TRAILHEAD SW Marquam Street, off Sam Jackson Park Road
DISTANCE 3 miles round trip
DURATION One hour and thirty minutes
ELEVATION A total change of 418 feet, with a low point of 300 feet and a high point of 718 feet
CONDITIONS This is a footpath. Portions of it can be muddy, but it is mostly graveled.
FROM DOWNTOWN This hike begins 2.2 miles from West Burnside and Interstate 405. Drive south on SW Broadway, past Portland State University and across Interstate 405. Turn left as you come off the bridge across Interstate 405. Turn right onto SW 6th Avenue; this turns into SW Sam Jackson Park Road beyond the next light. Proceed along Sam Jackson Park Road, passing the intersection with SW Terwilliger Boulevard. A short distance beyond that intersection, Sam Jackson Park Road bends sharply to the left and begins to ascend the hillside. In the curve you will see that an unmarked dirt road (SW Marquam Street) leads off to the right, ending in a small parking lot facing an interpretive shelter. This is the Marquam Nature Park shelter. Turn into this parking lot and park near the shelter.
TriMet: From downtown, take bus 8 (Jackson Park) or 68 (Collins Circle), both of which travel to the intersection of Terwilliger Boulevard and Sam Jackson Park Road (bus stop 5804), the closest stop to the trailhead. Walk from the stop along Sam Jackson Park Road to the Marquam Nature Park shelter.
This trail ascends from the Marquam Nature Park shelter and traverses the two separate ravines in Marquam Gulch. At the head of the second ravine the trail rises to crest Marquam Hill Road before descending to a lower entrance and returning to the shelter. It’s a reasonably easy hike and quickly accessible from downtown.
If you were to continue on Sam Jackson Park Road as it climbs Marquam Hill, you would soon reach Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU). Instead, as the road makes a 180-degree turn to ascend the hill, proceed straight onto Marquam Street.
The Marquam Nature Park shelter houses interesting historical information about the Marquam Gulch. It’s worth stopping a few minutes here to take in the descriptions of the area’s flora and fauna. Make sure to pick up a brochure on the Marquam Nature Park Loop; I’ll refer to it later on this hike. The shelter also features a wonderful old water fountain with a special side dish that dogs can drink from. Dropping a stone in to cover the basin’s drain will allow the water to collect sufficiently to slack your hound’s thirst.
The origins of this area go back to its settlement in 1851 by John Talbot, who built his house at the base of this overgrown gulch. In 1875 Judge Philip A. Marquam, recently arrived from California, purchased the land in and around the ravine, including the hilltop that now houses OHSU, for $2750.
The base of the valley, lying south of a rapidly growing Portland, was the site of the city dump—situated approximately where Duniway Park is located today. The neck of the gulch above the dump soon became home to the most recent influx of immigrants, the Italians. Since most of the Tualatin Mountains had been extensively logged for firewood in the late 1800s, most of the vegetation in the gulch was dense and low, encouraging a thriving population of wild hogs. It is said that many Italian boys enjoyed hunting these feral pigs, while older Italians scoured the hillsides for prized boletes, morels, and chanterelles.
The Marquam Nature Park shelter
After perusing the information at the shelter (elevation 300 feet), head up the hill along the short paved road. In about 10 feet you will see the beginning of the Sunnyside Trail branching off to the right. It crosses the floor of the valley just above the shelter, where you can still see the foundations of some of the early homes that dotted this area.
After ascending the northern flank of the gulch for about a quarter of a mile, you will reach a bench and a wooden staircase (elevation 530 feet) leading up to a spur that connects the trail system to SW Broadway Drive. A mile marker at this intersection allows you to gauge your progress, and the accompanying bench faces across the narrow valley, offering a deep-woods view of the Marquam Nature Park. It was the preservation of this undeveloped valley that led to one of Portland’s earliest instances of neighborhood conflict with planned development. In 1969, neighbors and nearby residents banded together to successfully oppose a major development that was planned for this ravine. Fearing that the bucolic wilderness would be lost by the introduction of a multi-storied apartment building, they formed the Southwest Hills Residential League (SWHRL), one of the first neighborhood associations founded in the city.
