8 min
Overview
In the late 19th century, Swiss immigrants settled on undeveloped land in what is now Southwest Portland and started several dairies, the last of which survived as Alpenrose. One of the immigrants, young Ulrich Gabriel, developed the pastures where Gabriel Park is now situated as the Pine Creek Dairy, and the Gabriel farmhouse stands opposite the Little Gabriel Trailhead. The City of Portland purchased 90 acres of the Gabriel land and some of the Multnomah Dairy Farm land in 1950. Portland Parks terms this a “hybrid park,” i.e. it is a mix of developed and natural areas. Old growth Douglas-firs survive along Vermont Creek and a tributary and, in the early 1990s, a project was begun to revert more of the watercourse areas to a natural state. A “nature patch,” featuring labeled native plants, and a pollinator meadow have recently been added, along with a signed trail system. Walk west to the end of the parking area and then across the top of the playing field. A trail leads into woods of cedar and maple and drops to a junction with the Red Tail Trail, with an apartment complex on your left. Turn right, then keep left and traverse the slope before descending to the left to join an old road bed. Follow this trail above a tributary of Vermont Creek along an ivy-carpeted slope among some large old Douglas-firs. Keep left, and then bear right (don’t descend to 45th Avenue), and rise to exit the woods at a large cedar and join a paved trail. Go left on this path as it winds down the through lawns with big skirted cedars. A fringe of rhododendrons blooms profusely in the spring. The paved trail loops down in shady woods to cross Vermont Creek and wind up past a cluster of ash trees near the summer dog park. Turn right below the tennis courts, and pass through a wooded corridor. Once back in the open, bear right on the grass, and follow the lawn with a natural thicket of wild rose and snowberry to the left and a split-rail fence and screen of maples to the right. Cottontails come out in the evening and nibble on the g
Trail Stats
0.0 km
39 m
124 m
0 m
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Photos
400px-GabrielParkMap
400px-GabrielParkMap
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160px-Meadow_checkermallow_%28Sidalcea_campestris%29%2C_Gabriel_Park
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160px-Vermont_Creek%2C_Gabriel_Park
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250px-Skiers%2C_Gabriel_Park%2C_The_Big_Snow%2C_January_2017
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400px-Cedar_on_the_Red_Tail_Trail%2C_Gabriel_Park