TRAILHEAD NW Newberry Road, 0.7 mile off St. Helens Road
DISTANCE 1.4 miles one way, 2.8 miles round trip
DURATION One hour and thirty minutes
ELEVATION A total change of 560 feet, with a low point of 317 feet and a high point of 877 feet
CONDITIONS An infrequently used logging road rises almost 500 feet as it steadily ascends a ridge north of Ennis Creek. Beyond the crest of the hill, the route of this hike proceeds along a lightly used and occasionally overgrown path. I recommend wearing long pants and, if you plan to explore the side trails, bringing rose pruners to get through any difficult patches of brambles.
FROM DOWNTOWN This hike begins 10.2 miles from West Burnside and Interstate 405. Drive north on Highway 30 (also called St. Helens Road). About an eighth of a mile past Linnton, turn left up NW Newberry Road. After following the hill for 0.7 mile, a dirt road leads off the right shoulder to a locked forestry gate. Park nearby.
TriMet: From downtown, take bus 17 (NW 21st Avenue/St. Helens Road). Disembark at the intersection of St. Helens Road and NW Riverview Drive (bus stop 11016). Walk south along St. Helens Road until you reach Newberry Road. Follow this road to the gate.
This delightful hillside ramble winds along a wide, trimmed track through a very young conifer forest. Most of the trails that crisscross these densely overgrown slopes around the Ennis Creek watershed lead nowhere in particular, but the lovely vistas and pastoral lanes that get you there are well worth exploring. And somewhere beyond the end of this trail is the lost Phillips Cemetery.
Begin this hike by dropping off the shoulder of Newberry Road (elevation 407 feet) and skirting the gate. The trail proceeds downhill a short distance before beginning its long, gradual ascent.
Use the gated entrance downhill from this view of the Ennis Creek watershed.
A third of a mile onward you will encounter your first side trail, which branches off to the right at an elevation of 467 feet. This side trail is relatively short and terminates in a wall of blackberries at the end of a short ridge.
Another trail branches off to the left roughly half a mile into the hike. This trail is more substantial and worth exploring, but also leads nowhere.
Most managed forestlands at this stage of their regrowth are thinned, meaning they are cleared of underbrush and faster-growing deciduous trees. This weeding process allows a dense conifer forest to take hold in much less time. Without the thick underbrush, the forest develops a more accessible understory that sustains a larger population of animals; it is also able to retain more water stored in the moss and moist soils. The Ennis Creek watershed is a good example of how the lack of forest management undermines the development of an effective habitat—at least until natural succession eventually allows the conifers to crowd out the vines, brambles, and deciduous trees. From a hiker’s perspective this means it’s impossible to bushwhack through these very dense stands. And believe me, because I’ve tried many times and have had to relent, finding the undergrowth too thick to penetrate.
Another 0.3 mile onward you cross Ennis Creek itself, a small, unimpressive trickle that disappears into the thick undergrowth. Just beyond the creek another spur leads off on the left-hand side of the trail. Ignore this side trail and continue upward to the right, ascending from an elevation of 604 feet to the top of the first ridge at 738 feet.
At the top of the ridge the track emerges, affording a view to the south of the thick tangle of young forest through which you have climbed, and beyond that the northern end of Forest Park. From this vantage point the Willamette River is visible, as are the power lines that cross the bottom of this property. Below the power lines a gravel service road runs northward to the Angell Quarry. However, you cannot use this road to access Metro’s Burlington Creek property, since transit through the quarry is expressly prohibited.
It is possible to execute a looped trail if you continue past the crest of the hill and descend eastward down the side trail that leads toward the power lines. To make the loop, follow the trail down to where it ends just 50 feet above the actual power-line towers. From there follow the rudimentary track that continues downward and passes directly under the tower itself. The service road is located immediately beyond the tower, about 10 feet below its base. Turn right on the road and follow it down as it passes between two houses and onto a road that leads down to Highway 30. Head right (south) along Highway 30 to the intersection with Newberry Road and follow Newberry Road back to the gate.
To complete the Ennis Creek Hike, ignore this alternate route. Upon reaching the crest of the hill turn left at this hilltop clearing and walk northward into a small opening in the woods. Upon entering this glade you should see a rough trail heading up a long ridgeline to the left. Follow this narrow path, which is covered in deep grasses and crowded on both sides with bushes and blackberries. Continue upward for 0.2 mile. On the way you will pass by a white survey marker to your right.
Just beyond the white marker the narrow path leads into a broader track. This old road also descends the ridgeline and crosses your path before dropping down the northern flank of the ridge. Turn uphill (left) onto this track and continue to climb the ridgeline. You have now ascended to an elevation of 874 feet and have covered 1.3 miles from the gate.
Only 0.1 mile up the ridge the track emerges into a grassy clearing that marks the top of the second ridge (elevation 877 feet). As you enter the clearing from its southeast corner, you will observe that a well-maintained, grassy road passes through it, entering from the upper southwest corner and heading downhill in a southerly direction. This road marks the corner of private property belonging to a house situated at the very top of the hill. A number of old logging roads diverge from this clearing, but in the interest of avoiding the possibility of trespassing on the private property associated with the houses on the ridge above, the hike ends in this idyllic pasture.
Perhaps some day Forest Park will be extended to this point and beyond. In the 1980s the Friends of Forest Park negotiated an easement that would allow hikers to trek from the Ennis Creek property across this nearly impenetrable slope to Metro’s Burlington Creek property on the far side of the quarry. This is not currently a legally accessible route, however, and the extreme density and steepness of these slopes make any penetration all but impossible.
Somewhere in this area is the long-lost Phillips Cemetery. I have searched these steep hillsides for signs of this pioneer cemetery, but alas, the ravages of shifting soils, dense undergrowth, and wicked bramble patches seem to have obliterated all signs of it.
At this point the hike has reached its conclusion, and I recommend you return by the same path you entered. With the exception of the trail described at waypoint 5, which returns you to the start via Highway 30 and Newberry Road, you will find that returning along the original track is the best option. While many of the side trails are picturesque and remote, none of them connect with Newberry Road or the Wildwood Trail.
