Orenco Woods-Rock Creek Hike

Overview

Hillsboro’s universal access Rock Creek Trail follows the course of Rock Creek from the new Metro property at Orenco Woods Nature Park, dedicated on February 4th, 2017, through Orchard Park to arrive at Rock Creek Boulevard just north of Highway 26. Extensive riparian restoration has taken place along this creek, but there are also some busy road crossings. Orenco was a company town established in 1906 by the Oregon Nursery Company, which gave its abbreviated name to the settlement. The nursery became the largest such enterprise on the west coast. A statue of their signature Orenco apple and the home of the company’s co-founder, Malcolm McDonald, are reminders of this past association. Later, however, the company’s fortunes took a turn for the worse, and it filed for bankruptcy in 1927. The land was converted to a nine-hole golf course and then, in 2006, was slated to become the site of a housing development until the Recession of 2008 caused property values to take a nose dive. In 2011, the City of Hillsboro and Metro took advantage of this opportunity to acquire the future park. Using residential streets, it is possible to connect this section of the Rock Creek trail with the Rock Creek Greenway to the north (See the Rock Creek Greenway Hike) and Noble Woods Park to the south (See the Noble Woods Loop Hike). Because Orenco Woods is a Metro property, dogs are only permitted on the Rock Creek Trail here, but not on other trails in the park. From the parking area, walk past the restrooms. You’ll pass a ‘nature play’ area and a covered picnic area on your right. Just beyond the latter, come to a four-way junction, and make a left on the paved Rock Creek Trail. Keep right at the next junction, where there’s a sculpture memorializing the ‘Orenco apple,’ a variety once cultivated in local nurseries. The open areas have been planted with oaks, but soon you’ll pass through a mature stand of Douglas-firs and cross the high wide arch truss bridge over Rock Creek. The trail passes above the bottomland, with a new ho

Trail Stats

Photos

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