Trail of the Week: Wildwood Trail, Portland, Oregon
This trail inside Forest Park is a must-do.
Our Trail of the Week feature is made possible through a partnership with Trail Run Project, a crowd-sourced collaboration by and for the running community. Thanks to the Forest Park Conservancy for mapping and describing this route.
Forest Park is an expansive jewel just west of downtown Portland, Oregon, featuring miles of trails underneath towering trees and surrounding lush greenery.
The Wildwood Trail, designated by the Secretary of the Interior as a National Recreation Trail, meanders for about 30 breathtaking miles, from the southern end of the trail at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington Park to the Northwest terminus of the trail at Newberry Road. There are blue diamond markers every quarter mile for the length of the trail.
For much of its duration, the Wildwood Trail overlooks the Willamette River as it stretches onward, through the northeast slope of the Tualatin Mountains between Skyline Boulevard and St. Helens Road. This trail provides for a quiet and serene run through varied and evolving forest ecosystem. The Wildwood enters Forest Park proper when it crosses West Burnside Street at about Mile 3.
This is an excellent quality hard-packed trail. If you are planning a through run, starting at the south end is preferable. That way, you get the hardest climbing out of the way at the beginning and you avoid the potential crowds in the arboretum and around Pittock Mansion on nicer days.
The Data
Miles: 29.7
Runnable: 96 percent
Average Grade: 3 percent
Max Grade: 25 percent
Total Ascent: 2,425 feet
Total Descent: -2,512 feet
Highest Elevation: 937 feet
For a closer look, check out the interactive map, data, photos and virtual run simulator courtesy of Trail Run Project: