Accessible Trails in Washington County Oregon

Washington County is one of the greater Portland metropolitan areas located west of Portland.

Banks-Vernonia State Trail - Manning Trailhead

Directions:

Take Highway 26 west. After signs for Banks where highway crosses Oregon 47, look for state park signs. Turn right on Pihl Road across the tracks to the Manning Trailhead.

Features:

The Manning trailhead provides the best parking at the southern end ot the 21-mile Banks-Vernonia State Trail. The 4-mile paved section south from the Manning trailhead toward Banks is an easy, wheelchair accessible trail.

The Banks-Vernonia State Trail is developed on an abandoned railroad bed stretching between Banks in Washington County, and Vernonia in Columbia County. For information on starting out at Vernonia see the Columbia County section.

Highlights of this trail are the small rural farms and towns, old railroad trestles, beautiful creeks and miles and miles of forested trail. The railroad grade is gentle, climbing gradually to Tophill and descending gradually to the town of Vernonia. Several trailheads provide access along the trail; none require a parking permit. Vaulted toilets are available at Buxton, Tophill and Beavercreek trailheads. Click the thumbnail map to see a larger map of Manning Trailhead.

Most of the trail is paved and accessible, but there are a few gravel stretches at the Tophill section and again just north of the Manning Trailhead that may present problems for wheelchair use.

For slow walkers, mountain bicyclists, or disabled folks with power scooters, you can also head north from the Manning Trailhead on a gravel section. The trail returns to asphalt one mile later. At the Buxton Trailhead, one mile later, it becomes gravel again and remains so for seven miles.The trail is almost completely flat, except for where it detours around the trestles.

Other:

See the Banks-Vernonia State Trail brochure for more details.

View the Oregon State Parks brochure for L.L. Stub Stewart State Park.

Also, the Travels with Terry blog has information about the trail.

Click the video below to activate, then click the Play button to view a short video about the trail.

Tualatin Hills Nature Park

Directions:

From Portland, take US 26 west and get off at Murray Blvd. in Beaverton. Head south on Murray Blvd. approximately 1.5 miles. Turn right (west) on Millikan Way, which becomes SW Millikan Blvd. The entrance to the park and Visitor’s Center is about 3/4-mile from Murray Blvd.

For Westside Light Rail, Buses 57 & 62, get off at the Merlo Road/158th Station. Cross the tracks and make a left turn onto the asphalt path to enter the park on Oak Trail.

Features:

The Tualatin Hills Nature Park is a 220-acre wildlife reserve in the heart of Beaverton, Oregon. It is made up of evergreen and deciduous forests, creeks, wetlands, ponds and meadows. Of the approximately 5 miles of trails, about 1.5 miles are paved or boardwalk (0.7-mile Oak Trail and the 0.8-mile Vine Maple trail); the rest are well maintained soft surface trails that some wheelchair users might be able to access in good weather. The accessible trails offer decked viewpoints of creeks and ponds. See Trail Map.

Other:

There are ADA restrooms, picnic areas and an accessible Interpretive Center.

Here's an excellent Website about the trail with photos and birding information. Also see the Under the Sky blog (scroll down).

Besides Tualatin Hills Nature Park, Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation District has an extensive urban trail system with more than 35 miles of trails, many of which are multi-use and accessible. See Fanno Creek Greenway trail brochure. Travels with Terry blog (scroll down).

Fanno Creek Greenway

Directions:

Trailheads for the four-mile section are at Denney Road, just west of Oregon 217, and at Fanno Farmhouse, 8405 S.W. Creekside Place. For a 1.2-mile section, go to Garden Home Recreation Center at Garden Home and Olesen roads.

Features:

This 4-mile section currently is the longest contiguous segment of the greenway from Southwest Denney Road in Beaverton, beneath Scholls Ferry Road, to Woodard Park in Tigard. It is an wheelchair-accessible paved trail along Fanno Creek.

Starting at the Denney Road trailhead, take the trail 0.7 miles to Hall Blvd, cross at the light to Albertsons and continute 3.3 miles to Tigard's Woodard Park.

Other:

A planned extension of the trail will continue to the Tualatin River, giving lots more options. Over 10 miles is already completed. The Fanno Creek Greenway Trail 15-mile corridor when completed will travel through five cities and two counties in the Portland metropolitan region. The recreational and commuter trail will take people from the shores of the Willamette River in Southwest Portland to the confluence of Fanno Creek and the Tualatin River.

Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge

Directions:

The Refuge is located at the southeast corner of Washington County near Sherwood, Oregon.

From the North: Drive southbound on Highway 99W and continue through the town of King City. Approximately .7 miles beyond the Cipole Rd traffic light, turn right into the refuge. Look for brown highway guide signs.

From the South: Drive northbound on Highway 99W, approximately 1 mile north of Tualatin-Sherwood Road. Look for highway brown highway guide signs directing you to make a U-turn in order to enter into the refuge.

Visitors can also take Tri-Met bus route 12 directly to the Refuge entrance on Highway 99W.

Features:

Located on the outskirts of Portland, Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge is situated within the floodplain of the Tualatin River. The Refuge supports some of the most abundant and varied wildlife in the Tualatin watershed (200 species of birds, over 50 species of mammals, 25 species of reptiles and amphibians).

A flat, one-mile, interpretative nature trail winds through open country throughout the refuge. A short section of the gravel trail leads into a small, wooded area. About half-way into the trail there is an overview of the river.

At the end of the trail, you can return back on the trail or alternatively, head back via the gravel service road. The double-track service road is relatively flat with only a slight elevation gain as you return to the parking area. For those that can manage the double-track road, there is another three-mile route over gravel service roads (May 1 through September 30).

Other:

See the US Fish & Wildlife Website for more details. Also, the Friends of Tualatin Refuge Website has excellent information and photos about the refuge.

Watch the KaTU video about the Tualatin Refuge.