One of my favorite local hikes. There's a lot of variety here in various trails and some great…read moreinclines to get my heart pumping. It's clean, well-used, and feels safe. Bathrooms are always clean and well stocked. The trails are in great condition and the bridges are both beautiful and not slippery. I've been hiking here for over 10 years--it's a wonderful place to enjoy a few hours in nature. Plus, there's lots of shade in the summer.

Love this trail! There are three parking lots available, two on the smaller side. There are…read morerestrooms available during summer months. This park is very lush with picnic tables and grills spread out for privacy. The view of the lake is gorgeous! There are over 6 miles of trails, some of which intertwine. If you're new to these trails, a map is a good idea; one could easily get lost if not familiar as the trails aren't all marked. I just took a picture of the trail map by the parking area to have as reference in case I needed it. The trails are lush and mainly dirt and rocks. If you walk down to lower falls the trail can be a little more treacherous. Some of the hills are steep and some rocks loose. Make sure you wear the proper footwear. There are a few falls to see, many creeks, a dam and a couple lakes (Lacamas and Round). Overall a wonderful place to get outside for fresh air and beautiful scenery. Highly recommend.

I like being able to hike around the top of this semi-spooky butte. Evidently it's an old bomb…read moreshelter or a hidden bomb shelter or something crazy. I know people that have supposedly been inside there and I guess it has a big painting up on the ceiling of the whole town. I like that there are stairways that go nowhere. I grew up with it sort of in my backyard so I love to hear old stories about what's really going on up there. It's also fun to rip our dirt bikes up and around there. We don't rip up the natural areas we stick to the trails.

Kelly Butte is nearly 30 acres of woods on a volcanic cinder cone on the edge of SE/Outer SE…read morePortland. It has a long history of being used to harm the poorest citizens of Portland. After being stolen from the Chinook by the Kelly family who ran a failed farm, the city of Portland opened a prison for the express purpose if imprisoning houseless people using vagrency laws and forced them to break rocks by hand to pave the city's roads. Nothing ever changes besides location. In the 1950's after I don't know, asphalt was invented and many poor Oregonians had been worked to death as slaves the prison was closed to make way for a state of the art, even by today's standards, nuclear bomb shelter. There's a interesting 50s film called "The Day Called X" documenting a drill where the city is evacuated and government whisked away to Kelly Butte in a couple hours. Officially its was just for government but many who were in the loop say slots were sold to the rich and I tent to believe them because 20,000sq ft is more then city counsel needs for a couple months. Within a couple years though those who profit most from war unveiled the ICBM bringing warning times from 6 plus hours to under a half hour making the bunker a expensive useless concrete hole in the ground. During this time on the other side of the hill there was a hospice where those who couldn't afford health care were sent to die. The shelter was turned into a 911 dispatch Startin in the early 1970's where police were told where to go murder minorities. But workers were getting sick for a unexplained reason and it was abandoned in the mid 90's. For about 15 years it was occupied by houseless people with little care from the city. People used it as a bathroom, stripped it of anything of value, lit fire for warmth setting off the sprinklers repeatedly causing a black mold problem . I'm told people repeatedly ODed and were left for weeks. There was no narcain available them and no cell phones so there wasn't much to do when an OD happened a 20min walk from a phone. In the 2000s it was finally buried. Now the city parks bureau called is a "natural area but that's kinda BS, Kelly Butte had been clear cut many times over the last couple hundred years. The city does no matinence, does not cut grass, pick up trash there's no cans, police do not patrol. The PPB doesn't even have keys to the gate. A few neighborhood people walk dogs but for the most part people don't seem to know it's even there. There's a few houseless people camped, if you stick to the established trails you won't see them, and the y won't bother you. There's a collective of activists called PDXHRC who are sort of like a non-profit helping houseless people but they are operating from a more radical standpoint. They travel around town and embed in houseless community's to help improve their lives by providing tents and other supplies The point being that it improves the whole community. They also help defend from sweeps and stuff like that. They are the ones who do trash collection around the park when they are there. It's their home base so if there not helping out somewhere else there at KB. These people don't panhandle or use drugs they are houseless intentionally to better serve others. If you see them, and you'll know, they look like how you'd expect radicals to look. They are really nice people, with a barking dog that won't bite. They said to tell everyone to let them know if there is any maintenance needed in the park and they will take care of it. They said to do the same about other camps in the neighborhood, they have supplies and make meals to give away. Kelly Butte is a amazing place to have here in city limits. Go there enjoy it. It's a rare place. Oh, near dark be careful with pets, there are coyotes.

