the top of Firelane 2 and head down, taking a left (north) on Wildwood Trail. Just a few hundred feet up from there is Maple Trail. There are five intersections with firelanes, trails, and connectors before Maple concludes at a bend in Leif Erikson (milepost 6.44), so you have plenty of options. Wear the waterproof gear if it’s raining; you’ll brush by so many dripping leaves that you’ll be wringing out your pants at the end of the day.
Looking down to Maple Trail from Leif Erikson near mile post 6.4.
9-23-11 Cleator Trail 200′ elevation gain, 0.48 miles RT
Short ‘n steep, Cleator Trail connects Wildwood Trail at milepost 15.47 to Leif Erikson at milepost 5.45. It’s so steep in one spot that trail crews have worked hard to divert the straight route into a serpentine dance of mini-switchbacks in order to prevent erosion. It’s kinda cool looking and makes it a more interesting trail. Also interesting are the frenetic little pine cone-chewing residents (above left).
Mossy Maze Polypore mushroom
9-23-11 Koenig Trail 240′ elevation gain, 0.56 miles RT
Koenig Trail is a Thimbleberry Lover’s delight. It’s absolutely lined with them from its beginnings at milepost 14.23 on Wildwood Trail to it’s intersection with Leif Erikson at milepost 6.44 below. That part is moderately steep, then it jogs north slightly as it crosses Leif and continues on down in a more gentle decline to Maple Trail near Saltzman Creek.
Discarded termite wings from a recent swarm.
9-17-11 Chestnut Trail 240′ elevation gain, 0.98 miles RT 
Like Nature Trail beside it, Chestnut Trail is easy on the knees. A gradual incline and nice bridge make it a very sweet ride along Rocking Chair Creek. Keep your eyes open for the bronze plaques offering uplifting sentiments (right). Near it’s intersection with Leif Erikson, Chestnut sports a sound deterrent to illegal mountain biking (below).
9-17-11 Nature Trail 310′ elevation gain, 0.56 miles RT
The Nature Trail probably has the kindest incline of all. Used for educational nature walks for children and adults, it is well maintained and mild. Gooey critters abound (left)(below). Getting to it involves a little downhill stepping on Firelane 1 but after that, it’s very smooth. Just past the halfway
mark, it jogs upwards slightly and offers a short connector to Wildwood Trail above. If you decide instead to continue downward along Rocking Chair Creek, you’ll pass through the only gate I’ve seen on a trail in Forest Park (below) and get a good look, up close and personal, at a recent rockslide where Chestnust meets Leif Erikson. Don’t worry, the trail is diverted around it.
7-13-11 Morak Trail 40′ elevation gain, 0.2 miles RT
This handy little connector to Wildwood Trail is far curvier than the map depicts. It cuts Firelane 1 in half so you can hop onto Wildwood at milemarker 10.65 instead of all the way up at milemarker 11.18. There’s not much else to say except that it’s a cool name, Morak.
Into every caterpillar’s life, a little rain must fall.
9-14-11 Alder Trail 290′ elevation gain, 1.68 miles RT
Alder Trail is a quiet, peaceful stroll. All the trail runners tend to pound along Wildwood, Dogwood, and Wild Cherry, leaving Alder to itself. You can tell this because Alder is a mere 18″ wide as opposed to the broader, eroded track of those popular thoroughfares. It’s a delightful way to get onto Leif Erikson if you don’t want to deal with the parking situation on Thurman Street, too. Down at the bottom, you’ll pass through a beautiful stand of its namesake, a grove of Oregon Alder (below) where a bronze plaque describes the trail’s origins in 1980.
9-14-11 Keil Trail 80′ elevation gain, 0.34 miles RT
Keil Trail takes you quickly to the Dogwood/Wild Cherry intersection from a parking area 0.5 miles north of the official Birch Trail parking lot. Flat as a pancake for the most part, it sports a wooden fence reminiscent of the ones settlers used to construct at the turn of the century (right).
9-14-11 Dogwood Trail 470′ elevation gain, 2 miles RT
A little straighter than Wild Cherry Trail, Dogwood follows a ridge for most of its journey and has a few large switchbacks. Very popular with the trail runners, it’s neither a quiet nor solitary experience. Because it’s one of the first few intersections with Leif Erikson from the Thurman Street access, it gets that crowd, too. The most popular (read: busy and noisy) loop in all of Forest Park is the one that encompasses Dogwood, Wild Cherry, and Leif Erikson. If you don’t want to be alone in the forest, go there. You won’t be.
