Multnomah Village and Gabriel Park - SW Portland

MULTNOMAH VILLAGE AND GABRIEL PARK - SW Portland

This 2.3 mile walk is a loop beginning at Gabriel Park, home to all sorts of recreational activities, and through Multnomah Village, Southwest Portland's most "Portland" neighborhood. The walk doesn't have any big hills, but there is quite a bit of up and down. It would be a great trip for families with children.



This loop walk begins at the parking lot near the Skate Park, one of the most heavily used parts of the 90-acre Gabriel Park, established in 1950. Before heading off along the trail, take a moment  to watch the skateboarders in action!  While skateboard parks were considered controversial in the past, because neighbors thought they attracted the "wrong" kind of people, they have become common park amenities in recent years.

 

From the parking lot, look to your right, or south, and take the pathway the goes between the two lower tennis courts leaving the parking lot at the accessible parking spaces, and parallel to SW 45th Street. You'll be walking in the opposite direction of the skate park. Beyond the tennis court to the right is the summer off-leash dog area of the park.

You will leave the tennis court area and head into the woods, along a pretty little trail. Whenever it forks, keep to the right. You will eventually reach a nice meadow. Keep walking up the meadow, until you reach a fork in the trail. To the right the trail goes up to Canby Street, but take a left instead.

You will soon be walking past the winter off-leash dog romp area, and then you will come to an untidy, but fertile-looking community garden. This is another great use of park land that is possible in large facility like Gabriel Park. During the growing season you'll see lots of healthy looking garden plots.


Continue up the pathway until you exit the park onto Canby Street, which runs parallel to the edge of the park. Although there is no sidewalk on this street, an unfortunate situation common throughout southwest Portland, there is very little traffic, and the straight route has no blind curves or corners. At 36th Street, you will see an off-street pathway to the left, with a "SW Trails" sign on it. SW Trails are a great alternative resource for walks throughout southwest Portland - the group sells a trails map, and the city has an online pedestrian map of southwest Portland with all of the trails indicated on it.

Continue south on 36th Street, and after Troy Street you will have sidewalks to walk on. Go one block and turn left on Capitol Highway. You are now in Multnomah Village.

Multnomah Village is a charming little neighborhood center, the closest thing to areas like SE Hawthorne, Hollywood, Sellwood, or NW 23rd that you will find in southwest Portland. The neighborhood was established around 1910, when the Oregon Electric Railway built a depot along its line through the village. Where are the rails, you ask? As you walk down 36th Avenue toward Capitol Highway, look one block further south, and you will see Multnomah Boulevard, a straight, flat street that runs perpendicular to 36th and generally east-west through southwest Portland. Once you get to Capitol Highway, if you look to the right you will see an old bridge crossing over Multnomah Boulevard. The reason this bridge was built? - the route of Multnomah Boulevard used to be the route of the Oregon Electric Railway, running from Portland to Eugene. It came up from downtown Portland along the route that is now occupied by Interstate 5, and then followed what is now Multnomah Boulevard into Tigard past what is now the Washington Square shopping center. This portion of the railway was abandoned around 1940.

The village has a couple of coffee shops if you want to stop for something here. Village Coffee is located on the left (north) side of the street at 7781 Capitol Highway, between 34th and 35th. And of course there's also a Starbucks, at 7737 Capitol Highway, at the corner of Capitol and 34th. There are also several restaurants along the street - look them up on Yelp for information. Annie Blooms bookstore, one of Portland's most notable local bookstores that doesn't start with a "P," is located at 7834 Capitol Highway, on the right (south) side of the street between 35th and 36th.  Also, there are quite a few gift and other knick-knack shops for perusal. For those who want a more fortified liquid refreshment, the Lucky Labrador Brew Pub is located on the left (north) side of Capitol Highway at its intersection with 32nd. Your dog is welcome inside if it has come along for the walk.

Take a left on 32nd Street. Sidewalks are intermittent, but there isn't much traffic on this street. After two blocks, take a left on Nevada Court, which, believe it or not, is a public street in the City of Portland! There are a lot of streets in Southwest Portland that are as decrepit as this one - I would hate to have to drive it every day, but it's fine to walk on, because there's so little traffic. Follow Nevada Court for several blocks - cross carefully at 35th Street, which has some traffic - until you get back to Gabriel Park.

At the corner of Nevada Court and 37th Street, you will reach the edge of the park. Turn north (right) on 37th for a block and then enter the park. Follow the trail to the southwest, which will lead you back to your starting point at the Gabriel Skate Park.