The Dogwood Trail
Early bloomers along the sun- dappled Dogwood include yellow woodland violets and scores of trilliums. Come summer, candy flowers, fairy bells, and false Solomon’s seal, which perfume the air with fragrant, starlike blossoms, crop up. Keep an eye to the sky, though. Overhead, amid leafy maples and slender firs, red-capped downy woodpeckers busily tap away on tree stumps and, beyond the branches, peekaboo views of Mount Hood and Portland’s skyline abound.
The Lower Maple Trail Loop
Tranquil canyons? Check. Gurgling water? Check. Oversize fallen log to kick back on? Check. Handy shortcut? Check. (The recently signed Quarry Trail creates a great loop from the lower Maple Trail.) The reasons to love this splendid three-mile circuit along the shade-draped lower Maple Trail just keep piling up. None is better than the junction atop Saltzman Road and Leif Erikson, which affords an eagle-eye overlook of the St. Johns Bridge and Mount St. Helens.
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For more on these and many other adventures, check out Portland Monthly's Forest Park Guide - featuring 22 places to hike, run, bike, and play at Forest Park.
Find park maps, trail challenges, and ways to get involved with The Forest Park Conservancy.
