Now that I’ve canvassed Forest Park north to south, I thought I’d do a little cross hatch action and see it east to west. This means top to bottom, elevation-wise: The highest point is 1100′ and the lowest is 50′, a steep transition that occurs in just under two miles. All the non-vehicle roads that crisscross the park go one better by extending past park boundaries from NW Skyline Boulevard at the very tippy top all the way down to Highway 30 along the Columbia River at the bottom.
To make sure I got the biggest bang for my buck, I did each road round trip and touched toes to the pavement at either end. The elevation gains I list are approximations rounded to the nearest ten feet via Google Earth and “RT” stands for round trip. Below is a photo montage of the sign posted at most intersections with Wildwood Trail.
7-31-11 BPA Road 970′ elevation gain, 3.6 miles RT
This is either a mountain biker’s dream or worst nightmare, depending on how you roll (see what I did there?). It starts out lovely on a flat forest road, a gently undulating double track with no bramble leg-whipping on the sides (you know what I mean)…but then something happens. Where the road and Firelane 13 part company, the bottom literally drops out from under you into a very steep decline. The gravel beneath your feet becomes a fast moving conveyor belt of rolling curses, slips, and dropped water bottles. Luckily, the view makes up for it (above).
Do this one before 10 AM in the summertime to take advantage of as much shade from the Douglas firs as possible, after 1 PM in the winter when you’re desperate for light. There’s parking for about four vehicles at the trailhead but it’s tough to spot, so just look for the pale blue house on your left about a mile past Germantown Road, the entrance is right across the street from there. I saw the most variety of wildlife in this area than any other route in the park, including….
…your standard pile of cuteness, the Northern Alligator Lizard. Hey, when you’re that cuddly, you gotta expect a little lovin’.
7-23-11 Newton Road 950′ elevation gain, 3.86 miles RT
This one is a nice, wide road that heaves up and down a few dense forest hills, then takes a sharp dive into a very deep ravine. The earth falls away at angles so steep, they’re nearly cliffs, and you feel vaulted above the river valley. The wind races through this green crevasse, bringing fresh air and luscious white noise to drown out the nearby highway. As you creep downwards towards the creek, its watery music rises up, too, as well as a thousand bushes and branches that turn the trail into jungle. At the end, it all opens out into a little field of waist high grasses, asters, and tansy.
9-9-11 Waterline Road 340′ elevation gain, 1.3 miles RT (Foot traffic only)
Waterline Road is a relatively unattractive, dirt gully hike from top to bottom and a veritable mud slip in the wintertime. Multiple user trails have sprung up, leading to on-again, off-again illegal transient camps on both sides. The road starts up on NW Skyline Boulevard right across the street from a hard liquor bar, which would explain a lot. There is one quaint reminder that the route follows a water line (below).
8-10-11 Springville Road 940′ elevation gain, 3.5 miles RT
Although BPA and Springville Roads lose about the same amount of elevation over the same number of miles, Springville descends at nearly the same rate the entire way while BPA stays relatively flat, then drops like a stone. This makes Springville a great training ground for the inclines of Mt. Hood–in fact it reminds me very much of the routes that deliver you to Timberline Trail. Past the terminus of Forest Park at the bottom, Springville becomes gravel, then paved, then deposits you right at a route 16 bus stop on NW Bridge Avenue. Look for Mt. St. Helens in the distance on a clear day.
Lorquin’s Admiral butterfly (left)
8-14-11 Gas Line Road & Oil Line Roads 990′ elevation gain, 4.25 miles RT (Foot traffic only)
Gas and Oil Line Roads are also known as Firelanes 7 and 7A, respectively. They start out as one in a road wider than a two lane street that stays relatively flat for almost a mile, then they branch into separate routes that each narrow to a steep and curvy trail. Oil Line Road is decorated with an ocean of Swordfern and ends at Leif Erikson in an ugly, eroded wall so steep, it is nearly impossible to descend–a sad testament to the devastation that unchecked mountain biking can wreak. Gas Line Road has similar damage but a more manageable elevation drop. They are the only roads in Forest Park that do not bear a smidgen of gravel on them for purchase so I don’t recommend either one in winter.
Gas Line Road continues all the way down to the bottom of the park via an almost invisible route through brambles, blow downs, and a zesty sea of Lemon Balm. (Stinging Nettle is the spitting image of Lemon Balm to the untrained eye, so don’t grab anything and smell it unless you’re absolutely sure.) The last five hundred yards or so of road is an obvious cutbank into the basalt cliffs above and has remnants of concrete posts where a wooden safety railing used to be.
7-25-11 Saltzman Road 1040′ elevation gain, 7.5 miles RT
I’ve done this one a dozen times but I’ve never taken it all the way to the highway. It is, hands down, the driest, best four-season road in all of Forest Park. Use it when you’re dying to get out in the winter but don’t want to scrape mud off your shoes. Its lower terminus is a gate near Linnton and there is plenty of parking there, but a stop for bus line 16 is only 0.70 miles away on the Columbia Highway, too. There are several breaks in the trees where a nice pic of St. John’s and/or the Burlington Northern Railroad Bridge 5.1 (above) can be snapped.
7-29-11 Holman Lane 470′ elevation gain, 1.8 miles RT
This little road takes home the awards for Honkin’-est Huckleberries and Most-Butterflies-Per-Mile. Oregon Swallowtails are everywhere but they’re twitchy and they don’t pause very long for paparazzi, so stake out some wild flowers with your finger over the shutter and wait. Holman’s not a good winter hike unless you’re comfortable navigating steep hills in thick mud. There’s no parking at the trailhead, but the Birch Trail parking area just a hundred feet up the hill has more than enough. Due to its southern exposure and open under story, Holman Lane heats up like a pressure cooker on a clear, hot summer day. Go at dawn or melt.
8-3-11 Leif Erikson Drive 11.22 miles RT
The elevation difference from one end to the other of Leif Erikson is only about 300′ but it undulates so much that you can claim at least 2000′ in gain if you do the whole thing round trip. I’ve already done the south half a dozen times. It’s pleasant but eternally crowded; Summer weekends are practically a parade of chattering groups and barking dogs. However, most people turn around about three miles in at Firelane 1, so from there on out, it’s nothing but you and the hardcore runners and bikers. That spot also heralds Leif Erikson’s swift lurch higher and deeper into the forest, away from the unpleasant industrial sights, smells, and sounds of Highway 30, so the ambiance is sweeter on just about every level.
Both ends of Leif Erikson have convenient trash cans, doggie pick up bag dispensers, and seasonal Port-O-potty’s in the summer. The south end has a spigot for water.
I started from the north this time and learned that section has quite a few gooey spots in the winter. About 1.75 miles in, at the intersection with NW Springville Road, is an area labeled “Scout’s Corner” (look about eight feet up the tree to the right of the metal map) that honors a Golden Labrador Retriever some locals used to walk there.
A hundred feet past that spot on the right is the Invisible House. Leif Erikson used to be a residential road and this concrete stoop is the only remaining evidence (below). I found a fascinating collection of historical photos that review the opening of Leif Erikson, the creation of the firelanes, and the infamous fire that made them necessary.
At the middle of Leif Erikson is the intersection with NW Saltzman Road where a little open area has a picnic table to lunch at or collapse upon. I dragged it into the shade and did the latter. Then, I watched butterflies and snakes for half an hour, put my shoes back on, and snapped a photo of the St. John’s Bridge.
On to the firelanes….
All Thoughts Work™ Outdoors 