Commonwealth Lake Park — Attraction in Beaverton

Attractive Suburban 0.8 mile loop around "the pond" is a flat, easy walk, baby carriage, jog about, for folks of all ages. A play area with swings, slides, monkey bars and a soccer field! There is a bonus with occasional wows of diving Ospreys, fishing Great Blue and Green Herons and Kingfishers. Swallows, Cedar Waxwing, Redwing Blackbirds entertain you with swooping chortling, high pitched merriment as well. Watch on the pathway for Canadian goose aggression, if they are near their offspring, as well as copious amounts of goose and duck excrement during your perambulation. Be aware of the very rare hearing impaired, headphoned jogger or bicyclist. Periodically the pond is stocked with rainbows and if you time it right, a licensed angler can bring home a tasty evening meal. Noted: Lots of pond scum this late spring and worsening during the late summer drastically needs attention, either from the hard working groundskeepers or a water scientist or aquatic ecologist. The excessive waterfowl excrement on the walking path as well as the increase in the agaiform pond scum is why I give it 4 stars, and if I could, I would actually give it a 3 and a half for the above 2 reasons. One more bonus, outhouses that are cleaned more often than one...

In the 80's, this park was a pool of water with barren rocks and grass, crumbling banks, a metal play structure at the far end, some ducks, and a pack of deranged farmhouse geese that could smell fear. Over time, THPRD has completely transformed this area into what it is today: a fantastic neighborhood park! That's your tax dollars at work, folks.

Depending on the season you may see: Canada Geese, Blue Heron, Egret, Nutria, Bullfrog, various species of ducks, and more. There's also a Barred Owl who lives nearby in Foothill Park.

There is a soccer field at the far end, a children's play structure, and a porta-potty. Around the lake are several picnic tables, particularly on the back side of the park. Across the street, to the east, there is another porta-potty, and another play structure.

The pond is periodically stocked with fish, and there are a number of places along the shore that you can fish from, as well as several wooden piers and bridges along the walking path well suited for this.

No swimming and no...

The lake itself is disgusting. I took a water sample from the docks, and the colour was putrid yellow. The lake is overgrown with aquatic vegetation, the smell from the all the duck feces, dead fish, and even the lake itself is repulsive. Not to mention that the lake is infested with carp. I see trucks come and go taking thousands of carp from the lake to the cat food factory.

In the winter, the lake isn't that bad- the water becomes to cold for the aquatic vegetation to grow, the ducks migrate, and the pesky fishermen are gone. The smell seems to go away. Towards spring, the lake becomes a fishing Mecca, but the fish in that lake are limited to stocked trout and warm-water species. I've caught hatchery trout, bass, war mouth, pumpkinseed, bluegill, and carp there. In the summer the lake becomes a putrid mud hole that is overgrown with weeds and the lake becomes rancid.

You know that polluted lake from the Simpsons movie? That's...