Out and About

Family-Friendly Fun Along the Springwater Corridor

By Marie Sherlock

Bike riding is nearly the consummate family outing, providing exercise, fun and family bonding at virtually no cost – once you’ve purchased the bikes and helmets.

But many parents are understandably hesitant to take kids, especially very young children, bicycling along busy neighborhood streets. That’s why Portland’s Springwater Corridor makes an ideal bike riding destination.

Springwater Corridor is the multi-purpose, eastside recreational trail that the city of Portland has managed since 1990. Back around the turn of the century – the 20th century, that is – the trail was actually a railway line serving some 16 million passengers yearly. Called the Springwater Line, the PGE/Portland Railway Light and Power Company line boasted 161 miles of track that encircled the city, connecting communities from Sellwood to Pleasant Valley. Passenger service on the Springwater Line was discontinued in 1958.

Springwater Corridor now stretches a little over 21 miles – continuous except for a detour on southeast 19th and Umatilla to the Sellwood Bridge. At the Willamette River, it connects with the Eastbank Esplanade for an additional 1.5 miles along the river, more if you cross the Steel Bridge and continue along the seawall at Waterfront Park.

My family has been enjoying biking along this trail for many years. On a recent sunny day, we choose Gresham Main City Park as our starting location. With ample parking and well-appreciated amenities like public toilets, this is a perfect access point. We weave around the ballfields and picnic areas of the park and then past Gresham’s Pioneer Cenetery. As is the custom with my family, one parent matchesup with each kid and conversations ensue, perhaps my favorite part of these outings. The ride has a pretty even grade which is appreciated by both kids and parents. This stretch of the corridor also has the family-friendly perk of having very few busy streets to cross. There are two or three intersections but they’re well-marked and traffic lights aid crossing. (Safety tip:
Parents should take the lead, particularly with younger kids.)

Springwater Corridor’s status as a multi-use trail becomes evident along the way. While the majority of folks using the pathway are either biking or on foot, we also see several skaters, skateboarders, even a horse.

By the time we make it to Foster Road – a little over four miles from our starting point – the family consensus is that this is a good half-way point. We turn around and are rewarded with a majestic view of Mt. Hood.

With a very long term goal of one day encircling the city, some may think of this recreational trail as unfinished. But as we leisurely bike the return route, passing groves of trees, pastures, streams and wildlife, my thoughts are that the Springwater Corridor experience is pretty complete just as it is.

If You Go:

Location: Springwater Corridor covers about 21 miles of (mostly) off-road paved biking and walking paths, running from Southeast 4th and Ivon in Portland (near OMSI) to the town of Boring.

Access: Major access points include the Johnson Creek Boulevard Trailhead (parking at SE Johnson Creek Blvd. and 45th), Berkeley Place (SE 32nd and Tacoma), Gresham Main City Park (SE Powell and Roberts) and Hogan Road Trailhead (SE Hogan Road in Gresham). Additionally, there are many local access points where the trail intersects public streets.

More information: www.40mileloop.org/trail_springwatercorridor.htm

Marie Sherlock is the editor of Metro Parent.

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