15 min
Overview
A "hike" in an industrial area is not everyone's cup of tea, but this is a worthwhile excursion on one of those days when you can't get out of town. Do it on the weekend, when the commercial activity at Mocks Bottom and Swan Island is negligible: you'll be spending a lot of time on sidewalks, but the loop described here connects various slivers of green space and beach front to take you back up to the view-filled stroll along Willamette Boulevard at the rim of Mocks Crest. Note that the pockets of natural area that this hike explores continue to be the haunts of some of Portland’s significant transient population so, especially in the summer, you may feel more comfortable doing this hike with a companion. Walk back towards the bluff and find the footpath behind the crash barrier on Willamette Boulevard. This takes you past the sign for Harvard Street and leads to a flight of steps that accesses the newly-constructed (2013) Waud Bluff Trail. From the top here, get views over industrial Mocks Bottom and Swan Island. The wide paved trail leads down the bluff through a leafy slope forest of white oak and Pacific madrone; then it turns to cross the Union Pacific railroad tracks on a pedestrian/bike bridge. Descend the stairs, and take the paved path to the turnaround at the end of Basin Avenue. Keep to the sidewalk here as you walk past the fenced Coast Guard/ Marine Corps Reserve station. Note some of the old guns and engineering equipment parked for display on the lawns. Basin Avenue is lined with red oaks, which offer a brilliant color display in the fall. Continue past the large UPS facility and cross Ensign Street. Keeping on Basin, reach the UPS Customer Center and a couple of large truck lots. Pass the junction with Lavern Street, and walk on a grass verge for a block. Keep on grass as you round a bend and reach the parking area for the Swan Island boat ramp. Cross the parking area to a paved trail that leads over a blocked channel of the Willamette River, now the Swan Island Basin: this harbor to your
Trail Stats
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73 m
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Photos
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