Scouters Mountain Nature Park FIELD GUIDE Fir trees sway overhead and songbirds years ago. Metro acquired this site in 2011 chirp as you travel up the narrow road to and, spent three years restoring its 100 Scouters Mountain, creating a pervasive acres of mature Douglas fir, big leaf maple feeling of deep, sheltering woods. Near the and Oregon white oak forest to make way top of the road, a plateau offers stunning for the region’s newest nature park. About views of Mt. Hood on clear days. After you half of the forest includes trees more than visit, you’ll see why thousands of Boy a century old, with some that have grown Scouts made this journey over the years to here for more than 220 years. Metro has camp and explore here; Scouters feels like removed invasive weeds from the a very special place. If you look closely at mountain’s northern slopes and planted the picnic shelter at the top of the park, some 30,000 native trees and shrubs. The you will spot salvaged beams from the forest will continue to be monitored for legendary Chief Obie Lodge — the site of years to come. many weddings, community events and summer camps before it closed in 2004. Restoration efforts have helped create an amazing new nature park to explore, as Rising more than 700 feet above the well as habitat for sensitive species such as growing communities of Happy Valley and migratory birds. Listen for their calls as Pleasant Valley, Scouters Mountain gives you hike the park’s twisting trails, taking you an opportunity to explore an extinct you past huge Douglas firs. After your lava dome. Like other buttes in the area, walk, enjoy a snack and take in views of this forested cinder cone is part of the the valley and surrounding mountains. Boring Lava Field that formed millions of oregonmetro.gov/scouters Be on the lookout! beavercoyote anna’sbelted hummingbird kingfisher red huckleberry big leaf maple Parking 0 1/4 1/2 mile Picnic shelter Scouters Mount Nature 2620 feet Public restroom Park Trail SE Boyscout Lodge Road and SE 145th Avenue, Happy ve Scouters Mountain Valley A Nature Park Getting there 145th E Scouters Mountain is S SE King Rd perched at the top of Boy Scouts Lodge Road in Happy Valley, just off SE 145th Avenue. Know when you go Open sunrise to sunset. No dogs or alcohol, please. Amenities Gresham 205 Majestic views of Mt. Hood. Milwaukie Area Hiking trails, parking, enlarged restrooms and a reservable ve A Clackamas picnic shelter. Damascus 212 224 147th Shelter reservations E S Call 503-665-4995 option 0 or email Season by season Fall: The fall rains bring metropicnicreservations@ mushrooms, a very important part oregonmetro.gov Spring: Spring invites fresh, of a healthy forest. See how many vibrant green growth in the types you can find growing on the understory plants; look for forest floor and out of the trunks of oregonmetro.gov/scouters blooming trilliums and wood violet trees. As the leaves fall, look for flowers. With the warmer weather bird nests left over from the and longer days, the songbirds summer and check out the snags return from their winter locations; for evidence of woodpeckers. keep an eye out for warblers and other songbirds eating bugs and Winter: In the winter, the fog and foraging in the new tree foliage. mist hang in the tall trees and create a cozy forest feel. Listen for Summer: When the Portland area the energetic trill of the Pacific dries out and heats up, the shade of wren, which spends most of its Stay in touch with news, the forest can be a perfect break. time on the forest floor among the stories and things to do. With the clear summer days, you sword ferns. If you’re lucky, you can oregonmetro.gov/news can see all the way to the Columbia catch a glimpse of this little brown River and into Washington — truly bird hopping about. While your Follow oregonmetro a breathtaking sight. While you are eyes are on the forest floor, don’t taking it all in, keep an eye out for forget to look for banana slugs and nesting birds raising their young. deer tracks. Printed on recycled-content paper. paper. on recycled-content Printed.