Dryad’s Saddle fungus catching raindrops.
9-14-11 Wild Cherry Trail 500′ elevation gain, 1.76 miles RT
The weirdest experience I’ve had yet in Forest Park involved Wild Cherry Trail. I was walking along Leif Erikson when I heard a man shouting “Wild Cherry! Wild Cherry!” at the top of his lungs as he ran the length of Wild Cherry Trail above me at full bore. When he exploded out onto Leif, he seemed to be in some sort of ecstatic trance, eyes squinted shut, long hair and beard whipping around his face as he ran. I only laughed and waved. Hey, whatever gets ya there, buddy.
Enlightened hippies notwithstanding, Wild Cherry Trail is an easy hike thanks to some impressive trail improvements that recently cured the muddy spots. The route is still curvy and studded with root bumps and knots, though, so watch your step. A majestic Buckeye tree arches giant limbs over the trail just past the picnic table near the Leif Erikson intersection (above). Wild Cherry is another very popular route with trail runners (see Dogwood Trail above).
Even caterpillars have redheads.
9-29-11 Birch Trail 130′ elevation gain, 0.44 miles RT
Birch Trail is the loveliest little access trail to Wildwood Trail in all of lower Forest Park. Its switchback loops are gentle, its incline mild, and it plops you right on Wildwood at a nice wooden bench suitable for canoodling or a bit of meditation. The icing on the cake is the ample parking up on NW 53rd Avenue and the mowed areas there that would look pretty good with a picnic blanket spread out over them. I did witness the odd and rarely seen courting habits of the Forest Park Wheelbarrow (below). Apparently, when the trail crews knock off for the day, the wheelbarrows all get together and do a little canoodling of their own.
9-30-11 Aspen Trail 170′ elevation gain, 0.46 miles RT
Aspen Trail is probably a mystery to anyone who doesn’t live in the adjacent neighborhood, but it’s a very handy way to reach Wildwood Trail without having to deal with the hair-pulling parking situation at the end of Thurman Street. Here’s what you do: park as close as you can get to 3418 NW Thurman Street and look for these public stairs on the north side of the street ascending into a grove of bamboo (below).
In fact, it’s bamboo all the way up, you’ll think you’re in China. Caveat: there’s a very large buckeye tree that releases an occasional shower of large, hard seeds (right) that will put a real damper on your day and a real dent in your noggin, so keep it moving if you’re hiking in early fall. When you reach Aspen Ave at the top, go right and look for the sign heralding Aspen Trail (below).
From here on out, it’s a relatively easy incline of wide trail and sparse understory. In fact, it almost looks as if everything other than a fir and a fern has been selectively removed. The result is a very clean view, full of space. It’s a popular trail, too, full of people.
9-30-11 Lower Macleay Trail 260′ elevation gain, 1.72 miles RT
Lower Macleay is, by far, the most enchanting stroll from city to forest in all of the Portland Metro area. And, sometimes, it seems as if the entire Portland Metro area is there, getting enchanted. It’s not a good place for silent meditation but it’s definitely worth seeing the sheer elegance of Balch Creek, a rare four-season source of watery music and intermittent reflecting pools (above). The trail begins in Upshur Park, which is a clue which street you need to be on to find it. Parking on Upshur Street can be a bear during peak hours but if you park along Thurman above it, you can take the stairs down next to the bridge. The initial quarter mile segment of Lower Macleay Trail is paved to provide access for people with all abilities and leads to a nice little rock-walled patio overlooking the water. After that, the trail becomes a sometimes gravel-sometimes dirt dance partner with the creek. You are so close to the water in many spots that it’s a good idea to watch your step (below).
This little waterfall (above) feeds a deep glassy pool, decorated with ferns and undulating with Cutthroat trout (below). There’s a nice wooden bridge spanning it that you can lean over during fish finding. The largest one I spotted was at least eight inches long (right) but baby trout can be found up and down Balch Creek, as well as crayfish and newts. All ya gotta do is hold still and wait.
