Tanner Creek Loop Hike

Overview

West Linn's Tanner Creek drains directly into the Willamette River above Willamette Falls. The slope here hosted, until recently, a collection of bucolic estates with horses, sheep, and orchards, but suburban sprawl has seen several large new developments spring up among the remaining pasturelands. A series of trails allows you to explore the area, taking in remaining copses of oak and Douglas-fir, willow thickets along Tanner Creek, and several cattail sinks. From Rosemont Ridge Middle School, cross Salamo Road, head to the right, and then pass through a white fence to drop through an open space forested with Douglas-fir, big-leaf maple, Indian plum, and holly. At a junction, make a left and descend to a paved trail, the old alignment of Parker Road. Go right and descend farther. Tanner Creek is to the right, shaded by blackberries, oaks, alders, and cottonwoods. There’s a grassy hillside opposite. Reach Parker Road, cross it, and drop down to the left, where a paved trail resumes. At a junction near a planting of willows, keep left. The trail passes below a parking area with restrooms, crosses Wild Rose Drive, and then drops below the West Linn Skate Park. Large homes appear on the left with the oak and alder-shaded creek flowing to the right. Reach a cattail swamp, one of the Surface Water Control Facilities you’ll see along this route. Continue down on a paved driveway for a few yards, and then resume the trail. Walk to your right over a footbridge, and then head down the opposite bank of the creek past a wooded area of Oregon white oak, big-leaf maple, and alder. The trail reaches Beacon Hill Lane opposite a view over a bucolic farm with a pond shaded by oaks. Go right here and reach Beacon Hill Drive, where you go left and, crossing the street, soon find a trail leading off across from Stonegate Lane. The trail rounds an overflow sink and heads up in a planting of Douglas-fir, red-cedar, and pine. Reach Crescent Drive, and go left to cross Quail Ridge Court. Then, find a trail leading up to the left

Trail Stats

Photos

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