Council Crest Hike

Overview

This hike is a good way to get some decent elevation gain within the Portland city limits. The destination, Council Crest, is a park built atop a summit with great views on a clear day. The summit of Council Crest is reachable by car, and there are closer trailheads, but you will get a better workout with the described route. There are a few street crossings, but most of the time you are under a leafy canopy dominated by big-leaf maple, vine maple, Douglas-fir, and western hemlock. Start out at the Marquam Nature Park Shelter Trailhead, and take a few moments to read the interpretive panels at the shelter and admire the Marquam Mosaic, installed in the small amphitheater and created by Portland artist Lynn Takata in 2013. Then head to your left. Almost immediately you will hit a junction. Make a right on the Shelter Trail, following the signs to Council Crest. Pass the park's port-a-potty and then the moss-covered remains of some old concrete cisterns. Keep heading up the bottom of Marquam Gulch under a canopy of big-leaf maples that glow yellow in the fall. The Shelter Trail veers left off the wide tread and then switchbacks up to a junction. Make a right, and ascend four split-rail fenced switchbacks before passing in and out of a gully. Reach the junction with the Sunnyside Trail, and go left. Another four switchbacks will take you past a memorial rock to Rusty and Dan Goldy and some steps at Sherwood Drive. You're now out of Marquam Nature Park. Cross Sherwood to resume the trail and cross a footbridge. A couple of switchbacks take you into a gully, and then you'll switchback again to rise and then drop slightly under Douglas-firs, cedars, hemlocks, and maples with an Oregon grape/sword fern understory. Another two switchbacks take you to Fairmount Boulevard. Cross to a Marquam Trail sign, and traverse along a leafy hillside to reach Greenway Avenue. Directly cross this road, and switchback up three times to a junction near the off-leash area at Council Crest Park. Make a left to leave the Marquam Trail,

Trail Stats

Photos

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