Tryon Creek State Park

Often overshadowed by Forest Park, Tryon Creek State Park is equally serene and remarkable for its beauty and representation of Pacific Northwest wilderness.  In fact, the park can be stunningly quiet and tranquil because it is so often overlooked.  Tryon Creek State Park supports a 3-mile paved bike trail (part of Portland’s 40-Mile Loop), has its own nature center, and hosts runs of steelhead trout and coho salmon in the creek.  Once on the park’s 8 miles of well-maintained trails, watch the dappled light fall on the moss and licorice ferns.  Red alder and bigleaf maple trees ostensibly dominate the park’s landscape. 

Like Forest Park, the forest vegetation is all second-growth. The site was heavily logged during the latter half of the 19th century, in part by the Oregon Iron Company.  The company purchased the land in 1874 from the heirs of Socrates Hotchkiss Tryon Sr., the pioneer settler who filed the original land claim in 1850.  Logging continued into the early 20th century, and the Boone’s Ferry Wood and Tie Company established a sawmill along Tryon Creek near Obie’s bridge. The company primarily produced railroad ties, cordwood, and flagpoles from cedar and Douglas fir.  If you have the time, the Cedar Trail Loop provides a terrific overview of the park.