Afoot and Afield: Portland/Vancouver. Douglas Lorain

      Preface

      Outdoor lovers in the Portland/Vancouver metropolitan area are among the most fortunate in the country. Within a one-hour drive from their homes, they can hit the trail through dense old-growth forests, walk beside spectacular waterfalls, climb to viewpoints above massive glaciers, explore wetlands that are home to waterfowl and bald eagles, traipse through wildflower-covered meadows, or wander through the quiet forests of a 5000-acre park right in the city of Portland. Few other cities in the country have such a wide assortment of opportunities.

      My goal in writing this book was to provide the first comprehensive guide to every worthwhile walk of at least 1 mile, on still-wild public lands, and accessible by a drive of an hour or less from Portland. The one-hour driving time is from somewhere in the major cities and suburbs of the greater Portland/Vancouver area. That does not mean that every drive will be less than one hour for every resident. If you live in Hillsboro, it may take you up to 45 minutes just to get to Gresham, on the other side of the metropolitan area, before you start the one-hour drive to Mt. Hood. Nonetheless, every trip has a short enough drive time to qualify as a good spur-of-the-moment adventure.

      The hikes range in difficulty from simple strolls through urban preserves to rugged climbs in the Columbia River Gorge and on glacier-clad Mt. Hood. There are paths here familiar to every Portland hiker as well as dozens of new routes never covered in any guidebook. They have in common a convenient proximity to Portland and a wild character that allows city residents to “get away from it all.”

      A large percentage of these hikes are open year-round. So this guide also serves as a winter hikes manual. The northwest’s notoriously soggy winters often make trails muddy. With waterproof boots and the proper attitude, however, hikers can enjoy many fine trails all year.

      Many worthwhile urban and semi-urban walks have been excluded because they don’t qualify as “wild.” If you are looking for a quick leg-stretcher, and don’t mind a landscape that features manicured lawns or picnic tables, then try any of the many easy hikes in city parks and greenways. Often these routes follow paved trails that hikers share with joggers and bicyclists. Among the best of these options are the Fanno Creek Greenway in Beaverton, the Fernhill wetlands in Forest Grove, the network of trails around Washington Park’s arboretum, the quiet trails on the campus of Reed College, the riverside paths in Willamette Park and Oaks Bottom, several new trails in the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge, the rapidly expanding collection of paths on Gresham Butte, and the Salmon Creek Greenway in Clark County.

      Trails that do not qualify as “wild” also include pleasant routes that feature wild scenery but are located near major roads or go through and around golf courses, such as those at Skamania Lodge or at Glendoveer and Rose City golf clubs.

      I have hiked every trip in this book at least once and most of them several times. However, roads and trails do constantly change. New routes are built, old trails cease to be maintained or are simply abandoned, and floods and landslides obliterate some routes. Your comments on recent developments or changes are welcome. Please write to me in care of Wilderness Press at mail@ wildernesspress.com.