Browns Ferry Hike

Overview

Browns Ferry Park in Tualatin is on 28.3 acres of land acquired by Zenas Brown in 1850 under the Donation Land Act. Brown operated Tualatin’s first ferry upstream from here between 1850 and 1856. An old barn reminds visitors that this suburban area was once farmland. The centerpiece of the park is the Browns Ferry Pond, which is a hive of activity for various species of birds from fall through spring. The Tualatin River Greenway has short sections that stretch east and west from the park: eventually, the section running west will connect all the way through to Tigard. A private canoe/kayak rental service is also based in the park from Memorial Day to mid-September. An outdoor art camp here in the summer makes that season the park's busiest. You can connect from the west end of Browns Ferry Park to the Tualatin River Greenway Loop Hike by bypassing an unfinished section of the Tualatin River Greenway Trail. Head east from the parking area over a footbridge on ash and willow shaded Nyberg Creek into a large grassy area. Turn left on a trail that heads toward the river, and then walk toward the confluence of the creek and the river. An interpretive post here indicates the high water mark of the 1996 floods. A wide trail leads east on the south side of the line of Douglas-fir, big-leaf maple, and grand fir above the Tualatin, but pick up the narrow footpath that allows you to look down on the river and the homes across, most with their little boat/canoe landing. Nest boxes on the trees are for wood ducks. The Browns Ferry Pond is to the right. After you cross the outlet creek for the pond on a footbridge, you'll enter a woodland dominated by maple and Douglas-fir with Indian plum, salal, Oregon grape, ivy, and sword fern. A boardwalk leads left over a swampy area, but keep left over another bridge. The trail here becomes graveled and then veers to the right. A muddy track continues straight along the river bank to the community center, but instead go right to the sidewalk along Nyberg Lane and then head left (east

Trail Stats

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