8 min
Overview
This new state park, part of the Willamette River Greenway, offers three short loops that serve both mountain bikers and hikers. The trails have been constructed by the Salem Area Trail Alliance and wander through a remnant area of riverside and bluff woodland with both deciduous and coniferous species, including black cottonwood, red alder, Oregon ash, big-leaf maple, Oregon white oak, Douglas-fir, grand fir, and even a few Pacific madrones. The park fronts on the Windsor Island Reach, which became the main channel of the Willamette in these parts in the 1940s after the Army Corps of Engineers began dredging operations. The shoreline access here is popular with salmon and steelhead fishermen. From the parking area, get a view down on meandering Spring Valley Creek. You can also walk to the shore of the Windsor Island Reach of the Willamette River. For the first loop, take the Perimeter Trail, which begins behind a set of cabled bollards at the parking area. The trail heads along the edge of a field of ryegrass lined with blackberries and tall cottonwoods. Reach the junction with the TCC Trail and go right. This little trail takes you into the native woodland next to the river, and trail spurs allow for shore access. A carpet of waterleaf and nettle flourishes under big-leaf maple and grand fir. Look for the mottled leaves of the rarely seen sessile trillium (Trillium parviflorum). The path almost reaches the ryegass field, but bends right on a hummocky tread to arrive above Spring Valley Creek. Reach the field and walk right along the edge of the ryegrass planting between the rows. This will take you back to the parking area. The second loop, the Upper Spring Valley Trail, takes you to the left of the restrooms across a grassy expanse where visitors like to run their dogs. Enter a woodland dense with Indian plum and hazel and rise up a slope. There’s a view to the northern point of Windsor Island in the Willamette. Descend under mossy arches of hazel in a mixed forest with more grand firs. Fringe-cup, viole
Trail Stats
0.0 km
41 m
0 m
0 m
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Photos
400px-SpringValleyMap
400px-SpringValleyMap
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250px-Coast_toothwort_%28Cardamine_californica%29%2C_Spring_Valley_State_Park
250px-Coast_toothwort_%28Cardamine_californica%29%2C_Spring_Valley_State_Park
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400px-On_the_TCC_Trail%2C_Spring_Valley_State_Park