Portland Hiking News: Road Closures, Trail Work Parties, and New Campsites

I still get out of Portland to do some hikes on occasion — though never as much as we’d like, eh? — but mostly I’ve been traveling and being the Breakfast Guy. Still, I wanted to share some hiking-related news that I’ve seen here and there, just to keep things up to date. (And while I’m at it, you can check out my schedule of hikes and talks to see when we might meet and/or go for a hike together.)

According to The Oregonian, there are some new campsites and recreation areas on the Molalla River. It’s a cool area that doesn’t get as much attention as you’d think from Portland folks, but it’s nice up there.

Trail maintenance is set for this summer at Marquam Nature Park.
Marquam Nature Park, where some trail maintenance will be happening this summer.

This summer we’ll be seeing some Marquam Trail construction work — nothing major, apparently, just some new connectors and bridges. I do have to say, though, that I really dig the government timeframe on these things. The linked page says the funding came through in 2002, the plan in 2003, the public process in 2007, and the guidelines in 2009! Stay tuned for a 2016 opening, I guess. (Actually, they say it will be done in October.)

Must be another government project!
Must be another government project!

Speaking of government ineptitude, every time I go to a Forest Service website, my blood boils with rage. Okay, slight exaggeration, but there cannot be a more useless website for an agency that people would actually want to interact with. A prime example: I happen to know that Road 57 on the Clackamas Ranger District up near Ripplebrook is closed. Why do I know this? Because somebody on PortlandHikers.org tried to drive it, and found it closed, even though there wasn’t a sign warning of this when he got on the road!

So I went to the website to look for info, and spent 10 minutes wandering around, finding nothing. Road closures page? Nope. Campground on that road? Nothing, though it’s listed as closed, even though we’re two weeks past the opening date listed. News and Alerts? Nothing there since 2012. At some point, I found something, though I failed to bookmark it. There is a work-around, and trails like Roaring River Wilderness, and campgrounds like Hideaway Lake, can be reached — but all I can tell you is to call the ranger district (503-630-6861) for more information. And good luck.

And finally, The Trailkeepers of Oregon are doing some maintenance on the Clackamas River Trail this weekend. Here’s their email on the subject:

Hello Hikers,

The Clackamas River Trail needs more love than we were able to provide at our previous one-day trail work party, so TKO will be returning to the Clackamas River Trail for a weekend work party to address some remaining trail issues. Since the trail is in need of more than routine maintenance, we can use whatever help you can provide. During the work party, we will be removing more logs and rebuilding sections of trail from the Fish Creek Trailhead to Pup Creek Falls.

This weekend work party is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, June 29-30. Volunteers are welcome for one or both days of the work party weekend. The Forest Service has reserved a couple of campsites for us at the Fish Creek Campground if you want to camp out.

All volunteers are welcome – no previous experience is required. The Fish Creek Trailhead is located about a 1 hour drive from Portland. Please sign up here.

Questions? Please email [email protected]

 

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I don’t just hike, though: I’m also the Portland Breakfast Guy. Check out BreakfastinBridgetown.com.