Lewis and Clark Park Hike
From Portland Hikers Field Guide
- Start Point: Lewis & Clark Park
- End Point: End of Nature Trail
- Trail Log: Lewis and Clark Park Hike/Log
- Hike Type: Out and Back
- Distance: 3.0 miles round trip
- Elevation gain: 100 feet
- Difficulty: Easy
- Seasons: Year-Round
- Family Friendly: Yes
- Backpackable: No
- Crowded: Sometimes
- Latitude: 45.54177 (at the trailhead)
- Longitude -122.37944
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Hike Description
One of the things that we strive for here on the Field Guide is completeness. In that spirit, we present the Lewis and Clark Nature Trail. It's not so much that we recommend it, as it is we want to present all of your hiking options.
This trail is at least a mile and a half long, but it's really difficult to say, as it doesn't seem to really be built as much as it does to exist. It grows fainter with each step, until each hiker decides that's enough and that's where their personal version of the trail ends.
Beginning in the Lewis & Clark State Park, the trail starts from a sign pointing out the Oregon Grape. That's probably a good thing as that's the only Oregon Grape in the area. Four signs near the end of the developed park point out four species of trees and that's the sum total of the nature education on this “nature” trail.
Leaving the developed park, the trail slabs eastward along the north edge of Broughton Bluff, usually just far enough above the railroad to make it unimportant to railbuffs, but always staying close enough to insure an occasional snippet of railroad audio mixed in with the ever-present freeway din. The trail itself alternates between mind boggling stands of stinging nettles 7-8 feet high, overhanging and blocking the trail, interspersed with less poisonous if more thorny masses of Himalayan blackberries. The view alternates from closeups of invasive plantlife, to less interesting distant looks at the same plants. The trail is never really difficult to follow, though it is difficult to find a reason to continue.
There are a few noteworthy pieces of blowdown and some large, fallen pieces of basalt, particularly at about mile 1.3. The farther east the trail goes, the less traveled it becomes. Spider webs increase in both number and stickiness as hikers get farther from the trailhead.
All in all, I can’t find much to recommend in this hike. Still, there's always something positive to be found in every hike and this one was a learning experience. In this hike I learned five things:
1) I discovered that stinging nettles don't hurt as much as they used to when I was a little kid.
2) I learned that 240 lbs per foot (real, not square) is enough to poke a foot-sized hole in a rotten log.
3) I found no matter how carefully you select them, blackberries just aren’t as tasty as huckleberries.
4) It seems that when you put a hand down for support while working under an overhanging log, you have a 50/50 chance of creating slug puree with your bare hands.
5) Finally, I found I can trust Russ Schneider when he says that he had a hard time finding a reason to include this hike. I settled for “completeness”.
Maps
- Maps: Hike Finder
Fees, Regulations, etc.
- None
Driving Instructions
Take Interstate 84 east from Portland to Exit 18, signed for "Lewis & Clark State Park". Follow the offramp to a stop sign, turn left under the railroad tracks and turn left into the park parking lot. The trailhead is near the north edge of the park.
Trip Reports
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Related Discussions / Q&A
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Guidebooks that cover this hike
- Hiking the Columbia River Gorge - 1st Edition, by Russ Schneider
More Links
- See more information at Describe the link here
Contributors
- Stevefromdodge (creator)