The Wildwood Trail

The Wildwood Trail traverses the length of Forest Park in Portland, OR, starting in Washington Park near the Oregon Zoo, (and Forestry Center and Children’s Museum), and continuing North-ish for 30 miles to the termination of the trail on NW Newberry Road.

The entire trail can be hiked in multiple legs over several outings, and this past summer, I hiked the entire trail over 8 hikes. There’s lots of great forest to see, but the first several miles are probably the most interesting as they go by or near to a number of top sites in Portland.

The trail begins in Washington Park very close to the Garden of Solace at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

It continues through Hoyt Arboretum, and on a clear day near the Arboretum visitor’s center, there are possible mountain views. The arboretum is also full of other trails.

Two possible side trips off of the Wildwood Trail are the Rose Garden and The Japanese Garden which are easy to get to via a short 1/2 mile connector trail.

One highlight before leaving Hoyt Arboretum is the Redwood Deck, where you can sit and marvel at the trees.

At just over the 3 mile mark, the new bridge installed in 2019 over Burnside Road, is the end of Washington Park.

From there the trail continues about another mile to the Pittock Mansion and into Forest Park. There are fantastic views from the lawn in the front of the house, of the mountains and the city, beautiful gardens surrounding the house, and the house may be open for tours.

There’s a pretty intense downhill portion of the trail after the Pittock Mansion.

For about a 6 mile one-way hike, Lower Macleay Park is good place to end. The Witch’s Castle is an unexpected and odd site, at just about the junction of the Wildwood Trail and the Lower Macleay Trail.

The Lower Macleay Trail follows Balch Creek, which is a pleasant end to the hike.

And keep an eye out for wildlife while hiking!