Among the plants you’ll encounter here and elsewhere on the hike is the Pacific rhododendron (Rhododendron macrophyllum). This magnificent shrub supplies the majority of the understory in the typical Northwest forest, providing dense foliage up to 15 feet in height. Along with vine maple, elderberry, hawthorn, and other midsized plants, the native rhododendron provides another stratum below what is found in the canopy and the emergent tree level. Its plain pink flowers add dramatic color to our monochromatic conifer forests.
Of course the other ubiquitous Oregon pathside plant is salal (Gaultheria shallon). The salal berry was among the most important food sources for Pacific Northwest Indians. Tribes along the Columbia River dried them in big cakes or loaves, stored them wrapped in skunk cabbage leaves (Symplocarpus foetidus), and ate them dipped in smelt oil. This berry, which ripens in late August, is one of the best in the woods—perhaps not as sweet as some, but full-flavored and perfect for jelly (especially after the tiny seeds are strained out).
About a third of a mile further, just past the next bench, the Sunnyside Trail intersects with the Marquam Trail. At this junction (elevation 610 feet) you are 0.25 mile from Sherwood Drive, which the Marquam Trail crosses as it ascends to Council Crest.
In 1974 a group of neighbors assembled 230 acres from donations and easements in the Marquam Gulch into what is now the Marquam Nature Park. By 1978 they had organized the Friends of Marquam Nature Park and built the first 12 miles of trails. In 2005 they added the Connor Trail, which connects OHSU to the Marquam Gulch.
If you wanted to extend this hike you could climb the Marquam Trail all the way to Council Crest (elevation 1073 feet). To the west of the summit, a trail leads down to the Oregon Zoo (via SW Talbot and SW Patton) and eventually connects to the Wildwood Trail. The Wildwood continues through Forest Park for more than 40 miles.
For now, instead of proceeding up the hill further, turn left onto the Marquam Trail and traverse the southern flank of the Marquam Gulch.
After dropping steeply downhill on a series of switchbacks, you will reach the intersection with the Shelter Trail (elevation 595 feet). Rather than continue downhill, continue straight on the Marquam Trail as it cuts across the flank of the hillside on a nice level path.
Keep a sharp eye open for evidence of woodpeckers as you walk along. Are the holes in the tree trunks round, or are they oblong? This will tell you much about who has been poking around.
One of the most dramatic woodpeckers to be seen in the Tualatin Mountains is the pileated woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus). These spectacular crow-sized birds have long necks, white patches on their wings, and an unforgettable flaming red crest. They have a special fondness for carpenter ants, so they’re often seen foraging low on dead trees or even on fallen logs. While not as common as northern flickers, they are clearly present, judging from the many oblong or square diggings they leave behind. Listen for the pileated woodpecker’s loud, resonant single call of “wek” or “kuk.” Sometimes he delivers a series of slow “kuk” calls in an irregular rhythm. His drumming (poking the tree) is slow, powerful, and irregular. Once you have seen a pileated woodpecker, you’ll not likely forget this striking bird.
Continue for half a mile along the nearly level Marquam Trail as it follows the southern flank of the gulch around a ridge and into a little side valley.
As you proceed along this trail you’ll notice numbered nature markers. These markers are explained in the Marquam Nature Park Loop brochure that was available at the shelter. Along the way you will also pass a narrow ravine that is bridged by a smooth log, a challenge for any surefooted youngster.
After passing half a mile along a beautifully wooded slope, the Marquam Trail intersects with the other end of the Shelter Trail in a narrow ravine. At this point the Shelter Trail is really a rough maintenance track that descends along the bottom of this side ravine down to the Marquam Nature Park shelter. You will not take this route at this time, however. Instead you will stop just short of the Shelter Trail intersection (marked by steps dropping to the floor of the ravine) and ascend the Upper Marquam Trail, which doubles back northward, climbing in 0.6 mile to Marquam Hill Road. The remote Upper Marquam Trail is a lovely, quiet, little-used portion of the park. A solitary bench graces one of the many switchbacks on the way up, affording a nice view of the ravine and the trails below.
