Eastmoreland, Crystal Springs, and Reed College - SE Portland

Eastmoreland, Crystal Springs, and Reed College - SE Portland

This shorter walk explores one of Portland's nicest areas, home to a great college, a great public garden, and a great residential neighborhood. The walk itself is a little more than two miles long, but you can lengthen it with a side journey into the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden.




Start at the Eastmoreland Golf Course parking lot, on SE Bybee Blvd. on the east side of Highway 99E/McLoughlin Blvd. There are parking lots on both sides of Bybee, neither of which is restricted to just golfers. It's a very good course to play, by the way, but save a trip to the links for another day. Bybee is a street with heavy traffic, but with sidewalks on both sides.

Begin walking east on Bybee, which curves leftward to become Tolman St. and then 28th Ave. Try to ignore the noise of the heavy traffic and enjoy the views of the golf course to the left.

On the other side of the street from the golf course are the first of the homes in the beautiful Eastmoreland neighborhood. Built in the period between the two world wars, these stately residences, such as this one, represent almost all of the residential architectural styles popular during this era.

At Woodstock Blvd. the main flow of traffic turns to the east Continue on 28th, and soon on your left is the entrance to the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden. Although the garden is at its finest during April and May, it's beautiful any time of year. Admission is $4, and is worth it. A walk past the smaller lake pictured to the left leads to Crystal Springs Lake, with the gardens on one side and the edge of the golf course on the other.



Right across the street from the Rhododendron Gardens is this entrance to Reed College. Cross the street and head into the campus. Reed is an elite school with 1,400 undergraduates, well known for its excellent academics and its idiosyncratic student milieu. An interesting movie to watch about life at Reed is Blue Like Jazz, from 2012. On the darker side, Reed is dealing with a heroin use problem among its students, resulting in overdose deaths in 2008 and 2010.

Continue up a slight grade through the campus, until you get to a broad central green area called the Great Lawn. If it's sunny and school is in session you'll see clumps of students "studying" on the broad lawns. You'll pass by this imposing looking building, the Old Dorm Block, which looks like a great place for student life. Apparently some of the dorm rooms even have fireplaces. The Old Dorm Block was constructed in 1912, and has some interesting architectural details.


After passing the Old Dorm Block, continue along the north edge of the Great Lawn, passing Eliot Hall, until you get to the Cooley Library Building, at the corner of the open area. Turn right and follow the roadway to the main Reed College entrance. Continue across Woodstock Avenue, and you will be among the beautiful residences of the Eastmoreland neighborhood along Reed College Place, with its huge tree-filled center divider.



Continue along Reed College Place and enjoy looking at the beautiful homes, representing diverse period architectural styles. This is one of Portland's premier neighborhoods, with home prices generally in the upper six figures. After three long blocks, turn right on Bybee Blvd. and continue west until you get back to the intersection of Bybee and Tolman. You are now within a few hundred feet of your starting point at the golf course, a short walk along Bybee.