Trolley Trail Hike

Overview

The Trolley Trail is a rails-to-trails effort that uses the route of the Portland Traction Company’s streetcar line from Milwaukie through Oak Grove to Gladstone. The right-of-way was acquired in 2001 by Metro and the North Clackamas Parks and Recreation District. Most of the trail runs on its own paved path with the major exceptions being a four-block section on Arista Drive in Oak Grove and several blocks down Portland Avenue in Gladstone. The original trolley line here began operations in 1893 but closed in 1968 when it was left with only one commercial customer. (Passenger service was discontinued in 1958.) Your walk begins where Johnson Creek joins the Willamette River and ends near the confluence of the Clackamas River and the Willamette. Instead of doing the whole 12 miles, you can walk the Trolley Trail in two sections. From the Milwaukie Riverfront Park Trailhead to the Stringfield Family Park Trailhead, it’s 7.0 miles round-trip. From the Stringfield Family Park Trailhead to Chief Charles Ames Memorial Park, the distance is 4.8 miles round-trip. The Trolley Trail heads north from Riverfront Park just over a mile to run along 17th Avenue and connect with the Springwater Corridor. Walk south from the parking area and back over the Washington Street Bridge on Kellogg Creek. Note the small dam and fish ladder below the McLoughlin Boulevard Bridge. Head left at the Kellogg Water Resource Recovery Facility, a wastewater treatment plant, and find the paved Trolley Trail at two basalt pillars next to McLoughlin Boulevard. The trail passes under both a railroad trestle and the MAX light rail line. A pattern of green and white droplets decorates the MAX bridge above you. Cross 22nd Avenue and River Road. A series of wood sculptures begins here, with a railroad trestle collage to your right. Pass above a gully shaded by English laurel. The path jinks around an impressive sequoia and passes a bench guarded by a carved bear and a beaver. Reach the SE Park Avenue MAX Station with its small plaza and ornamental g

Trail Stats

Photos

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