Hiking opportunities in the Portland area are almost unlimited. For shorter hikes, you need not leave the city. Bordered by West Burnside Street on the south, Newberry Road on the north, St. Helens Road on the east, and Skyline Road on the west, Forest Park is the largest forested city park in the country. You'll find more than 50 miles of trails through this urban wilderness. One of our favorite access points is at the top of NW Thurman Street in northwest Portland (after a hike, you can stop by one of the neighborhood brewpubs, an espresso bar, or bakery along NW 23rd or NW 21st Avenue for a postexercise payoff). The Wildwood Trail is the longest trail in the park and offers the most options for loop hikes along its length. For a roughly 2.5-mile hike, head up Leif Erikson Drive to a left onto the Wild Cherry Trail to a right onto the Wildwood Trail to a right onto the Dogwood Trail, and then a right on Leif Erikson Drive to get you back to the trailhead. There are also good sections of trail to hike in the vicinity of the Hoyt Arboretum. To reach the arboretum's visitor center, 4000 SW Fairview Boulevard (open daily 9am-3pm), drive west on West Burnside Street from downtown Portland and follow signs to the arboretum. You can get a trail map here at the visitor center.
About 5 miles south of downtown, you'll find Tryon Creek State Park on Terwilliger Road. This park is similar to Forest Park and is best known for its displays of trillium flowers in the spring. There are several miles of walking trails within the park, and a bike path to downtown Portland starts here.
If you head over to Mount Hood National Forest (less than an hour away), you can get on the Pacific Crest Trail and hike all the way to Mexico. Of course, there are also plenty of shorter hikes. Among our favorites are the sections of the Timberline Trail heading out from Timberline Lodge, which is Mount Hood's main man-made attraction. From the lodge you can to an out-and-back hike of whatever length you're up for. Another good choice is the Mirror Lake Trail, which has its trailhead right on U.S. 26 just before you reach the community of Government Camp (if you're coming up from Portland). It's a 4-mile round-trip hike to Mirror Lake and a 6.4-mile round-trip hike to the top of nearby Tom, Dick, and Harry Mountain. However, if you want to avoid the crowds, head around the mountain (take U.S. 26 to Ore. 35 north toward Hood River, and then take Cooper Spur Road for 12.5 miles to the Cloud Cap Campground). From Cloud Cap, you can hike up above treeline on the treeless east slopes of the mountain or head through the trees and meadows on the mountains north side. For information on hiking trails on Mount Hood, contact the Mount Hood Information Center, 65000 E. U.S. 26, Welches (tel. 503/622-7674).
If you're interested in a more strenuous mountain experience, the Mount Hood area offers plenty of mountain- and rock-climbing opportunities. Timberline Mountain Guides (tel. 541/312-9242; www.timberlinemtguides.com) leads summit climbs on Mount Hood. They also offer snow, ice, and rock-climbing courses. A 2-day Mount Hood mountaineering course with summit climb costs $375.
You can buy or rent camping equipment from REI Co-op, 1798 Jantzen Beach Center (tel. 503/283-1300), or 7410 SW Bridgeport Rd., Tualatin (tel. 503/624-8600). This huge outdoor recreation supply store also sells books on hiking in the area.
If you have been keeping up with the controversy over saving the remaining old-growth forests of the Northwest, you might want to go see an ancient forest for yourself. Though there isn't much publicly accessible ancient forest right in Portland, you can find plenty within 1 1/2 hours' drive. Along the coast, Ecola State Park, Oswald West State Park, Cape Meares State Park, and Cape Lookout State Park all have trails through stands of old-growth trees.
