This story appeared in the Winter 2015 edition of Our Big Backyard, a quarterly magazine about parks and nature. Read more stories, plan an outing with a field guide, and find out more about fun nature events and classes.
Winter doesn't mean that fun must be confined indoors.
Winter is the perfect season to explore some of the region’s most popular parks and natural areas and to observe the diversity of the area’s wildlife – sans summertime crowds. Cure cabin fever with a trip to these often overlooked winter recreation spots.
Watch Willamette Falls roar
The second most powerful waterfall in North America spent decades out of public view. That’s changing in the coming years as the former Blue Heron paper mill site is redeveloped. Plans include a riverwalk from which the public will be able to see Willamette Falls. Until that’s built, be one of the first members of the public to get a free tour of the site. Multiple tours are available in March.
Watch birds on Sauvie Island
Watch eagles, hawks and falcons glide overhead at Sauvie Island. The birds spend the winter on the island, making it the ideal location to spot amazing wildlife just miles from downtown Portland. The popular, family friendly Raptor Road Trip returns to Sauvie Island Feb. 7.
Paddle at Smith and Bybee Wetlands
The autumnal rains replenished Smith and Bybee Wetlands Natural Area, so get out the kayaks and canoes for a paddle through one of the country’s largest urban wetlands. Be on the lookout for bald eagles, blue herons, egrets, hawks and dozens of other bird species overhead, as well as red-legged frogs and beaver dams on the ground.
Hike at Mount Talbert
Mount Talbert is the largest of a series of extinct cinder cones and small volcanoes that rise through the eastern part of the metro region. Explore the unique geology of the land, part of the Boring Lava Field, with a hike through four miles of trails in the white oak woodland. Look for evidence of the ice age Missoula Floods and landslides.
Visit the Oregon Zoo
Beat the summer crowds at the Oregon Zoo by visiting in the winter. Learn how animals, especially ones native to the Pacific Northwest, adapt to winter and the changing seasons. Some animals might even look entirely different than they look in the summer. Elementary school students can also attend one or several days of the Nature Ranger spring break camp.
Camp at Oxbow
Campsites at Oxbow Regional Park fill up fast in the summer, but savvy winter campers will feel like they have the park all to themselves. Campgrounds are open year round, so there’s no better time to hike the miles of trails through ancient forests, catch winter steelhead or explore the federally designated Wild and Scenic Sandy River. And Oxbow’s location – just 25 miles from Portland – means families won’t have to venture far for a weekend away during the school year.