We’ve lived in Portland for 4 months now, and I can’t say I’ve spent much time in the city outside of our neighborhood. So, in hopes of becoming a better Portlandian, I ventured over to the east side of the river to do some exploring at Mt. Tabor Park.
Mt. Tabor is a volcanic cinder cone in southeast Portland that has been transformed into a park full of walking trails, bike paths, picnic tables, and playgrounds.
If we’re being honest, this park was really confusing. I don’t think you could find yourself lost in the sense that you couldn’t get back to your car, but you can certainly get lost in the sense that you don’t know which path you are on. Maybe this is just proof of my poor map reading skills, but I couldn’t figure out how to get to the trails I wanted. There are three different main trails (red, green, and blue), but there are also a bunch of other trails that run through those. I ended up walking about 3 miles on various trails, some made of asphalt, some gravel, and some dirt.
The paths on the way up to the top on the west side have some nice views of downtown. There are several benches taking advantage of the views, so when you see a bench, it’s best to stop and look around.
The bummer is there’s not much of a view from the top because of all the trees. But you can make up for that with views from the side trails.
The best views of Mount Hood (what we’re always looking for) are on the driving path (with a walking path off to the side) on the east side of the mountain. There are quite a few trees blocking the view, but they open up a few times to pretty nice mountain views. It was a little cloudy when I visited, but Mount Hood was still looking good.
I was at the park on a weekday late morning, and there were plenty of people enjoying the area, biking, running, walking, and playing on the playground. While it’s certainly not the most exciting park in the city, it’s a good place to stretch your legs on the east side of the river.
Mt. Tabor Park is located at SE 60th Ave and Salmon Street. Parking is free, but the park is closed to vehicles on Wednesdays.
-Ally
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