Biking Portland's Springwater Trail

The Springwater Division Railroad Line of the Oregon Water Power and Railroad Company was founded in 1903 and ran interurban service until 1958 and freight service until the 1980s.  In 1991, the trail corridor was acquired for this trail.  It is a paved trail extending about 23 miles to Boring, Oregon.

I began at the Tidewell Johnson Park trailhead on Johnson Creek Blvd. Biking to the left facing the trail (west) was through a lovely natural area for a mile or so...

...which included a rest stop, an overlook deck, a couple side trails down into the natural area...

...and several bridges with views of Johnson Creek...

Then after crossing several bridges over roads, you come to an end of the paved trail.  The route continues on a road for a mile or so and then 4 more miles of trail get you to the Portland downtown area.

Biking to the right from the parking lot (west) takes you across and then along Johnson Creek Blvd. for a bit, and then you cross it and are done with road noise alongside you as you pass behind some light industry and homes. Road crossings are plentiful, but most are very small residential access roads.  The large crossings like 82nd and Foster have push-button controlled lights to stop traffic and allow safe crossing.  I found many kind drivers who stopped and motioned me across roads.

The pavement is in excellent condition, much newly repaved in 2010. A bit unusual -- many trails have a yellow center line, but this trail has white side lines as seen above.  Signage on the trail is good, identifying every road crossing by name, and mileage markers are found regularly. At the crossing with the I-205 Bike Path, you'll find directional arrows with mileage to locations in each direction.

Trailhead lots:  At the west end, a paved parking area with a restroom and picnic tables is located at the convergence of SE 45 & Johnson Creek Blvd.

About 2 miles east of Gresham, a lot is available at the refurbished Linnemann Station Depot at 3804 Powell Blvd.

In Gresham, a paved parking area with equestrian trailer accommodations and a covered picnic shelter is located at SE Hogan Road, immediately north of the trail. Parking is also available at Main City Park.

Local access can be reached at any public street or bike trail intersecting the trail, including the I-205 Bike Path.