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Family Adventures

Library Park, Beaverton, Oregon

10/29/2016

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We went to the Beaverton Farmer's Market this morning and were surprised by a brand new playground at Library Park!
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Orchard Park, Hillsboro Oregon

9/16/2016

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Located at 20900 NW Amberwood Dr., Hillsboro, OR 97124, Orchard Park is small open space area and disk golf course.  This park also serves as a start point for the Rock Creek Trail.   There is also a quick paved trail with a nice creek, perfect for strollers or dog walking.
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Hagg Lake Park, Gaston, Oregon

8/23/2016

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Henry Hagg Lake, and the surrounding Hagg Lake Park, are located in rural Washington County, Oregon, 50250 SW Scoggins Valley Road, Gaston OR 97119 about ½ hour from Hillsboro and right outside of Forest Grove.  The park is actually owned by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, but is managed by Washington County.  There is a $6.00 fee per vehicle to enter the park.


PictureADA Accessible fishing pier
Henry Hagg Lake was created in 1975 as a reservoir for neighboring populations and farm lands, providing “irrigation and drinking water as well as flood mitigation services. The cities of Forest Grove, Hillsboro, and Beaverton, along with smaller communities, rely on the reservoir for drinking water and other municipal needs, and for industrial uses. The lake also provides recreational opportunities, including trout fishing, swimming, and boating and several picnic areas and hiking trails.”  The area that is now the lake was originally part of Scoggins Creek.

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Boat available for rent
There are about 15 miles trails around the lake, which are rated “difficult” and “not maintained” and it is not advised families with small children take these trails.  Hagg Lake is great place to bring a picnic for the day and try out boating.  They also stock the lake, so fishing is pretty much guaranteed to be good. ​
The lake is beautiful, fairly small as far as lakes go and on the day we went there was a *lot* of motorboat traffic.  It should also be noted that there have been several drownings due to steep, unpredictable drop offs and everyone entering the lake should be wearing a life jacket​.  Life jacket loaner stations are located throughout the park for free.  You can also rent motor boats, kayaks and paddle boats from Mad Jack’s for about $50.00 per day.
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Different colors of the lake indicate different depths and drop-offs.
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Evelyn M. Schiffler Memorial Park

3/21/2015

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Driving down busy Allen or Murray roads, it's hard to imagine that only a couple blocks away is a cute park with a playground, walking trails, nature area and even a skate park!  With Access off Bonnie Brae, Erickson, or Berthold .  The easiest access is to go to the Corner to Berhold and Erickson and head about half a block down Erickson.  This will take you to a playground for little kids, and an expansive one for big kids:
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Little kids playground
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TIMES PHOTO: JONATHAN HOUSE - Mackenzie Wood enjoys the new play structure...
Right next to the playground is a There is also a reservable picnic shelter and little path that will lead you to basketball courts, a wetland area, the skate park and community gardens.  The Evelyn M. Schiffler Memorial Park is newly renovated (2013) and provides a safe, easily accessible way for families to spend time outdoors.  
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The Tualatin Hills Nature Park 

2/13/2015

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PictureRough Skinned Newt found on one of the trails
The Tualatin Hills Nature Park (and accompanying nature center)  the jewel of the THPRD's urban park system.  The park is open year round and is full of wildlife (one of the reasons no dogs are allowed).  There are paved, gravel and dirt paths snaking through this 222 acre oasis.  If you wander enough, you may find yourself staring at a pond covered in lily pads, traversing a wooden bridge over stinky skunk cabbage, or emerging suddenly to the Merlo Road/158th Max Station.  

There are two main entrances to the park:   The first is to to take the MAX to the Merlo Road/15th Max Station.  The other is located at 15655 SW Millikan Way, Beaverton, OR 97003. 

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Winter pond off one of the trails
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Unidentified mushroom growing in February, 2015
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Jackson Bottom Wetlands

1/11/2015

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The Jackson Bottom Wetlands Nature Preserve is located about 5 minutes from downtown Hillsboro, right next to the well disguised Clean Water Services.  It is 635 acres of mostly marshlands with easy dirt and gravel trails.  


There are lots of nature lookouts to view the wildlife from and many side trails that lead to little ponds or lakes to check out.


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All the little dots in the distance are geese or ducks.
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There are actually about 20 birds on this tree.



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One of the viewing platforms.
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Anna Hummingbird at the visitor's center.
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A little friend on Cooper Mountain

11/7/2014

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Just hanging out with my little friend at Cooper Mountain Nature Park.
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Summerlake Park

10/1/2014

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Summerlake Park is located right off of Scholls Ferry Road in Tigard at 11450 SW Winterlake Drive.  There are so many exciting things about this park which make it the perfect place to spend your day all year round!







There two playgrounds, one a little bit rustic with a sand pit area, and other one painted bright green with lots of fun climbing for kids of all ages. 

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A small, man-made lake that is an easy lunch-time walk for families, or parents just wanting to take a break from the office. There is also a dog park, tennis court, baseball diamond, basketball court dog park and a rhododendron garden managed by volunteers.
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Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge

9/28/2014

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The Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge (TRNWR) is a unique feature on the Portland Metro landscape, not the least because it is actually an Oak Savannah full of birds (including several bald eagles!) and other animals you might not expect to see 20 minutes from downtown Portland.    The wide, flat, trails make it perfect for a family, even if one member is in a stroller (there is a slight incline on the way down, but not too steep).   
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In addition to the trails, there is a fantastic nature center with helpful staff and an interactive exhibit about the historic use of this natural area.   TWNWR is actually two different parks, one in the summer with the grassy Oak Savannah landscape (pictured above), and a completely different park in the winter.  During the winter, migratory geese and other birds settle in and the predator birds (eagles and other raptors) show up in force (pictured below, in January 2014).  
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The park is located at 19255 SW Pacific Highway Sherwood, OR 97140 and is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services and is currently just over 1,300 acres, with plans to increase it to 3,000 acres.  There are facilities at the nature center, but none on the trail. 
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Commonwealth Lake Park

8/18/2014

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This little park is tucked away in the Cedar Hills neighborhood (technically Portland, but practically speaking: Beaverton) and can be accessed off of SW Foothills Dr. near the Cedar Hills Recreation Center.  This park is also directly adjacent to Foothills Park.  

The area for the park was originally marshland with runoff from Johnson Creek, but was dredged by a developer in in 1965 to create an attractive neighborhood for the newly minted residents of the Cedar Hills neighborhood.  The park was turned over to the Tualatin Hills Parks and Recreation District in 1969 and has been maintained by them ever since. 

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 However, the main attraction is the  .08 mile loop around the lake, which is dotted with fishing piers.

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The park is just over 20 acres, with plenty of easy walking, picnicking and other family friendly activities. 
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On the day we went, there were several families fishing on the piers.  This fisherman, Seth, caught a nice size koi which he then gently released back into the pond with his son.  The lake is also stocked with bass and rainbow trout, which are quite tasty. 
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    Anne Lenzi

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