Forest Park — Attraction in Portland

Spring has been awaking the natives. Indian Plums with little white bell blossoms have been overtaken by the "wake robin" trillium. Our state flower has white blooms with big ear leaves of three. The park is an awesome green space in the middle of our urban environment.

Portland's winter storms left debris from downed trees along the road. Recent population increases have brought more sport enthusiasts to the city which has made the road through Forest Park more treacherous. We don't mind driving the speed limit, or less when road conditions require but the same can't be said for many other drivers.

Litter has made a comeback partly due to high disposal rates. Few collection cans are available for minor trash, household garbage certainly not. Another concern for the park is encroaching non-native plants. Ivy chokes out native maples, pines and firs. Ivy replaces salal and fairy bells. These weeds rob nutrients from natives.

Scotch broom sneaks on the edges of the park. It's a fire hazard because of its grease wood branches. Yellow blooms on it soon turn to large seed pods that pop open when touched. Sadly, this plant is also being allowed in several spots around town. Perhaps the city will move back to planting more Pacific NW native plants while removing several varieties of ivy, Himalaya blackberry and Scotch broom need to go. Pulling weeds is still the best method to keep bees and birds alive.

It's lovely in the spring as white trillium blooms peek out along the slopes. A few weeks after you'll see Solomon seal stalks stretching out several feet. They'll remain till the brush hog comes to "groom" the slope. The roots bring them back next spring. Some higher up on slopes will be left and grow fragrant blossoms which turn into red berries late in the year. Keep your eye open for the fairy bells with white flowers that show why they got the name.

Look for small licorce ferns growing out of trees. They disappear in the summer with their little roots living in the moss on tree limbs. Many types of ferns, we have 70 or so varieties, keep erosion from sliding the hillside soil onto the road. Look for Indian plums to come first in spring. Red flowering currants peak through the maples.

Pet owners, it is not an off lease park. Pack out your animal's waste. It is advisable to stay on trails. The road through is a narrow, winding road, dimly lit with little to no shoulder and not at all conducive to running. Only the best bicyclists should attempt the road. I spent two of my college years as a bicyclist relying on it for grocery shopping, laundromat and everything. Even at that youthful time I would never have considered myself good enough to ride this road, especially with the car traffic. Steep road, very few turnouts. A few parking spaces at trailheads. From them you can explore the park trails on foot.

Locals say: "In a hurry? Take 26." Because there are few roads over the Tualatin mountains the road becomes backed up the hill getting to St Johns Bridge from around 3:30 pm Mon-Fri until I don't know when. I'm sure special events can really increase the line-up. Use Google Traffic app to check red lines showing congestion.

The park may easily become loved to death and unusable to locals as "Times, they are a changin." No bus lines. Semi trucks not allowed. Wintertime, check weather and news before traveling. Native plants don't like salt, main reason to prevent salt runoff from the road.

Winter rains, Feb 2017 especially, have made debris every where; mostly downed maples heavy with moss and licorice ferns. I'm hoping the people who take away this wind fall know these are plants worth replanting and that they need shade, moist environs and they only appear in winter. New fern fronds will stick out soon.

Watch out for slide area with traffic changes made. Be cautious,...

Enormous and wonderful city park…what else I can say? This is already more than what I can ever ask for.

The sheer size of Forest Park is impressive, but what makes it so incredible is how accessible it is and how comprehensive and well maintained the trail system is. I really enjoy running on the Wildwood Trail, accompanied by the endless handsome redwood tress and the tranquilness deep in the wood. Once past Wild Cherry Trail, it gets less busy and often it's just me and the nature for a long stretch, my body moves while but my mind wanders and meditates.

If you can run the distance, highly recommend a run going through the park from the south entrances and exits via Ridge trail to St. Johns, where you can grab coffee and food, a super rewarding journey. The 30-mile Wildwood End-to-End is quite a challenge but definitely one of the most memorable runs I did in Portland, almost like a tribute to the great runs Forest Park...

This is such a beautiful park! For being so close to the city, it's actually very quiet. Even on a Saturday morning you don't see many people on the trails and most of the people you will see are runners, so it's not very crowded. The Leif Erikson drive trail is more of a bike path so that trail is pretty populated with people on bikes as well as runners and hikers. So if you are looking for more of secluded hike among the forest I would stick to the other trails. But you do get some great views of the mountains from some points on Leif Erikson. Overall this park is extremely beautiful and a great place to get away and be out in the fresh air and get a good excercise in. There are many connecting trails and lots of different ways you can make a loop hike, long or short. My husband and I recently moved here from Ohio and this park has been a great escape and a...