Now open: Discover Chehalem Ridge Nature Park

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Jan. 3, 2022 2:03 p.m.

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After 14 years of restoration and five years of planning the park with community members, Chehalem Ridge Nature Park's gates are open.

At 1,260 acres, Chehalem Ridge is Metro's second biggest park, bigger even than Oxbow Regional Park. Picnic shelters and tables, along with a grass field, provide a jump-off point to the park.

A large oak tree stands alone in a prairie.

A hiker walks along a wide trail under a large tree covered in yellow leaves.

A hiker walks among tall, thin trees shrouded in fog.

A young child walks ahead of three adults along a shady trail with light coming through the leaves.

Ten trails stretch 10 miles, offering out-andback hikes and bike and horseback rides as long as 8 miles and loops as short as one.

The restoration isn't done. When Metro purchased the property, it had been a commercial timber farm. On each visit, you can see the park transforming from a dense monoculture of Douglas fir to a dynamic series of habitats rich with plants and animals.

The day-use area at Chehalem Ridge Nature Park with restrooms, an open field and picnic shelters.

Picnic tables sit in the sunshine with a picnic shelter in the midground and big Douglas fir trees in the background.

A group of visitors, including kids, stand in a large stone circle that provides seating at an overlook with views of the Coast Range and Tualatin River Valley.

Tree trunks with no leaves sit in neat lines in a dark forest.

Chehalem Ridge Nature Park exists thanks to voters investing in nature. Voters said yes to parks and nature bond measures that allowed Metro to purchase much of the park in 2010 and begin restoring the land, and then building the park.

A horse and rider stand next to a map with trees behind them.

Four horse riders make their way through a dense forest along a trail.

Four mountain bikers pose for a photo around a map of Chehalem Ridge Nature Park.

A hand tricyclist rides a trail at Chehalem Ridge Nature Park.

Come see your new park! It's waiting for you.

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A large heritage oak stands in a prairie along with an overlook with views of the Coast Range and Tualatin River Valley.

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