Powell Butte Nature Park
SE 162nd & Powell Blvd
Portland, OR 97230
Acreage: 612
Acquired in 1925; open to the public in 1990
Pleasant Valley Neighborhood/Natural Habitat
Includes picnic tables, restrooms, parking lot, and hiking, bicycling, and equestrian trails.
Powell Butte Trails
Over nine miles of trails invite you to explore Powell Butte. As you hike, bicycle or ride through the park, please remember that a shared-use trail system needs respect from all users to make it work. Bikes yield to peds and horses; Peds yield to horses. Wet trails are easily damaged by horse hooves and bike tires; do not ride the trails they are when muddy. Please stay on the trail.
Park Regulations
Powell Butte is a nature park providing critical wildlife habitat and passive recreation opportunities. Visitors are asked to observe the following regulations:
- No harvesting. Vegetation may not be removed or intentionally damaged.
- Motorized vehicles are prohibited beyond parking areas; park in designated lots only. Do not block fire/emergency lanes.
- Alcohol, firearms, open fires, camping, golfing, vending, frisbee golf, bicycle racing paragliding, radio controlled sports, paint gun are prohibited.
- Keep pets on leashes at all times.
- Carry litter to dumpster in parking area.
- Observe seasonally adjusted gate hours.
- Pedestrians/Bicyclists/Equestrians: Be respectful and slow down when passing. Do not go off trail.
- The southeast corner of the park is a wildlife area only
- Trails are closed during muddy conditions.
The wildlife habitat and trail system at Powell Butte are fragile and cannot withstand abuse. Please tread lightly on the land and be courteous to other park visitors.
Your cooperation and thoughtfulness is appreciated by other responsible park users and by the wildlife that make their home at Powell Butte Nature Park.
Powell Butte Nature Park is an extinct volcano and is Portland’s second-largest park after Forest Park. In 1925 the Portland Water Bureau purchased the land for future water reservoirs and leased the northeast portion to Henry Anderegg, a farmer and owner of Meadowland Crest Dairy. The city continued leasing to Anderegg until 1948 when the farming pasture was discontinued. But cows still grazed on the acreage to preserve the pasture land. In 1981 a 50-million gallon underground reservoir was built that serves as the hub of the Water Bureau’s distribution system. A second 50-million gallon reservoir is expected to be complete in 2014. The former Powell Valley Water District has three reservoirs on the butte, which are now managed by the Water Bureau
On clear days, five mountains can be seen from the park. It includes over nine miles of trails that are suitable for mountain-biking, horseback riding, and hiking. There is a 0.6 mile paved trail which is disabled-accessible. The park is home to many birds of prey with its open meadows, groves of wild hawthorn trees and forested slopes of Western red cedar, and wetlands near Johnson Creek. Also at home here are raccoons, gray foxes, skunks, bats, squirrels, chipmunks, coyotes, and black-tail mule deer.