The Wilderness Awaits
Go birding, biking, fishing, camping, or hiking. Whether you’ll need a tent, hiking boots or a horse, Washington County, Oregon is a prime destination to bask in the great outdoors.
Explore wetland preserves and admire native plants and wildlife. Or simply take in the scenic views of the Tualatin Valley. And if getting drinking water from a hand pump is your idea of fun recreation, there are campsites that await.
Sleep Among the Stars
If you plan to set up camp in the outdoors, the Tillamook State Forest in Washington County can be part of that plan.
Browns Camp along the Wilson River Highway (a.k.a. Highway 6) has 29 campsites with drinking water from a hand pump. The day use area has trail access, an unloading ramp, picnic tables and fire pits. This campground is a popular destination for those with motorcycles, ATVs and 4x4s.
Just off the Wilson River Highway, 20 miles west of Forest Grove, is Gales Creek Campground. Open May to October, this rustic campground has 23 campsites, including four walk-in sites, and a day-use picnic area with a trailhead for hiking and mountain biking access, drinking water from a hand pump, picnic tables and fire pits.
Another option is Reehers Camp, also in the Tillamook State Forest. Reehers Camp is a rustic spot located above the Nehalem River, with 6 regular campsites and 10 horse campsites. Reehers also has a day use trailhead and picnic shelter.
L.L. Stub Stewart State Park also has a designated horse camp area with 16 campsites. Stub Stewart and Horning’s Hideout offer both tent camping and RV spots. There are also three designated RV parks.
Hike. Or Bike. Or walk.
Just 31 miles west of downtown Portland, L.L. Stub Stewart State Park is a 1,654-acre full-service park with 15 miles of hiking, biking and horseback riding trails, open year-round for day use and overnight camping. Lush rolling hills, forests and deep canyons allow for an exhilarating hike, complete with great bird watching.
A stretch of the linear Banks-Vernonia State Trail runs through Stub Stewart. This 21-mile trail – part of the Rails-to-Trails conservancy program – is open to horseback riders, bicyclists, walkers and hikers.
Hagg Lake and Scoggins Valley Park offer 15 miles of hiking and biking trails. Located at the base of Oregon’s scenic coastal range, the area provides several flora and fauna observation sites, picnic areas, fishing spots, and a disc golf course.
Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve is 725 acres of floodplain of the Tualatin River in Hillsboro. Trails allow birders and other animal watchers to explore the wetlands. Several hands-on exhibits are located in the Preserve’s Educational Center, including the only known authentic bald eagle’s nest on public display in the U.S.
In Sherwood is the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge, a sanctuary for indigenous and migrating birds, waterfowl and mammals. The Refuge’s Interpretive Center offers a learning experience for children and adults, and trails for a closer look.
Tualatin Hills Nature Park and Interpretive Center is an ecologically diverse, 222-acre urban green space, located in Beaverton. With 5.5 miles of trails the park is a habitat for native plants, small mammals and birds.
Cooper Mountain Nature Park is a new park located on the urban growth boundary in Beaverton. The park features three miles of walking trails through the mountain’s three distinct habitats - forest, prairie and oak woodlands. The park also features demonstration gardens and a nature center.
So bring your hiking boots or horses and set out to discover Washington County, Oregon.