The Springwater Corridor is a multi-use trail. The paved surface is 10-12 feet wide with soft shoulders. The hard surface trail is designed to accommodate walkers, joggers, hikers, bicycles, wheelchairs, and strollers. Equestrian use is more common east of I-205 where a separate soft surface path meanders away from the main trail where topography allows.

History

The Springwater Corridor began life in 1903 as the Springwater Division Line, a commuter railway that took folks from downtown Portland to outlying communities such as Estacada and Eagle Creek. At its peak in 1910, Portland's 160 miles of rails carried 16 million passengers a year.  In the 1950s, the automobile became the preferred method of travel and passenger service was dropped in 1958.

In 1990, the city of Portland acquired portions of the corridor with the rest being picked up by Metro in the intervening years.  The first stretches of the trail opened in 1996.  In 2006, three bridges connecting the trail over McLoughlin Boulevard, were constructed which closed most of the gaps in the trail.

The Route of the Trail

The trail winds through Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge, a 163-acre tract of wetlands within the city. Oaks Bottom, a birdwatcher’s paradise, is home to a wide variety of species, although the Great Blue Heron is the star of the show, and the official bird of the City of Portland.

The Springwater Corridor currently winds on-street for about .2 mile through the southeast corner of the Sellwood neighborhood (commonly referred to as the Sellwood Gap).  A local freight hauling railroad has a lease for the tracks for this section.   

The off-street paved trail continues eastward through Tideman-Johnson Park and eastward, passing nearby Powell Butte Nature Park, skirting Leach Botanical Gardens, located only .5 mile south of the paved trail at the 122nd Avenue crossing, and on to Gresham, where the building of a “modern compromise” of the original structure of historic Linnemann Station was celebrated in 2004.

Linnemann Station is named for early Gresham pioneers Catherine and John Linnemann, who followed the Oregon Trail by oxen from Illinois and settled here in 1852. This historic site was formerly a train stop on the 1903 Springwater Division Rail Line. The trailhead facility contains railroad artifacts and related displays from the Gresham Historical Society, parking for 15 cars and a public restroom. The trailhead is located on 182nd Avenue just south of Powell Boulevard.

The Springwater Corridor passes through Gresham’s Main City Park and continues eastward where the trail currently ends in Boring, Oregon.

Additional planning efforts are currently underway for the addition of a 10.8-mile section heading south from Boring to Estacada. This right-of-way is currently held by the State of Oregon, and offers the possibility of a future trail connection to the Mt. Hood National Forest and ultimate access to the Pacific Crest Trail.

For more information and maps, visit these links:

• Springwater Corridor 

• Tideman-Johnson Park

• Leach Botanical Gardens

• Linnemann Station

• Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge

• Powell Butte Nature Park