We rolled into Cascade Locks on a Sunday in July, the kind of Gorge afternoon where everyone within…read morefifty miles has the same idea: get out, get sun, get a burger. Eastwind Drive-In sits right on Wa Na Pa Street, red and white building, that iconic soft serve and hamburger sign swinging out front like it's been doing this since before any of us were born. And it has. The line was out the door and down the sidewalk by 3pm, easy thirty minute wait, and nobody seemed to mind. That tells you something before you even taste the food. We ordered the double bacon cheeseburger, and it did not disappoint. Real griddled beef, two patties, melted cheddar doing exactly what melted cheddar should do, crisp lettuce, all of it stacked on a sesame bun that held together through the whole ordeal, which matters more than people think when you're eating standing up in a parking lot with a dog giving you the full guilt trip. Speaking of: we took our food down to the park by the lake, picnic tables under the trees, and Willow, our English lab, decided that burger was the single most important object in the entire state of Oregon. Nose right up against it, patient as a saint, working every angle. She didn't get any. She deserved some. That's the tension of loving a good dog and a good burger at the same time. Prices are fair for what you get, hamburger starts under seven dollars, the shakes and soft serve looked like the real draw for half the line, and the menu board out front covers everything from tater tots to Italian cream soda, which is a detail I did not expect and now can't stop thinking about. If you're passing through Cascade Locks, Eastwind Drive-In is worth the wait. Bring cash patience, bring an appetite, and if you bring a dog, be ready to share eye contact you won't win.

A wonderful spot to take your dogs where they can explore 100 archers of land and water with the…read moreluxury of being off leash. There's enough room for dogs to run around while not interacting with one another.

This was a beautiful trail to experience on my last day in Portland. I run early or not at all in…read moreAustin, Texas. Portland has some fabulous trails that can be enjoyed through the day due to the trees and generally cooler weather. You can walk it or run it; I did both. The trail was well maintained and felt safe. Enjoy!

One of my Favorites! I run this trail at least twoce a month. Plenty of room to jog, walk or run…read more Always very nice people on the trail. Not to mention there is a very nice golf course that you encounter while on this trail. Love this one, easy to get to, parking always and I always feel so great after running it gives me great energy and happiness! Happy Fitness Goals! You can do it!

This trail is just okay for walking. It seems to be taken over by bicyclists, who don't seem too…read morecourteous to walkers. It is well-maintained and has viewpoints to stop at along the way. There are few restrooms along the entire 20 mile trail and no pet waste stations that I saw. I've only walked it recently near Sellwood to get to the Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge loop trail. I have heard about an increase in encampments over the last few years, so do research before exploring. Overall a decent way to get to the wildlife refuge, but not sure I would just walk along the corridor for exercise.

Just found this hike. Splits off into smaller connecting trails but allows you to explore and still…read morego in a loop. It felt like I was way out of town in certain areas of the hike. It was amazing to find a spot like this just outside of Portland!

Great trail. Fantastic any time of year, slightly less so during falcon breeding season.. (but a…read morevery worthwhile imposition!)

Very clean and clear trails. We went in the evening on a…read morewarmer overcast day. Not busy, only ran into a few people on the way and had no problems finding a parking spot. We also only hiked up to the first viewpoint but boy, was it a view. Absolutely gorgeous hike and not too far out of portland. Super easy to find and has parking lot and well maintenanced bathrooms. Great spot to ;)

This is a few forested trails, one that leads to the river, but not an actual "park" as the name…read morewould imply. Parking is at a dead-end in the neighborhood where the main trailhead is. The trail to the river is down a slope for quite a distance, so the hike back up the incline is a workout. No restroom or toilet facility.

Meh...not so impressed today…read more Stopped for a hike and some scenery. You can get in a decent hike here, but at this time of year the scenery wasn't so great. Based off what I saw, I'm sure at other times of year it would be much prettier. You have to keep a pretty slow pace right now, as the trails are very muddy...ice covered mud in quite a few places. The main Sandy River trail is more like a road, with a viewpoint of the river near the bottom. The Jim Slagle loop was a single file trail, and slightly more enjoyable than the main trail. A lot of mud, not the greatest scenery, and the occasional trash made for a "not one of my favorites" hike...especially in the land of gorgeous trails.

4.9 mi, 1503 ft elevation gain, 2hrs 3 min to complete…read more Awesome trail as always. We beat the crowds and attempted to do this as a sunrise hike. We were a bit too late, but caught a bit of the sunrise on the way up. Clouds and fog were swirling around and moving fast at the top. Absolutely beautiful. Wish I had a hot cup of coffee at the top to enjoy! No parking pass or special access permit required before 0900!!!

Probably my favorite hike on the Oregon side of the Columbia gorge. The views are spectacular as…read moreyou navigate the trail! And the view at the top is worth the effort. This is a moderate intensity hike but it is consistently graded throughout; a great hike if you only have about two hours and want some cardio in your day. The trail is clearly defined and easy to follow. The hike is marvelous in the summer on a clear sunny day! However, the views on the trail are a bit better during the colder months when the leaves are off the trees. Either way, you get a lovely view of the Gorge that is mostly unrestricted as you get near the peak. There is a dedicated parking lot at the trailhead but spots are limited. No permits are required. There is also no public restroom available so plan accordingly. Enjoy!