Opening soon!
Newell Creek Canyon Nature Park is scheduled to open on Monday, Dec. 6.
Right in the heart of Oregon City, Newell Creek Canyon Nature Park is a haven of woods and waterways, providing neighbors and the region a new place to connect with nature close to home. The 236-acre forested park features a multiuse trail system that provides 2.5 miles of walking and hiking paths and nearly 2 miles of dedicated mountain biking trails.
Nearly every foot of trail at Newell Creek Canyon Nature Park is dappled in leafy shade. Benches for rest and reflection are spaced regularly throughout the park.
A young park visitor holds a bigleaf maple leaf, one of the park's best fall features.
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Like every forest in the region, Newell Creek Canyon has a thick coat of moss.
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Metro has done conservation work at Newell Creek Canyon Nature Park for 25 years. The dead vines on this tree are what is left from an invasive ivy that would have choked the tree.
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Deer and other animals roam the park. You might not see them, but you can find signs all over, including their footprints in the red soil.
Newell Creek Canyon Nature Park is part of the homelands of Indigenous peoples who have stewarded this region since time immemorial. The park was built because voters chose to invest in nature by approving parks and nature bonds in 2006 and 2019 and a local option levy. Those investments pay for the ongoing work at the park and other Metro parks and natural areas around the region.
Tumble Falls Bridge: the jewel of the park.
Big-leaf maples are the park's main deciduous tree, and they line most of the trails.
One of the park's key features is the streams and seeps that feed into Newell Creek. Small bridges span the many creeks that cross the trails.
The fork where Cedar Grove Trail meets the Red Soil Roller bike trail.
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A close of up of a western redcedar snag. Snags, which are standing dead trees, are the apartment complexes of the forest.
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Snags like this provide homes for birds and small mammals. And the snags are eaten by insects, making them a nursery of the forest food chain.
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Bigleaf maples are incredibly hardy trees. If one is knocked down, it often grows back with multiple trunks.
The day-use area at the park's entrance offers picnic tables, restrooms and plenty of parking.
On any given trip to Newell Creek, lucky visitors might see elusive animals like beavers, red fox and black-tailed deer, along with pileated woodpeckers and cottontail rabbits. Whether it’s an all-day exploration of the park’s trails, a quick off-road bike ride down the side of the canyon, or a leisurely picnic at the accessible day-use area, Newell Creek Canyon Nature Park is waiting to welcome you.
Newell Creek Canyon Nature Park's one-way bike trails are great for kids and beginners.