Your reward at the end of Lower Macleay Trail–as if soaking up the dewy ambiance of some cool creek air isn’t reward enough–is the historic and picturesque Stone House (below). Built in the mid-1930s by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) as a public restroom, its water line was destroyed by the infamous Columbus Day Storm on October 12, 1962. The structure was gutted down to its stones and left as a favorite curiosity and resting spot at Lower Macleay’s intersection with Wildwood Trail. 
You can climb stairs on either side of Stone House and check out the upper floor (below).
9-30-11 Macleay Trail 50′ elevation gain, 0.56 miles RT
Macleay Trail branches off from Wildwood Trail a few hundred feet up from Wildwood’s Cornell Drive crossing. There is a two-tier parking area on Cornell (right) and the Portland Audubon Society Sanctuary is just down the street. Traffic noise is abundant, however after the initial ascent from the road Macleay is easy and wide with a sparse understory and a spacious feel. At it’s next intersection with Wildwood, a confusing one for most, it becomes Upper Macleay.
9-30-11 Tunnel Trail 140′ elevation gain, 0.34 miles RT
Tunnel Trail will always hold a special place in my heart as the final trail I completed in my goal to hike the entire Forest Park system. It does not disappoint: it’s short, steep, ends right next to a handsome 1940 stone tunnel on Cornell Drive, has plenty of parking there as well as a grassy lawn, and it follows a moist drainage the entire way down, ensuring a steady supply of wildlife, insects, birds, giant spiders with bodies three quarters of an inch across (above left), and ornamental fungus. This one was just weird:
I also got a treat in seeing my first Pygmy Owl in the wild. He was about as large as a fat sparrow and was pretty brave when it came to perching six feet above me and peering down, unaffected. Unfortunately, he turned his head just as I snapped the photo below and I did not get another chance. It was worth it. Gary, my ears are still resonating with that Liverpool accent. Thanks for the hike, the chat, and the opportunity to pet the velvety, mouse grey Weimaraner of Brobdingnagian proportions. See you on Bennett Pass!
9-30-11 Cumberland Trail 140′ elevation gain, 0.82 miles RT
Cumberland Trail starts a little further down Wildwood Trail from Upper Macleay Trail. It’s a relatively flat, wide route to a Forest Park access at the end of Cumberland Road, which has far better parking than NW Macleay Boulevard just up the hill. Tunnel Trail branches off from Cumberland about midway along its length and plunges down a drainage to Cornell Road below.
Excellent quote on the back of a bench along one of the Macleay trails: 
9-30-11 Upper Macleay Trail 210′ elevation gain, 0.81 miles RT
Upper Macleay begins where Macleay ends at a discombobulating intersection with Wildwood Trail. There are signs helpfully pointing the way but the trails come together at such nonsensical angles that it play tricks with the mind, so don’t attempt to navigate this one in the dark. Many have lost their minds. On the other hand, since everyone pauses here, it’s not a bad place to make new acquaintances and pet friendly dogs. Like Macleay, Upper Macleay has an easy incline and an open understory. It cuts a giant switchback, making its turn at a Forest Park access at the end of NW Macleay Boulevard, then meets up again with Wildwood further down the hill. Do not look for parking on NW Macleay Boulevard, you’ll just waste a lot of gas making 3-point turns.
Pileated Woodpecker graffiti.
Well, that’s it, that’s all of Forest Park. From June to September, I made seven new friends (ten if you count the canines), obliterated a brand new pair of walking shoes, burned fifteen pounds, and brought a favorite pair of Columbia hiking pants dangerously close to the end of their life. I saw the forest in the morning, afternoon, and evening in sweltering heat, chilly fall air, dripping humidity, and intermittent rain. I feasted on wood sorrel, red huckleberries, two kinds of blackberries, Thimbleberries and Oregon Grape. I hiked upwards of 200 miles when you account for the extra stretches of access trails and the fact that most of the journeys were round trips. I learned a lot of history about the area and finally made contact with a warm body at the honorable Forest Park Conservancy. I slept better at night than I have in years.
Now, if anybody stops me in Forest Park and asks if I know where a trail goes, I can proudly and without hesitation, reply, “Hell, yeah.”
Happy (slug) trails to you, until we meet again….