The 40-Mile Loop is a partially completed greenway trail around and through Portland in the

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Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. It was proposed in 1903 by the

Olmsted Brothers The Olmsted Brothers company was a Landscape architecture, landscape architectural firm in the United States, established in 1898 by brothers John Charles Olmsted (1852–1920) and Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. (1870–1957), sons of the landscape ar ...

architecture firm as part of the development of Forest Park. One greenway expert calls it "one of the most creative and resourceful greenway projects in the country." The name's "forty" was obsolete within a few decades after it was proposed. The proposed total path is now about long, and connects more than thirty city parks. Similarly, "loop" is not entirely accurate. There are several subloops, cutoffs and spur trails within the system. One spur is proposed to connect to the

Pacific Crest Trail The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), officially designated as the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, is a long-distance hiking and equestrian trail closely aligned with the highest portion of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges, which lie ...

History

As part of beautification planning for the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition of 1905, Portland's recently established Parks Board invited the

in 1903. Besides suggestions for Washington Park, their research of existing city parks resulted in a bold proposal for a loop of interconnected parks around the city, instead of a traditional plan of scattered parks: "A connected system of parks and parkways is manifestly far more complete and useful than a series of isolated parks." As the brothers puzzled over a name for the system, one asked the other "What would you call a forty-mile loop?" The firm was famous for its straightforward names, so they left it at that. Little action occurred until a $1 million—equivalent to $ today—city bond measure in 1907 passed, which was used to develop existing parks. In 1912, another city planner, Edward H. Bennett, also recommended developing a ridgetop park long the West Hills. A $2 million

bond issue In finance, a bond is a type of security under which the issuer (debtor) owes the holder (creditor) a debt, and is obliged – depending on the terms – to provide cash flow to the creditor (e.g. repay the principal (i.e. amount borrowed) of t ...

to acquire the necessary land was voted down. However, shortly afterward, most of the lots sold in Forest Park forfeited to the city or Multnomah County due to high assessments for road building, and a landslide. In 1943, influential urban planner

Robert Moses Robert Moses (December 18, 1888 – July 29, 1981) was an American urban planner and public official who worked in the New York metropolitan area during the early to mid-20th century. Moses is regarded as one of the most powerful and influentia ...

was hired, and recommended establishing Forest Park. After several subsequent years of controversy, the park was created in 1948 from tax-delinquent lands, gifts, and purchases. This contained the first portion of the loop. Little more happened until 1978: at the request of Oregon legislators, U.S. Congress stripped the Columbia Slough of its "navigable" status, enabling the land to be dedicated to recreational use, an important component of the Olmsted plan. The Oregon director of the

Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, United States. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in ...

responded to withering federal funds for parks and natural areas by reviving the loop plan to enthusiastic receptions by the City, suburban cities, federal agencies, conservationists, and civic groups. The alliance eventually formed the ''40-Mile Loop Land Trust'' which proved most effective at getting the thirteen key governmental entities—which normally did not talk to each other—to effectively work together. It also served as an intermediary to transfer property from one entity to the other. One of the Land Trust's major victories was bringing Southern Pacific and

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad is a Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United States after BNSF, ...

railroads together, which jointly owned the abandoned

Springwater Corridor The Springwater Corridor Trail is a bicycle and pedestrian rail trail in the Portland metropolitan area in Oregon, United States. It follows a former railway line from Boring, Oregon, Boring through Gresham, Oregon, Gresham to Portland, Oregon, P ...

, to transfer the land in 1990 to the Trust. It represented significant progress in the completion of the loop.

Trail

The trail has a variety of sections: some are on level ground, such as along the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

; others are heavily forested and/or mountainous, as through Washington Park's Hoyt Arboretum. All portions are suitable for walking and hiking, and most are open to bicycling. There are opportunities for strollers, wheelchairs, skating, skateboarding, horseback riding, canoeing, and kayaking.

Route highlights

* St. Johns Bridge * Kelley Point Park * N. and NE Marine Drive along the south bank of the

* Smith and Bybee Wetlands Natural Area * Columbia Slough * Blue Lake Park * Troutdale, Oregon * Mount Hood Community College *

Gresham, Oregon Gresham ( ) is a city in the Willamette Valley, Located in Multnomah County in the U.S. state of Oregon, bordered by Portland to the northwest and partially in the southwest. It was first settled in the early 1850s by the Powell brothers. It ...

** Gresham Main City Park ** Gresham Butte ** Powell Butte Nature Park ** Leach Botanical Garden ** Tideman Johnson Natural Area ** Sellwood Park ** Sellwood Riverfront Park ** Oaks Amusement Park ** Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge * Eastbank Esplanade * Hawthorne Bridge *

Steel Bridge The Steel Bridge is a through truss, double-deck vertical-lift bridge across the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, United States, opened in 1912. Its lower deck carries railroad and bicycle/pedestrian traffic, while the upper deck carries ...

* I-205 Bike Path *

Sellwood Bridge The Sellwood Bridge is a deck arch bridge that spans the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, in the United States. The current bridge opened in 2016 and replaced a 1925 span that had carried the same name. The original bridge was Portland's fir ...

* Willamette Greenway ** Willamette Park ** South Waterfront * Wildwood Trail ** Washington Park *** World Forestry Center *** Oregon Vietnam Veterans Memorial *** Hoyt Arboretum ** Pittock Mansion ** Forest Park ** Audubon Society of Portland

Future

The 40-Mile Loop spur

radiates eastward through Gresham and into Boring. Metro has proposed constructing the Cazadero Trail which would extend that spur past Estacada for eventual connection to the

References

{{Coord, 45.478956, N, 122.721019, W, region:US-OR, display=title Bike paths in Oregon Parks in Portland, Oregon Rail trails in Oregon Transportation in Portland, Oregon

History

Trail

Route highlights

Future

See also

References