This Lush Park With Some Of Oregon's Prettiest Trails Is The Largest Urban Forest In The US

Only in Portland, Oregon. Where else can you grab a cup of America's best coffee, pick up a trail map from the largest independent bookstore in the world, Powell's City of Books, and then walk right into the largest urban forest in the U.S.? Forest Park's 5,200 densely wooded acres span an 8-mile stretch of the Tualatin Mountain Range, cradling downtown Portland in a big, forested hug. The park's 80 miles of trails are a mix of single-track and dirt and gravel fire roads, and can be combined into a nearly infinite number of loops, starting from over 40 trailheads – many reachable right from downtown or by hopping on a city bus.

Is this really the largest urban forest in the country? Portlanders have long laid this claim, with a ready answer for pretenders to the throne. Trinity River Park in Dallas, currently under development and aspiring to 10,000 acres, is an artificial landscape, so not a true forest. And while the 6,600-acre Jefferson Memorial Forest is technically inside Louisville, Kentucky's city limits, it's 15 miles from downtown, making it more of a suburban forest. Portlanders will also remind you Forest Park isn't just the biggest, but the best urban forest in the country, and it's easy to agree with those superlatives once you've set foot on one of its magical, emerald green trails.

Forest Park is such a part of Portland's identity that it's hard to believe the city earned the nickname Stumptown back in the 1850s, when so many trees were razed that the landscape was littered with stumps. Much of Forest Park, officially established in 1948, is second-growth, although there are places you can explore to see groves of ancient, moss-covered trees.

So what's the best urban day hike in the best urban forest? That might just be the six-mile out-and-back Macleay Trail to Pittock Mansion. The trail begins at Lower Macleay Park, and follows pretty Balch Creek, a babbling brook lined with moss-covered rocks aglow in the slanting rays of the sun, surrounded by dramatic sword ferns, and overhung by some of the only groves of old-growth forest still standing in the park. It's a storybook forest, so pretty it almost feels like animation: You'll think you wandered into a scene from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves" or "Hansel and Gretel." 

A mile into the hike, you arrive at some spooky yet picturesque stone ruins that locals call the "Witch's Castle." Just don't tell the kids it's really a former public restroom abandoned for decades. Past the castle, the trail climbs through cathedral-like forest, eventually crossing a road and arriving at the historic Pittock Mansion, where on a clear day, you'll be amply rewarded for the 900-feet climb with an iconic, tree-framed view of Mount Hood (pictured) and the city skyline gleaming below.

Portland is so rainy that it's sometimes noted for its London-like vibes, but the tree cover in Forest Park is so dense that you can take a bike ride or trail run in the rain using the canopy as a living umbrella — just watch out for the mud. For a gentle introduction to gravel biking, Leif Erikson Drive traverses almost the entire length of the park, gaining more than 800 feet of elevation over its 11 miles, making for a nice afternoon out-and-back that's under the deep shade of fir, hemlock, cedar, and big leaf maple trees.

Running roughly parallel to Leif Erikson but far more extensive is Forest Park's premiere, pedestrian-only single-track, the 30-mile Wildwood Trail. As an ultra-run, it's dubbed the Wildwood E2E (that's end-to-end) with a shuttle, but unless you're practicing to tackle a long Pacific Northwest route like the Pacific Crest Trail or the Wonderland Trail around Mount Rainier, you may fancy a shorter stroll. Happily, the Wildwood intersects with other trails for many possible loops — the Maple Trail-Wildwood loop is a favorite, especially for fall colors. The Ridge Trail leads to a bench with a view of the St. John's Bridge, a soaring, spired, gothic suspension bridge widely considered one of the most beautiful in the country, and makes another great Wildwood loop. And as we know, not all who wander are lost, so you can always unfold your map and create your own Forest Park adventure.