Maple-Wildwood Loop Hike

Overview

Note: The Wildwood Trail is closed between the Koenig and Cleator Trails. The detour uses these short trails to connect to Leif Erikson Drive. It is rare to find seclusion in Forest Park, but these leafy slopes are wonderful escape for those who cannot spare the drive time to get out of town on a busy day. The loop described here takes in a good portion of the central part of the park and some of its biggest trees, the gnarly old Douglas-firs in the upper reaches of Munger Creek, a tributary of Rocking Chair Creek. You will use the Wildwood Trail and also hike the whole of the Maple Trail, Forest Park’s longest foot trail – 3 ½ miles - after the Wildwood. It’s worth walking back from the gate on Salzman Road, if you manage to park close to it, to get the only expansive view of the day: across the area of Doane Lake and the Doane Point railroad bridge to Mount Saint Helens, Mount Rainier, and Mount Adams on the skyline. Then hike up Salzman Road under a leafy canopy of big-leaf maple, Douglas-fir, western hemlock, and western red-cedar. The maple leaves should be thick on the ground from mid-fall. Reach the Salzman Road-Maple Trail Junction, and descend off the road to your right. Traverse above a gully and pass a large Douglas-fir before crossing a footbridge and rising up and around a hillside. Note the old pipe posts that were jammed in the ground to stabilize the trail. Hike in and out of gullies in an understory of vine maple, thimbleberry, sword fern, and Oregon grape. Pass the junction with the Quarry Trail and make a level traverse. The trail drops to cross a wide gully before rising to the Leif Erikson Drive-Maple Trail Junction. Go left on Leif Erikson and pass the 6 ¼ milepost. Reach the Leif Erikson Drive-Salzman Road Junction after passing through a rusty gate above a wide landing with a picnic table. Make an immediate and sharp right here and hike half a mile up the hill on Salzman Road. Reach the Wildwood Trail-Salzman Road Junction near the Wildwood’s halfway point (16 miles), and go left

Trail Stats

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