Westside Trail

A recently developed Westside Trail segment on Mt. Williams has yielded a six-mile segment of mostly continuous trail from Tigard city limits to the Tualatin Hills Nature Park.

A recently developed Westside Trail segment on Mt. Williams has yielded a six-mile segment of mostly continuous trail from Tigard city limits to the Tualatin Hills Nature Park.

The 1992 Metropolitan Greenspaces Master Plan identified an opportunity to create a regional trail on Portland’s west side -- initially called the Beaverton Powerline Trail -- along Washington County’s electrical power utility corridors. Today, this route is the Westside Trail.

Extending north to south through Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District, the Westside Trail is one of the region’s most important corridors. It connects westside neighborhoods and communities while providing access to the region’s distinctive rivers, forests and prairies.

Metro has developed a master plan to expand the Westside Trail, eventually rendering a 25-mile-long trail extending from the Tualatin River (near King City) to the Willamette River (in Portland’s Northwest Industrial neighborhood).

“The major parks and natural areas connected by the Westside Trail will include the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge, Tualatin River Greenway, Tualatin Hills Nature Park, Terpenning Recreation Complex, Bronson and Rock Creek Greenways, Forest Park, and the Willamette River Greenway, as well as numerous local parks.” - Metro

Within THPRD boundaries, Westside Trail expansion has been a priority for planners. A bond measure approved by voters in 2008 earmarked more than $4 million for the completion of three new trail segments, including a paved 1.5-mile expansion over Beaverton’s Mt. Williams that provides picturesque views of the city below.

The completion of that project, in November 2013, has rendered a six-mile segment of mostly continuous trail extending from Tigard city limits at Barrows Rd. all the way to the Tualatin Hills Nature Park and the Merlo Road MAX station in Beaverton.

The trail insersects or provides nearby access to several THPRD parks, including Progress Lake, Barrows Park, Murrayhill Park, Westside Linear Park, Hart Meadows Park, Summercrest Park and Burntwood Park.

A $1.5 million bond project, scheduled to run from spring through fall 2016, will connect the Westside Trail to the nearby Waterhouse Trail along the north edge of the Tualatin Hills Nature Park. A temporary detour through the park will be in place during construction. Note: Pets are prohibited within the Tualatin Hills Nature Park including on the Oak Trail.

As funds become available, THPRD will continue to build new trail segments of the Westside Trail, yielding a 10-mile backbone that extends further north, over Hwy. 26, to the PCC-Rock Creek campus.