Find yourself on The Intertwine today
Hoyt Arboretum is part of Washington Park, which also includes the Oregon Zoo, the Portland Children's Museum, the World Forestry Center Discovery Museum, the Portland Japanese Garden, the International Rose Test Garden, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Oregon Holocaust Memorial among its many attractions.
Take a hike on the 4T Trail — enjoy a brisk hike among the trees from the Zoo to Council Crest and then to the Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU), where you will glide down the hill in the aerial Tram overlooking scenic views of the river and SW Portland, board the Trolley to the heart of Downtown, and ride the Train back to your car to complete the loop.
Cooper Mountain Nature Park is a natural bridge between dense urban landscapes to the north and agricultural lands to the south. Its 231 acres and Nature House are home to tours and classes throughout the year. Three miles of trails traverse the park, passing through varying habitats and offering views of the Chehalem Mountains.
The 170-acre Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge on the east bank of the Willamette River in Portland became Portland's first urban wildlife refuge in 1988 and today is one of the most popular urban wildlife areas in the region. If you haven't walked the loop yet, you've got to go.
The refuge, located 15 miles south of Portland, is home to a variety of habitats including remnant and restored communities along the river, forested wetlands, riparian forests, oak and pine meadows and grasslands, and deciduous/coniferous forests. In the early 1990s, local citizens proposed the preservation of open space along the bottomlands of the Tualatin River.