Further up the ravine you might spot a coyote or two, which are known to inhabit this part of the park. Near the top of the valley you will cross the intermittent stream that flows down the ravine. Shortly thereafter the trail debouches onto Marquam Hill Road.
At 793 feet elevation you will reach Marquam Hill Road. Across the way is an abandoned logging road that partially penetrates the forested hillside below Fairmount Boulevard, commonly referred to as the Lakeman-Orkney property. In 2004 the City of Portland purchased this 45-acre parcel for $3.2 million. Together with lands owned by OHSU and the Three Rivers Land Conservancy, this large tract of steep, undeveloped woods is being preserved to form a large greenbelt around Marquam Hill. Some rudimentary trails meander through the undeveloped tracts, connecting with the Terwilliger Trail, which traverses the lower portions of the hillside. A new trail system is planned.
Proceed downhill along the Marquam Hill Road for about 100 yards, staying on the south (right) side of the road. As you pass a few homes on the left, you will see a large water storage tank.
Along the way you can see the beginning of the Terwilliger Trail on the right side of the road as it descends southward from Marquam Hill Road. This mile-long trail skirts the southern fringe of buildings and crosses a little creek that winds its way down to Terwilliger Boulevard. In 1996 Portland’s largest landslide occurred in this area and obliterated part of this trail. Water seeped under Council Crest Drive until the land gave way, washing debris across Fairmount and into a steep ravine. Uprooted trees, mud, and debris repeatedly surged, dammed, and burst loose, eventually scouring the ravine and collecting on Terwilliger Boulevard.
After passing the Terwilliger Trail entrance, cross the road to the water tank. Immediately beyond the tank is the starting point for the Marquam Trail. From behind the western guard rail on Marquam Hill Road (elevation 718 feet), the Marquam Trail descends steeply into the ravine, where it reaches the top of the Shelter Trail (elevation 505 feet).
From this upper end of the ravine, you will follow the sometimes-muddy Shelter Trail along the creek for 0.4 mile to the base of the Marquam Gulch and the Marquam Nature Park shelter.
On the way you will pass the steps that mark the junction of the Marquam and Shelter trails. Above and to the left you should see the section of the Marquam Trail that you followed on the way up and the switchback you took to ascend to the top of the ravine.
As you hike down the Shelter Trail, note the basalt peeking out from under the tree roots to the right. This is the substrate of the Tualatin Mountains. Especially in this area, the covering soil is very unstable and continues to slide off whenever the ground gets too wet (which in Oregon is quite often). One sure sign of soil instability is the presence of so-called pistol-grip trees, whose trunks are curved at the base. These trees graphically illustrate the struggle between the vertical tree growth and the hillside’s lateral movement.
Just before you reach the end of the Shelter Trail you will pass the Connor Trail ascending the hillside to the right. This more recent addition to the Marquam Nature Park trail system rises about 290 feet in less than a third of a mile as it leads up to the OHSU campus.
OHSU’s 116-acre Marquam Hill campus first got its start in 1915 when Dr. Kenneth A. J. Mackenzie persuaded the Oregon-Washington Railroad and Navigation Company that putting a switching yard atop Marquam Hill was a bit of a stretch, and that it was better suited for a medical school.
Mackenzie persuaded the railroad to donate a 20-acre tract and convinced the family of C. S. Jackson, former publisher of the Oregon Journal, to donate another 88 acres. However, others thought that building a medical school on a mountain accessible only by steep wagon road was as improbable as a switching yard; they scoffed at the notion, calling it Mackenzie’s Folly. Ironically, the issue of access continued to bedevil this site in 2005 as OHSU and the City of Portland struggled to finance the Portland Aerial Tram, which improved access to the hilltop medical facility from SW Gibbs Street in the newly developed South Waterfront district.
