Laura O. Foster - Portland Hill Walks

Praise for the first edition of Portland Hill Walks

Pick up a copy of Portland Hill Walks, lace up some hiking shoes and leave the gas guzzler in the garage Includes lots of city history, while pointing out fun ways to get to know your backyard.

The Oregonian

Foster makes each entry come alive with historical background and keenly drawn observations.

Booklist

A treasure of information, one of the best guidebooks in many years.

Salem Statesman Journal

Laura Foster provides a real familiarity with the neighborhoods she describes, which only a veteran Portland walker could produce.

The Asian Reporter

Its the little nuggets of history and mystery that Foster includes in her description of each route that transform this book from a mere collection of local maps to a guidebook that leads readers and walkers.

Commerce

Praise for Portland City Walks

Skillfully combines neighborhood history and architectural description with keen observations guaranteed to capture a walkers imagination.

The Oregonian

To Kevin,
for helping me begin to see what Id been looking at

Frontispiece: Wildwood Trail, Forest Park. , steps descend from Summit Avenue to the little-traveled dead end of Lovejoy Street.

Every reasonable effort has been made to contact copyright holders and secure permission for all materials reproduced in this work; and wherever possible, the author has obtained permission to photograph persons. When this was not possible, and for any other inadvertent omission, we offer apologies. The inclusion of any persons likeness in this book should not be taken as an endorsement of the book, the author, or any matters pertaining to this publication; nor should the inclusion of any place of business be taken as an endorsement by the publisher. Facts stated in this book are to the best of the authors knowledge true. Bus routes, business operations, and other specifics are subject to change without notice.

Maps by Lisa Brower of GreenEye Design.

Copyright 2013 by Laura O. Foster. All rights reserved.

Published in 2013 by Timber Press, Inc.

The Haseltine Building

133 S.W. Second Avenue, Suite 450

Portland, Oregon 97204-3527

timberpress.com

2 The Quadrant

135 Salusbury Road

London NW6 6RJ

timberpress.co.uk

Printed in the United States of America

Book design by Susan Applegate

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Foster, Laura O.

Portland hill walks: 24 explorations in parks and neighborhoods/Laura O. Foster.2nd ed.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-60469-325-6

1. WalkingOregonPortlandGuidebooks. 2. Portland (Or.)Guidebooks. I. Title.

GV199.42.O72P6737 2013

917.95490444dc23

2012028521

CONTENTS

NORTHWEST PORTLAND

SOUTHWEST PORTLAND

SOUTHEAST PORTLAND AND BEYOND

NORTHEAST PORTLAND

NORTH PORTLAND

FOREWORD

Walking is like breathing: everyone does it during their day, and it is elemental to our human experience. Knowing that any step I take at any given time is echoed by othersstrangers, friends, or my niecewho are walking or rolling at that same moment somewhere in the world amazes me. Like the air around us, our feet give us the ever-present opportunity to explore that shared human adventure, that ancient tradition, of walking.

I love hearing about walks people take. Though walking is a universal human activity, it is also an intimate venture. Anyone who steps foot in Portland develops a unique, personal relationship with the city. Portland is a walkers delight: quiet neighborhoods, hidden paths, beautiful architecture, parks everywhere, views that reward, and classic commercial districts that offer a place to get off your feet and settle into a corner of the city. My first step was taken in Portland, and many steps since have landed on the streets and paths explored in this book.

With this new edition, Laura Foster invites you to renew your love affair with Portland: explore new walks crafted with creativity and wit, revisit classic explorations updated with new photos and text, and compare historical photos with sights seen along the way. Amble through scenic neighborhoods and leafy parks, scale the heights via stairs, trails, or an aerial tram, find hidden pathways, or even explore a wilderness and play miniature golf on one eclectic ramble, all accessible from public transportation.

Reading about a Portland hill walkor better yet, taking one yourselfis like getting a free ticket to a play. Oh, the childlike glee of finding hidden treasure in the form of a toy horse tied to a century-old horse ring, or the relief of finding a coffee shop tucked into a neighborhood just when you need it most. Reading Lauras stories is like meandering down a tree-lined street arm-in-arm with a friend: a walk can be exploration, joy, solace, or abject hilarity, all present in good measure here. Your next walk has amazing things in store for you. Find them! Grab your shoes, flip to a page, and go. This book is your portal to urban marvels and adventures. Engage in an ancient human tradition. Walk now.

STEPH ROUTH

Executive director of Oregon Walks

(formerly Willamette Pedestrian Coalition)

PREFACE

You can walk across Portland, from mountainous far Northwest to buttes that stack up in outer Southeast, hiking on mountain paths, sauntering along neighborhood streets with sidewalks, climbing up and down public stairs, and sharing the way with bikes on paved regional trails. Along the way, youll pass through forests, urban neighborhoods dense with beautiful homes, vibrant old streetcar commercial districts, up and down hills, and across rivers and creeks. Youll climb to views of snow-capped Cascade peaks. Youll pass cafs, coffee houses, breweries, distilleries, bookstores, shops, public art and quirky creativity. Whats not to love?

I do love Portland, and have ever since I stepped off a plane and sniffed its wet March air in 1989: it was mild, clean, and even at the airport, had a hint of forest in it. After a decade or so of intentionally getting lost, I wrote the book Id wanted to read: one that takes readers on journeys in their own town, telling them the stories of its geology, geography, horticultural treasures, architectural wealth, and hidden pathways.

Portland Hill Walks came out in 2005, and has been enthusiastically received by people who love this city as much as I do. I hear from readers via email and the walks I sometimes lead for governments and nonprofits: that you use the book to walk with your partner on a date, with a girlfriend for exercise, with a teenager to catch up, with your hiking group to explore, or with your team to train for Hood to Coast. Its been a joy to know so many walkers and discover people who love to really