Overview
The Waterhouse Trail traverses the spine of several connecting greenways and parks in the Portland, OR suburbs. The trail runs for 4.62 miles and is paved for a majority of the route, in addition to a short and scenic boardwalk section south of John Marty Park.
About the Route
The northernmost endpoint of the trail is located Along NW Brugger Rd. and the section heads south for a short 0.16 miles until reaching a gap at NW Rosetta St. This section will one day connect to the main trail route.
At NW Springville Rd., the trail route picks back up again and continues south. The trail crosses Springville Creek on a short bridge and passes Pirate Park, which offers a small playground. The trail here is mostly sunny, with the paved path crossing through open fields, nestled between suburban backyards.
Further south the trail crosses through John Marty Park, which features a community garden and then as the trail crosses Bronson Creek, a short boardwalk section offers one of the highlights of the route. Shortly after this, the trail reaches another gap at NW Bronson Rd.
This gap is short and is only interrupted by the busy US 26. Just south of the highway, the southernmost section of the trail picks up along N Bethany Court, near Moshofsky Woods Natural Area. Much like the other portions of the trail, this southernmost portion traverses open-air utility corridors along a paved concrete route. This section continues south for 2 miles before reaching its southern end at SW Merlo Rd.
Connections
At the southern end of the Waterhouse Trail, trail users can continue along the Westside Trail.
The Waterhouse Trail runs between NW Brugger Rd. (Portland) and SW Merlo Rd. (Beaverton).
Parking is available at:
The Waterhouse Trail is also accessible via. Portland MAX Light Rail.
See TrailLink Map for detailed directions.
This is an easy paved path with both up hills and down hills, some straight stretches, some curvy parts as it follow some large power lines in a north-south swath through the neighborhoods. There's one section where you have to get off the trail and go about a quarter mile through traffic and a busy intersection to connect and continue the trail on the other side of Highway 26 (Sunset) so if you have small kids with you, consider only doing the north half or the south half. There are several street crossings and many parks and connecting trails to other destinations.
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