Mount Tabor Hike

Overview

Mount Tabor is an extinct volcano, one of many that dot the landscape east of Portland and make up a complex called the Boring Lava Fields. The mountain is the center of a 197-acre city park of the same name designed by the Olmsteds. There are many routes you can take in this park: feel free to wander and visit many times! The one described here is a loop that gives the maximum elevation gain and distance, with varied scenery. Some points on this route are marked with posts painted with blue arrows. There are a couple of other loop trails that are color-coded. In the park visitor center near the caldera, you can pick up brochures, including a guide to the 57 numbered trees, a trail map, a historical timeline, and a geological history. Begin on the west side of the park, on Lincoln Street. Where Lincoln makes a 180-degree turn leading up the slope, a maintenance road heads north (left) past a gate. This descends to rectangle-shaped Reservoir #6, the lowest of the three reservoirs in the park, all of them constructed during the period 1894 - 1911. These reservoirs were once the receptacles of Portland's drinking water, with the original source the Bull Run Watershed on the western flanks of Mount Hood, but as of August 2015 were slated for decommissioning under what is known as the Long Term 2 (LT2) Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule. The idea was to move drinking water reservoirs underground to avoid the spread of the gastrointestinal parasite cryptosporidium. The historic reservoirs remain in place as scenic attractions and continue to contain non-potable water at about 85% of their usual levels. Walk along the east side of the reservoir until, just past a pump house, make a right to take the nearly 100 stairs that will lead up to oval-shaped Reservoir #5. The atmospheric gatehouse here looks like it is constructed of stone but is really reinforced concrete. Turn right on the access road and, just past the Weir House, look for a trail heading up uphill on your left. This trail goes over Poison Oak Hill, a

Trail Stats

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