Canby Logging Road Hike

Overview

Between 1944 and 1974, Weyerhaeuser operated a private logging road between Molalla and Canby in order to transport logs to the Willamette River. Once at the logs reached a landing on the Willamette, they were formed into rafts that floated down the river to the Columbia, and thence downstream to the big mill in Longview, Washington. Many years after its abandonment, the City of Canby has rehabilitated the northern section of this haul road, which makes a level hike through the eastern reaches of Canby. Add in some diversions off the road section in Canby’s Eco Park and a disc golf course for a little variety. Note that the return trip north to the Willamette River from the Eco Park Trailhead is 3.1 miles; the extension south to 13th Avenue, the southern terminus of the hikeable section, is 4.2 miles round-trip. You can also begin the hike near this southern terminus at the Timber Park Trailhead. Take the wide chip trail at the north end of the parking area. Keep right at a fork to hike under tall Douglas-firs and big-leaf maples. Stick to the main trail as you hike through an understory of hazel, elderberry, and thimbleberry. Trilliums and violets bloom here in the spring. At a T-intersection, go left (Heading right leads out to Redwood Street, the entry road for the wastewater treatment plant, and some hay fields). Exit the Eco Park at the paved logging road, and go right. You’ll see the 2.5 mile marker (as measured from the trail's southern end at 13th Avenue) painted on the tread. Armenian blackberry forms thickets next to the trail, and shining geranium and nipplewort infest the trail verge. To your left are the fairways and greens of the Willamette Valley Country Club. Pass the Canby Waste Water Treatment Plant on your right. At a junction, go right for a loop around the park’s disc golf course. Cross a creek, and veer left to reach the Willamette River. Before this, a path leads right to wander in an eastward direction above the Willamette - a quiet diversion if you have the time. Pass an old concre

Trail Stats

Photos

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