Talking Water Gardens

Talking Water Gardens is a unique area for a hike, located just outside of Downtown Albany. It shares a trailhead with Simpson Park where you’ll find a trail that leads along the Willamette River. Talking Water Gardens is open from sunrise to sunset, 7 days a week.

Talking Water Gardens offers about 2 miles of different paths that wander through the man made wetlands. The 50-acre area is an engineered water treatment wetland that was designed to help cool wastewater before it enters the Willamette River. After running through a treatment facility, wastewater then enters the Talking Water Gardens and is oxygenated and cooled as it travels through a series of ponds and even small waterfalls. Typical wetland vegetation has been planted around the ponds and the area now serves as habitat for many species of birds and waterfowl as well as small mammals, reptiles and insects.