Alton Baker Park Loop Hike

Overview

The 402 acres of Alton Baker Park on the north bank of the Willamette constitute Eugene’s largest developed open space. The more developed west half of the park includes a duck pond, a display honoring the 24 American recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize, a model Sun that’s the beginning of a 3 ½ mile planet walk, a disc golf course, an off leash area, the Hays Tree Garden, and the Cuthbert Amphitheater. The eastern part of the park, which abuts Springfield’s Eastgate Woodlands, was designated the Whilamut Natural Area in 2002 and is in the process of a natural restoration. The Kalapuya Talking Stones, which display vocabulary from the Kalapuyan language, are mostly in this section. Between the two sections runs the paved North Bank Trail, part of Eugene’s Ruth Bascom Riverbank Trail System (See the Eugene Riverbank Loop Hike), and the meandering course of Pre’s Trail, a running course named after Steve Prefontaine, a star athlete from the University of Oregon who was killed in a car crash in 1975. Alton Baker was a newspaper publisher who merged two Eugene dailies to launch the Register-Guard, which survives today as the city’s main source of printed news. In the 1950s, Baker was involved in the project to acquire land and form the park which is named after him. From the main parking area, walk out towards the Willamette River past covered picnic shelters. Turn left on the North Bank Path, and hike under tall cottonwoods. There’s a dirt path closer to the river that leads to a boat launch. From a four-way intersection north of the boat ramp, keep heading east. There’s an island in the river to your right, and another path leads left to the University of Oregon’s Autzen Stadium. Wind through a riparian forest of Douglas-fir, maple, and cottonwood. You’ll see a “talking stone”, Camafeema (meaning "ferns on the ground" in the Kalapuya language), to your left. The trail passes under the Frohnmayer Bridge and winds through riparian thickets to reach a paved road track at an open space that is being restored as

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