“Forest Park is one of the most beautiful places to explore nature in the City of Portland.”
Ahmed Yusef
As people who get to call this city and state, Portland Oregon, their home, we are so fortunate to have so many outdoor areas to recreate, to get a workout, to create art, to spend time with family and friends, or to be alone with your thoughts while you soak in the fresh air.
There are 256 state parks, including camping at 58 parks, open on 109,000 acres, all within Oregon. There are 6 public gardens, 25 community gardens, 35 community parks, 47 habitat parks, 98 neighborhood parks, 12 regional parks, 12 urban parks, and thousands of acres of urban forest on 10,000 acres managed by the City of Portland.
There are also plenty of other natural areas managed by nonprofit organizations or government organizations available to the public around the Portland Metro area. Some examples of those organizations in the Portland metro area are Metro, the Parks and Recreation Districts of Tualatin, Gresham, Lake Oswego, Oregon City, Columbia Land Trust, and many more.
Stretching a little over 5,200 acres with more than 80 miles of trail Forest Park covers more than half of the space considered property managed by Portland Parks & Recreation and is the largest forested urban park in the United States.
There are so many outdoor spaces for us to recreate, but one of the big problems people face is access to these areas. Going on a hike or doing photography or watching birds, or learning about different plants is tough for most people who don’t have cars.
Many of the trailheads are hard to access without a car. However, there are still many ways to access Forest Park. In this article, I want to go through all the ways you can access Forest Park by public transportation.
There are five bus lines and two train lines that you can use to access the beautiful park. That may not seem like much, but with these public transit lines, you can get anywhere in the park within a few miles. I recommend that you go to the Forest Park Conservancy website and our unique maps page to locate trailheads.
Two MAX Lines: The Red Line and the Blue Line
Both the MAX Red Line and Blue Line go to the Oregon Zoo. The Blue Line goes from Hillsboro to Gresham, and the red line goes from Beaverton to the Portland International Airport. Both those lines take you to the Zoo, where you can access the wildwood trial directly, or you can go through Hoyt Arboretum. The best thing about using the train is how quickly you can get there and the accessibility to the Wildwood; it’s pretty simple. There are no crazy roads you have to cross or bridges you have to go over.
Bus Lines: The 16, the 77, 20, and 63
Next, there is a bus 16 that goes from downtown Portland (SW Oak & 1st) down Saint Helens Road to Sauvie Island. From bus 16, you can access Fire Lane 1, Lower Saltzman, and Ridge Trail. There is also the Linnton Trail loop and BPA Road, a 3-minute walk from the trailhead. If you are ever on bus 16, I recommend checking out Ridge Trail next to the St. John bridge. It’s a beautiful trail that goes all the to top (west), or you can access the Wildwood trail.
Lower Macleay Park is accessible by Bus Line 77 with a seven-minute walk or Bus Line 15 and a flight of stairs. Bus 77 goes from Troutdale to Montgomery Park (27th & Vaughn). The only place you can access in Forest Park with about 77 is lower MacLeay Park without a seven-minute walk. However, bus 15 starts at Gateway Transit Center and goes all the way to NW 44th & Yeon drops you off near multiple access points. Leaf Erikson is an 8-minute walk away from NW Thurman & Gordon, Aspen trail is 4 minutes away from NW Thurman & 34th, while Holman lane is 7 minutes away from the same stop 34th.
With the last bus lines, you have Bus Line 20 and Bus Line 63. The 20 Starts up at Gresham transit center and ends at Hillsboro transit center. The 20 passes by the Barber Walker Crossing. It is only an 18-minute hike to Pittock Mansion. It is the best way, in my opinion, to get to the Pittock Mansion by public transportation. And last but not least, you have the 63, which goes around Washington Park and the zoo. There are many stops where you can access Wildwood Trail.
No Car? No Problem
With a couple of miles from any one of these stops, you can see many beautiful Forest Park locations. It’s a shame that some of the most beautiful places are hard to access, but it also makes it worth the effort when you get to experience and explore a new area.
References:
“News Media.” News Media – Oregon State Parks, stateparks.oregon.gov/index.cfm?do=v.news.
Parks 2020 Vision: The State of Portland’s Park System. (2020). Portland Parks & Recreation. https://www.portlandoregon.gov/parks/article/89433
TriMet: Go By Transit. TriMet. https://trimet.org/#/tracker/line