Chestnut to Dogwood Loop Hike

Overview

While the Chestnut and Dogwood Trails form the bookends to this loop, most of your time will be spent on the two main arteries in Forest Park: the Wildwood Trail and Leif Erikson Drive. You’ll begin near the high point of the hike on Firelane 1, but the loop as a whole is gentle on elevation gain compared to most other Forest Park loops of this length. While Leif Erikson Drive follows a smooth and looping contour at about the 550 foot level, the Wildwood zigzags in and out of gullies on a hillside dominated by deciduous maples and alders, making it a good loop for the fall. Even though Leif Erikson is a road that also hosts numerous cyclists and runners, its cut into the east face of the Tualatin Hills allows you to see the bedrock of Columbia River Basalt that underlies the Portland Hills Silts that are responsible for the instability of the slopes and ultimately saved them from development. Hike around the closed gate at the trailhead, and follow Firelane 1 past its junction with the Morak Trail under a canopy of Douglas-fir, hemlock, cedar, and maple. A lush understory of Oregon grape, sword fern, and salal is typical of the Tualatin Hills crest. Walk up a short rise, and then descend to the Wildwood Trail-Firelane 1 Junction and its picnic tables. Here you’ll make a left. Drop into a salmonberry gully shaded by some large Douglas-firs. Make three switchbacks down to the Wildwood-Nature Tie Trail Junction. Keep on the Wildwood for another 0.3 miles, crossing a creek with a new footbridge and the former culvert rusting away among the salmonberries. Switchback up twice to reach the Wildwood-Chestnut Trail Junction, and turn right. The Chestnut Trail drops down the slope to a tributary of Rocking Chair Creek. You’ll notice large stumps here with springboard notches, some encased by the roots of the hemlocks they’re nursing. Trillium, fringe-cup, and inside-out flower bloom in the spring. The trail turns to run down another tributary that splashes down the basalt bedrock. Reach Leif Erikson Drive, and make

Trail Stats

Photos

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400px-ChestnutDogwoodLoopMap

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250px-DogwoodWildCherry3

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250px-Rockingchair_Dam

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