Page 10 - Copyright 2013 - Pamplin Media Group

10 FACT BOOK 2013-14 October 24, 2013
Connecting Our Communities
Take a look at what’s available biking throughout the suburbs
Come on and take a little ride with me
By MARTIN FORBES
Pamplin Media Group
It’s no secret that the Port-
land metropolitan area is
one of the nation’s meccas
for bicylists.
And that sense of bicycling
freedom definitely spills over in-
to the suburbs through an amaz-
ing number of bike trails that
range from offerings for young-
sters to experts and from short
sections to lengthy runs that go
between communities.
Here’s a quick look at some of
what is available to bike riders:
Bike trails
LAKE OSWEGO — There are 39
miles of non-roadway trails in
the city along with a number of
in-road trails (bike lanes)
throughout. Not all of the non-
roadway trails are practical for
bicyclists, including Cooks
Butte, the grassy portion of Ste-
vens Meadows and part of Iron
Mountain Park, said Ivan An-
derholm, interim director of the
Lake Oswego Parks and Recre-
ation Department. He noted
there are 18 miles of loop trails
(in roadways) that are well used
(Bryant-Palisades, Country Club
and Lake loops). The Lake Loop
is one of the most popular local
trails as is the trail on South
Shore that backs up to Iron
Mountain. Anderholm also not-
ed theWillamette River Green-
way starting in George Rogers
Park and going south to Mary S.
Young Park inWest Linn (a
combination of trails and in-road
sections) is popular. The next
phase of the Iron Mountain
Management Plan will include
trail planning. For more, includ-
ing a trail map, go to ci.oswego.
or.us/parksrec/trails-and-path-
ways.
SHERWOOD — The city main-
tains a number of trails connect-
ing various areas. For informa-
tion, see sherwoodoregon.gov/
parksrec.
TIGARD — Of the city’s 15 miles
of bike trails, the most popular
are the Fanno Creek Trail (be-
tweenWoodard Park and Bea-
verton) and the Tualatin River
Trail (between Cook Park and
Tualatin and Durham). Lesser
known is the Pathfind-Genesis
Trail. A new section of the Fan-
no Creek Trail is in the planning
stages to complete the trail from
Beaverton to Bonita Road. To
see Tigard’s bike map, visit the
Tigard library or order one on-
line at tigard-or.gov/community/
bike_tigard/default.asp.
TUALATIN — There are five
miles of developed trails
throughout its parks and green-
ways. Completion of the Ice Age
Tonquin and Tualatin River Gre-
enway trails will add many miles
of shared pathways. The Tuala-
tin River Greenway is the fifth
most used trail in the entire
Portland metropolitan area. For
more, see tualatinoregon.gov/
sites/default/files/fileattach-
ments/recreation/web-
page/12058/parksystemmap.pdf.
TUALATIN HILLS PARKS & RECRE-
ATION DISTRICT (GREATER BEAVER-
TON AREA) — About 60 miles of
trails, mostly paved, are main-
tained by the district, which
spans a 50-square-mile territory
inWashington County. Some $15
million has been earmarked for
new trails, expansion of existing
trails and mid-block crossings of
major streets. “When we finish
filling in the existing gaps within
our district,” said Doug Menke,
THPRD general manager, “we
will have a trail backbone that
extends all the way from PCC’s
Rock Creek Campus in the north
to our southern boundary at
Barrows Road, which is south of
Scholls Ferry Road. That will be
a distance of 10 miles of mostly
continuous trail — great news
for all bicyclists, walkers and
runners in our area.” Among
the major trail improvements
underway or recently completed
areWaterhouse, Rock Creek Re-
gional, Westside Regional and
Lowami Hart Woods trails. Most
popular in the system are Rock
Creek Trail, Commonwealth
Lake Loop and Fanno Creek
Trail. Trails around the Jenkins
Estate are probably the most ob-
scure while those at Cooper
Mountain Nature Park offer
some commanding views of the
area. For more, see thprd.org.
WEST LINN — With about 7
miles on street and about 10
miles off-street, most popular
trails are Cascade Summit and
Mary S. Young Park while the
Fields Bridge Park trail is the
least known. West Linn is plan-
ning to add another 26 miles of
on-street trails and 17 miles of
off-street. The trail along Salamo
Road heading south is consid-
ered the most scenic, said Ken
Worcester, parks and recreation
director. For more, see westlin-
noregon.gov/parksrec/parks.
WILSONVILLE — A number of
trails meander through parks,
connect areas of town to each
other and allow resident to expe-
rience greenways, natural areas
and open spaces. Existing green-
way trails include the Memorial
Park to Boones Ferry Park Trail,
the trail system inMemorial
Park and the Boeckman Creek
Crossing. The Boeckman trail is
a paved, well-maintained mean-
dering path that leads down into
a forested canyon and is high-
lighted by a 60-foot free span
bridge across Boeckman Creek.
For more, see ci.wilsonville.or.us.
Members of the
Tualatin River
paddlers float
under the Ki-a-
Kuts Biycle and
Pedestrian
Bridge. The
bridge, which is
popular with
bicyclists,
connects parks
in the cities of
Tualatin and
Tigard.
COURTESY OF
THE CITY OF TULATIN