6 min
Overview
This 567-acre state park near the Canby Ferry protects riparian forest at the confluence of the Willamette, Molalla, and Pudding Rivers. The deciduous woodland is dominated by cottonwood, willow, Oregon ash, and big-leaf maple with native hazel, snowberry, and red osier dogwood in the understory. Unfortunately, invasives like Armenian blackberry, Japanese knotweed, and reed canarygrass have taken over much of the area. Control is difficult because the cyclical river floods simply exacerbate the situation by opening up areas for invasion. The east end of the park is former agricultural land and is now home to a popular off-leash area as well as two picnic areas. A pleasant loop can be followed by walking above the Willamette and then descending to the forested bottomland near its confluence with the Molalla. You can only reach the Willamette-Molalla Confluence when water levels are low, but the main trail does take you to a bluff over the Molalla River about ¼ mile south of the confluence. Walk down towards the Willamette past the Cottonwood Picnic Area, and pick up the Riverside Trail at a hiker sign. This gravel trail heads above the river bank. On the right is a narrow corridor of cottonwood, maple, and Douglas-fir, while on your left is a grassy expanse. Pass through a fence. The riverside thicket to your right is a dense tangle of blackberry, wild rose, Scots broom, and tansy ragwort. Run the gauntlet of a blackberry thicket, and soon reach a riparian woodland of cottonwood, ash, and maple. At a picnic table and trail junction, go right. The trail descends an old road bed under overhanging hazels. At a junction in the bottomland, keep right on the main track in an area that is seasonally flooded. Pass through thickets of red osier dogwood, snowberry, trailing blackberry, thimbleberry, and stinging nettle. A spur right leads to the willow-lined shore of the Willamette, from which you’ll see the private residences on the opposite shore. Cross a footbridge over a creek. This marks the main channel of the Mo
Trail Stats
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28 m
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Photos
500px-MolallaRiverStateParkMap
500px-MolallaRiverStateParkMap
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250px-Irrigation_wheels%2C_Molalla_River_SP
250px-Cottonwood_Picnic_Area%2C_Molalla_River_State_Park
250px-Cottonwood_Picnic_Area%2C_Molalla_River_State_Park
400px-Willamette_River%2C_Molalla_River_State_Park
400px-Willamette_River%2C_Molalla_River_State_Park