Lake Oswego - First Addition and Tryon Creek

This walk combines the city and the wilderness. Much of the walk goes through Lake Oswego's First Addition neighborhood, a grid of streets where many modest homes have been either upgraded or replaced with attractive newer homes, most of which remain in scale with the neighborhood. The rest of the walk rambles along the Iron Mountain trail portion of Tryon Creek State Park, where an area logged and burned in the late 19th century has regrown into a peaceful forest. The walk is 3.6 miles long, and it has some ups and downs along its route.

The walk starts as Christ Church Episcopal Parish at the corner of 10th Street and Chandler Road in Lake Oswego. The church has been here since the 1940's and is the second largest Episcopal congregation in Oregon (first is Trinity Cathedral in Northwest Portland).

From the Chandler Road frontage of the church proceed east and then turn left onto 10th Street. On your left is the Oswego Heritage House. This stately landmark at the head of "A" Avenue was constructed in 1920 to serve as the real estate office for the sale of residential lots in and around Oswego Lake. From 1941 to the 1980s it served as a residence and doctor's office. In 1999 it was purchased by the Oswego Heritage Council and restored to its current appearance.

Continue along 10th Street across busy "A" Avenue to "B" Avenue, where you will turn right. On your right, between the sidewalk and the pavement, is an example of a "green streets" landscape strip to collect and absorb stormwater instead of letting it run off and pollute local streams and rivers. "B" Avenue is a typical street in Lake Oswego's First Addition neighborhood, which you are now entering.

Continue on "B" Avenue three blocks to 7th Street, then turn right. 20 years ago the First Addition was one of Lake Oswego's less popular neighborhoods, but its proximity to downtown and its walkable grid of streets have led to a great resurgence in desirability. Walk one block on 7th Street to "A" Avenue. Before you reach the end of the block you will see this house on your right. Until the late 1990's it was located adjacent to Christ Church Episcopal Parish, but was moved to this site when the Church built a new parish hall. It is bordered on both sides by newer, larger houses that were built since its relocation to this site.

At the intersection of 7th Street and "A" Avenue you will see Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church, another long-time Lake Oswego religious institution. The church's school for Kindergarten through 8th grade is adjacent to the sanctuary. The parish has had a presence in Lake Oswego since 1890, and you will be going by its original home at 1st Street and "E" Avenue later on the route of this walk. The current building on this site was finished in 1956.

At "A" Avenue turn left and head down the street. At 6th and "A" is Kyra's Bake Shop. Started just a few years ago, in 2010-2012 the shop finished first once and second twice in the Food Network's Cupcake Wars. And it won with an entirely gluten-free product, which is the shop specialty. Kyra's story can be found here.

Continue on "A" Avenue another block to 5th Street, where you will turn left. On the corner, in front of a Safeway parking lot, is the Lake Oswego Holiday Tree, lit up every year at Christmas time. The renaming of this tree, formerly known as the "Lake Oswego Christmas Tree," happened 15 years ago, but still sparks occasional controversy and angry letters to the local newspaper over the alleged "War on Christmas" the renaming supposedly represents. Continue on Fifth Street one block to "B" Avenue, then turn right.

Proceed three blocks on "B" Avenue to 2nd Street, then turn left. The next block on 2nd features two large new developments on either side of the street. To the left is a development of condominiums with ground floor "live-work" small commercial spaces associated with some of the residences above. To the right is a four-story residential development of luxury condominiums. Expect to see several more such developments in the downtown Lake Oswego area in the near future.

Continue on 2nd Street for another two blocks to "E" Avenue, then turn right. Go one block on "E" Avenue, then turn right again onto First Street. At the corner is the original 1890 Lake Oswego Roman Catholic church, converted in the 1990s into a single-family residence. It was recently for sale for almost $900,000.

After one block on First Street turn left on "D" Avenue and head one long block down the hill to State Street. On the way you will have a great view of the Willamette River and the Lake Oswego Railroad Bridge. Built in 1910, the bridge serves a couple of freight trains each day. Attempts to get the railroad to agree to a bicycle and pedestrian crossing on this bridge between Lake Oswego and Milwaukie have come to nought.

At State Street turn left and head north. After crossing "E" Avenue you will get to the intersection of State and Terwilliger Parkway. Follow the trail that heads up the left side of Terwilliger. You are now entering Tryon Creek State Park. The trail parallels Terwilliger all the way north to Lewis and Clark Law School, but is far enough from the road that you will hear just a bit of traffic noise. The paved pathway is shared with bicycles, so keep your eyes open, especially looking for speeding bicycles heading in the opposite direction down the hill.

After almost a mile of the paved trail you will see this trail junction to the left with the Iron Mountain Trail. Take the Iron Mountain Trail, and you will soon leave all traces of traffic noise and all potential bicycle conflicts behind. The Iron Mountain Trail traverses Tryon Creek State Park, a 635 acre oasis of nature between Portland and Lake Oswego. After about 1/4 mile you will see an explanatory sign and a mound to the right in the forest. This is the site of old charcoal pit, used in the late 19th century to produce charcoal for the Oregon Iron Company's smelter to the south in what is now Lake Oswego. It's hard to imagine now, but by the time the charcoal makers had finished their work by 1900 this area was a clear-cut wasteland of charred stumps.

Continue on the Iron Mountain Trail. You will soon get to the Iron Mountain bridge, which crosses Tryon Creek. Hikers are advised by signage to stay on the pathway, so that natural vegetation elsewhere can flourish. Tyron Creek usually has water in it, which may come from springs but is also at least partially constituted of urban runoff from surrounding developed areas.

After crossing Tryon Creek you will see, every couple hundred feet, a sewer manhole cover paralleling the trail. Underneath the trail from Tryon Creek to the developed area to the west is a City of Lake Oswego sewer line. It is a clue that this area was not originally intended to be preserved as a nature park. In addition, Iron Mountain Boulevard stubs into the park both at the west end and the east end of this trail. Along with the sewer line, it is evidence that this area could have at one point been developed with a large residential subdivision, and Iron Mountain Boulevard would have traversed the route of this pathway. And in fact the route of this trail approximates the original logging road used by the Oregon Iron Company's charcoal production workers.

Continuing along the trail you will cross another bridge, labeled the "Stone Bridge" on maps, although the bridge appears to be constructed entirely of wood. Soon you will come to a nice bench along the trail, which is dedicated to Pamela Claire Blake. Ms. Blake apparently helped lead the successful efforts to preserve this part of the park.

As you near the edge of Tryon Creek Park you will start so see houses hanging over a slope edge to the right.

Eventually you will exit the park onto Andrews Road. Turn right and go a short distance to Iron Mountain Boulevard, then turn left. Follow the curve of Iron Mountain until it intersects Country Club Road in a very wide, oblique intersection. Cross the intersection and continue on Iron Mountain - the intersection is an all-way stop, so the cars should stop for you. Follow Iron Mountain south to its intersection with Chandler Road, then turn left and return to your starting point at Christ Church.