This was not the trail I had planned for this week. But life happens and I had to make a last minute pivot when I got the call from Lincoln Middle School, letting me know that my son wasn't feeling well and needed to be picked up - ASAP. Luckily, he didn't have "The Rona", as he calls it, just a bad headache, stomach ache and maybe an aversion to math class. None the less, I wanted to stay close to home so we resorted to our old faithful, Baxter Woods.
We spend every day here, reveling in the magnificence of the light filtering through its trees, enjoying the walking/running trails and petting all of the friendly dogs that enjoy this forest as much as we do. I could go on and on...and on, because I'm a super fan of this place.
Baxter Woods is a 30-acre nature preserve and the largest undisturbed forest in Portland. Donated to the city by Percival Proctor Baxter, who said that it was his hope “that these woods will be used more and more, especially by our young people and that this park may contribute to their health and happiness”. These woods include a small frog pond close to the Forest Avenue entrance and are a short walk to Deering Center, where you can grab a cup of coffee at Rwanda Bean or shop at Handiwork for locally made goods.
The woods can be accessed off of Forest Avenue and Steven’s Avenue in Portland. There is also street parking and two entrances on Hartley Street. The address to the main entrance is 555 Steven’s Avenue, Portland.
Make sure to check out the patch of intentionally spaced trees that I like to call the "magical forest". My husband calls them "soldier pines". Tomato, tomahto.
Whatever name you give it, this impressive patch of trees is located near the Steven's Avenue side of things, just inside the main entrance.
Enjoy these magical, city woods!