Eugene, Oregon's Ruth Bascom Riverbank Path System consists of four connecting trails: North Bank 4.6 miles, South Bank 2.6 miles, East Bank 2.8 miles, and West Bank 2.1 miles. The four trails and five bike/pedestrian bridges offer a scenic 12 mile loop ride up one side of the Willamette River and down the other through various parks and points of interest or any combination you want to try. Those bridges give you a lot of options.
Here are the mileages and the sites you can reach on each trail segment:
The trail also gives you access to the University of Oregon on the South Bank portion and the football stadium on the North Bank portion.
The beautiful river is seen in many places along the trail. The South Bank trail has several brief segments through residential areas, and in 2011, construction had a section closed. Another closure affects the trail under I-5.
Several scenic wooded areas are also on the route and make you forget you are in an urban area...
...and another segment parallels "Pre's Trail" named for the legendary local hero, Steve Prefontaine, who devised this four mile chip trail through Alton Baker Park.
West Bank Path starts at the Greenway Ped/Bike Bridge in Maurie Jacobs Park (Polk St. Park on Google Maps) and runs north along the western bank of the Willamette River to the Owosso Ped/Bike Bridge.
Jacobs Park has a small parking lot at the end of Fir Lane. From the intersection of the NW Expressway and River Rd., take River Rd. north 0.12 miles (2nd right) to Fir Lane. Turn right/east onto Fir Lane and go to the end. Take the path out to the river and find the dual colored mile marker. All the trails are color coded and here the West Bank and South Bank trails meet, so the marker shows both colors.
I biked a block from my motel on Broadway to Hilyard and crossed the railroad tracks on the access path.
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