Hike #8: Germantown Rd and Leif Erikson Rd

Trailhead: Germantown Road at Leif Erikson Rd (there are two parking areas/trail heads along Germantown Rd, this the the downhill one.)

What I listened to in the car: Episode 3 of Serial. It gives me serious anxiety so I'm going slowly through the series, but I sure am hooked.

Companions: Just Tummy!

Trails hiked on: Cannon Trail, the Wildwood Trail, the Waterline Trail and Leif Erikson Rd

Miles hiked: 2.2 miles (1 hr 10 minutes)


Unique miles hiked: 2.2 miles

Total challenge miles: 15.2

Weather: Cloudy and cool, but not raining

Amenities: There is a portapotty just up the Leif Erikson from the parking lot I parked at, but I went the other direction. The parking lot is off the road and there is a nice sign with a map and information about the park.

Notes: 

This is a nice loop that goes through a lovely, but well used part of the park. The sign in the parking lot suggests a similar loop but I always like my loops to go uphill first. I headed up hill from the parking lot along the Cannon Trail. It's a lovely short trail, but quite muddy. We've ha such an odd dry winter that the trail wasn't terribly muddy but I've had other days where both Tumalo and I are up to our elbows in mud on that trail.

Tumalo at the top of muddy Waterline Trail

This section of the Wildwood Trail is quite pretty. The trail winds in and out of the creek canyons that run down the slope. There are lots of dense stands of fir and cedars along here, too. I headed down hill on the Waterline Trail, but you could go another mile and a half further along the Wildwood to Springville Road for a longer loop. The Waterline Trail is a muddy mess but my memory is that Springville isn't terribly much better. The trails that go up and down hill in Forest Park are generally pretty muddy. The Tualatin Hills are covered in a thick clay soil that just gets swampy in our wet wet winters.

After making it down the mud pit of the Waterline Trail, Leif Erikson Road was a pleasure. It was carved into the hillside as a road for future residential development in the early 20th century, but the area just isn't suited to houses. That mud that forms on the steep trails causes many houses to slip and slide down the slopes around Forest Park and as the developer realized this, the land was left to become city property. Leif Erikson remains a wide, graded and graveled road that is easy to walk or bike on. It is popular with runners and mountain bikers, and horses are allowed on it as well. The smooth curves and almost flat elevation made a smooth walk back to the car. I do love this part of the park and look forward to coming back many times this year.