Cox Creek to Talking Waters Hike

Overview

Right off the freeway, you can stop at Waverly Lake in Albany and begin a walk that takes you down Cox Creek to the the Talking Water Gardens, Albany’s award-winning wastewater treatment ponds, which support a lively avian population. The entrance to the Gardens is also the Simpson Park Trailhead, and a trail leads from here to the Willamette River. The hike described below takes you from Waverly Lake to the Gardens. If you wish to continue along the Willamette River, see the Albany Riverfront Hike. Cox Creek is named for Anderson Cox, who settled here in 1848 and owned a small sawmill. Cox was an elected delegate to the Oregon Constitutional Convention and was also responsible for the naming of Linn County after Senator Lewis F. Linn of Missouri, an early supporter of statehood for Oregon. From the oak-shaded parking area, take the paved trail clockwise around Waverly Lake, originally a gravel pit and now lined with white alder and birch trees. Even though this is next to a busy highway, the lake supports a good waterfowl population, including mallards, cormorants, coots, and gulls. Pass the Pacific Avenue road bridge and bend right. The path loops to run alongside Salem Avenue. Cross a footbridge where Cox Creek exits Waverly Lake and use the crosswalk to cross Salem Avenue. Go right after crossing the street and then turn left on the paved Cox Creek Trail. This narrow woodland corridor above Cox Creek showcases blooming sessile trilliums and camas lilies in early spring. Pass under the railroad tracks and walk along the fence that encloses Talking Water Gardens. Look for herons, egrets, and waterfowl in the garden ponds. To your left is the former Nebergall Meat Company complex, now an ATI specialty metal plant. The dam built across Cox Creek here in 1932 was removed in 2013. New plantings of elderberry, Oregon grape, and red flowering currant line the trail. Reach the Simpson Park Trailhead, where you can inspect the oak-shaded meadow above First Lake, an oxbow lake that lies in a former channel of the

Trail Stats

Photos

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