SW Trails PDX

The  October 13 walk will be led by Rick Kappler.  We will meet at Wilson High School and car pool to the side of Council Crest Park, on SW Talbot Rd. just west of Greenway Ave. We will then walk down the west side of Portland Heights on SW Montgomery Drive to SW Prospect and from there continue down to the edge of Goose Hollow. We will then climb to SW Mill and go down SW Mill and along the bike trail that skirts Highway 26 and then eastward through the neighborhood just south of Highway 405 to SW Broadway. We will then go up the hill to SW Davenport on the east side of Portland Heights. We will then wind our way through Portland Heights and go up and over Hillcrest Drive and then back to SW Talbot Road.  We may do this route in reverse. Continue reading →

Ask Mrs. Trails: Mary Moerlins

Mary is a SW resident who lives on Trail #7 and thoroughly enjoys it as a nature enthusiast. Recently, we talked to her about the importance of trails in her neighborhood. 

1. Could you tell us who you are and how you are personally connected to the trails?

My Name is Mary Moerlins, I live in SW Portland with my family in the Vermont Hills/ Hayhurst Neighborhood. Professionally, I work in Corporate Citizenship at NW Natural and volunteer with a number of environmental nonprofits in town including Forest Park Conservancy and the Oregon Environmental Council.  Personally, I’m a trail runner, road runner and all around nature enthusiast. My husband and I are parents to two Hayhurst Elementary Huskies and a 14 year old cattle dog. We live on trail #7.   Continue reading →

Thursday September 6, Work Party with Portland Parks Bureau

9 am: meet at the 4T/Marquam Trail crossing Greenway Ave, below Council Crest (park at Council Crest); work on tread maintenance and armoring along the 4T Trail from Council Crest to Marquam Park.

The September walk will be led by Sharon Fekety.  From Wilson High School we will walk down the Iowa Trail to SW Corbett St. where we will go north to cross Barbur Blvd. on Hamilton St. to Intersect SW Terwilliger Blvd. (restrooms).  Then we will cross onto the Marquam Trail to the Flicker Trail and Warbler Trail which takes us up to SW Fairmont Blvd.  After turning left on Fairmont, we will work our way back to Wilson High School on Hessler which turns into the Northwood Trail.  After turning left on SW Westwood, we’ll take trail 6, turning right on DeWitt to return to Wilson High School.  The walk is 6 miles with 1100 feet elevation gain.
Continue reading →

Saturday, August 25: look for Don or Lee (pictured above) at Wilson High School, just east of the food carts. Work party runs from 9 am to noon (lunch provided) to continue to improve the north side of Wilson where our trail runs.  Bring pruners, clippers, knee pads, gloves rake, and willing spirit.  We will be pulling ivy out of the fence line, pruning bushes.  We will also be working on the strip between the Wilson fence and Burlingame Avenue, removing ivy from trees, trimming branches and  picking up trash.   Wear sturdy shoes and long sleeved shirts.  

Sunday, August 26:  meet at SW 25th and Bertha Blvd & look for Andrea. From 10 am to noon, we will be working on the “Safe Walk To School Trail” along SW 25th at Bertha, where we recently completed a new trail.  Bring your favorite weed tool of destruction and gloves, wear sturdy shoes and long sleeved shirts, and help the community get ready for the start of school. Lemonade, water and cookies will be available.

Our next SW Trails Board and Community meeting will be Thursday, August 23rd, from 7:00 pm until 8:30 pm.  We meet in the Watershed apartment building in Hillsdale, 6388 SW Capitol Hwy. (parking is available in the shopping center across the street).  We meet in their community conference room on the main floor adjacent to the central outdoor courtyard next to SW Bertha Ct. (enter directly from the courtyard).  Everyone is WELCOME! Continue reading →

Join SWTrails Volunteers in walking in the Multnomah Days Parade on Saturday August 18th. By 9:45 meet Hans, the fellow in the photo, who will be holding a SWTrails sign somewhere south of the bridge over Multnomah Blvd preparing to walk in the short parade.   This is a good way to show support for the many efforts SWTrails makes to improve our SW  active transportation infrastructure.

We are working hard to get the ridiculously difficult process of obtaining permits simplified.   After nearly 3 years under the new rules, we have not yet obtained a permit to improve on a single trail that was not city funded. 

Saturday, August 11, 9:00 am

The August walk will be led by Hans and Jette Steuch. We will start our walk by carpooling to Brugger St near Lewis and Clark College.

Starting at Brugger Street we will head north on View Point Terrace, through River View Cemetery to Taylors Ferry Road, Fulton Park Boulevard and Corbett Avenue until we intersect Trail 3 at Carolina Street. We’ll take Trail 3 east and south to Willamette Park and follow trails south along the Willamette River, under the Sellwood Bridge, through Powers Marine Park to a point where we head west, cross Macadam Ave, and return via trails in River View Natural Area to Brugger Street. Continue reading →

SW Trails monthly first Thursday Work Party for August 2nd 2018 will be on the 4T trail over at Patton Rd and Humphrey Blvd from 9AM until Noon. This is the section of the trail that goes down and over to ZOO but we are meeting up on the Patton St side this time. Parking is hard to come by over here so car pool if you can or take bus 51. There is parking a couple of blocks away on side streets, so maybe be a bit early to find a spot if you drive.  Activities for this work party will include cleaning up the trails, brushing, step replacement work, a section of trail rerouting and some trail armoring.  It might be cooler on Thursday and this work is in the shade of trees and on the North slope of the hill.  Remember every first Thursday of the month now through December SW Trails is in a Park somewhere working on a trail, join us or stop by and say hi.

As always our work is guided by the Portland Parks Lands Stewardship folks. and Parks will bring all the tools, gloves, and materials we need, and also, coffee, snacks, water, and usually some fruit. On these work parties it is not necessary to stay for the whole event and you can work at whatever level your skill and energy allows. It is just great to meet the neighbors and get a little trail work in.

Link to Patton rd and 4T–> https://goo.gl/maps/oXxUtC3LdE92

Attire should be sturdy shoes, work cloths, summer layers, and sun lotion . We look forward to seeing you out on this work party.

Call me or text with any questions

Dave Manville
503-753-8186
daville50@outlook.com

It’s time to mark your calendar!   

We’ve decided to have a “PICNIC in the Park” on Thursday, July 26th, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm, at Pendleton Park (west side of Hayhurst School, corner of SW 55th & Iowa).  This will be instead of our usual Board/community meeting on the 4th Thursday of each month.

We decided we were due some time for “fun in the shade” of the tall trees at the park instead of sitting in a conference room.  It’s a potluck meal, so bring something you like plus a drink to enjoy, and we’ll all share while we visit.  Significant others and children are welcome. And, as there aren’t many picnic tables, please bring lawn chairs if you wish to be more comfortable (even a folding card table, if you wish).

We’ll be getting this all together next week, so there will be more details to come.

NOTE:  the original right of way for the Red Electric Railroad (built in 1869) is on the north edge of this park – it’s still like it was when they pulled out the tracks in 1932, so you can walk where the tracks were and still see how they rearranged the land to carry the new railroad (this is along the route of our planned Red Electric Trail).

Another note, a link to Pendleton Park: