Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge — Attraction in Portland

Oak's Bottom is wonderful Urban Refuge. It is also an amazing gateway to hiking, biking, a city park and an amusement park. I love to take my pup here for a walk around the wetland. The trail has seen some major work/improvements in the past few years. The habitat restoration that is being undertaken is also pretty impressive. There is still much to do, but there have been great strides. When you consider the part of it use to be a garbage dump, another was a debris site for the 405 freeway project and that the train tracks originally cut it off from the river you can see how far it has come. If you have several hours and want to go on a wild urban adventure you might enjoy Oaks. Bring your field guide(s) if you like to identify flora and fauna. A lot can also be seen through a pair of binoculars. There are so many species of native plants in this remarkable floodplain. You also might just be able to identify several species of birds on your trip. Take the trail up to Sellwood park if you have the time. You'll find water and bathrooms up there, and an amazing view. It is a magnificent urban gem that provides many hours of investigation. If your coming by car I'd suggest starting at the Oak Bottom parking lot on the North end. However, this gets crowded/full fast on a nice day. If you can't find parking I suggest you drive over to Sellwood Park and walk down from there. Even if you have to park in the neighborhood it is a better option than neighborhood parking on...

oaks bottom refuge is a fantastic resource for our city... and for critters. its a wonderful place to poke around and see nature, also to exercise. i see deer there esp before sunset in late summer in the grasslands. coyote live here. i'm poking into the more lost areas and finding lots of native trees and plants. superb! Update October 2014 - Coyotes were howling tonight at 10 pm, they were near the north end of the main pond, in the woods. I was by the river on the bike path and listened in amazement, they were quite loud and seemed to be only a couple hundred yards away.. I had heard them many times growing up in Missouri, so these were definitely coyotes, with their yipping and howling. Then another group from across the river answered! they might have been on ross island or beyond, and were barely audible. as i was leaving, this group yipped again, inspiring the first, near group to go off again... spectacular, this experience under a bright moon! December 2014 - Saw a coyote in the mixed grassland/woodland area north of the marsh, and then a beaver in the marsh. What a great resource for...

A spectacular sanctuary and watering rest stop for many migratory birds, unusual in its ability to sustain so many species in close proximity to downtown. I've seen several birds of prey here including at least one bald eagle. Don't forget your binoculars! The recent upgrades (of 2018) really seem well- designed and constructed. A second entrance from the springwater trail was added and connects the park to a nicely built viewpoint that faces west towards the Willamette and Ross Island. A meandering waterway was built too - I'm told it's to allow fish to leave the willamette and rest, which is a more natural pattern of movement for fish (as opposed to blocking that option for them). I am telling this secondhand so i hope that's accurate. Another viewpoint was constructed on the paths leading from the sellwood exit, but as with all these upgrades I'm excited to visit again in the spring, which is my customary time to visit, but after hearing about the vibrant colors of fall in oaks bottom I'm eager to visit in the autumn too. The tadpole pond was dry on...