Powell Butte Nature Park, Portland
Our 1st Visit to Powell Butte!
We expected to walk in a park surrounded by houses when we drove to the Powell Butte Nature Park’s parking lot. However, as we climbed up the hill into the park, the houses disappeared. Suddenly, we were surprised to see the very beautiful and impressive Mount Hood.
The view of the majestic mountain without any obstruction was breathtaking.
We didn’t realize that Powell Butte Nature Park, which opened to the public in 1990, is one of Portland’s most prominent natural areas with over 6OO acres of meadow and forest; it is also an extinct volcano.
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About a half mile ahead, we took the unpaved South Trail that led us into the shaded forest with tall firs and cedars, a trail that mountain bikers also seem to like! From there, we crisscrossed many paths. The last part of our walk back to the parking lot revealed another hidden functionality: Powell Butte has TWO enormous tanks, each containing 50 million gallons of water. More than 85% of the water, supplied by the Portland Water Bureau, goes through Powell Butte Nature Park!
Revisiting The Park!
Date
April 30, 2019
June 9, 2023
Distance
5.25 miles
2.84 miles
Moving Time
1:38:24 h
0:57:39 h
Weather
58 °F, sunny
59 °F, light rain