Fellow Trailkeepers,

With recent closures of all Oregon State Parks, the Columbia Gorge Waterfall Corridor and Governor Brown’s Stay Home order, TKO recognizes we are navigating challenges we have never seen before. We support the land managers who have had to make these difficult decisions to protect staff, volunteers and visitors and the communities within these special places and accordingly, we will be postponing all our in-person volunteer activities through May.

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by John Sparks, Newsletter Editor, Trailkeepers of Oregon

We tend to ignore alders in the leafy summer months, when they become subsumed in the general blaze of green and lorded over by sprawling mossy maples. In winter and early spring, however, the alder’s gray-white bark, becoming dappled by lichen as the tree ages, stands out, often starkly, from a dreary landscape. (more…)

by John Sparks, Newsletter Editor, Trailkeepers of Oregon

Did you know that Milo McIver was the site of America’s only state-sponsored rock concert?

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by Paul Gerald, Board Member, Trailkeepers of Oregon

Distance: 3.4 or 5.8 miles – or less!
Elevation gain: 120 to 300 feet

A great way to welcome spring is to get yourself, and your kids if you have them, out for a short, easy walk, or just a day in the park. (more…)

by John Sparks, Newsletter Editor, Trailkeepers of Oregon

Distance: 12.9 miles
Elevation gain: 505 feet

The National Park Service’s Fort to Sea Trail, accessible at all times of the year, follows a route that members of Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery might have taken in order to commute to the Pacific Ocean. (more…)

by John Sparks, Newsletter Editor, Trailkeepers of Oregon

Keep an eye on snow levels, but winter is a great time to go exploring in the Coast Range. (more…)

by Glen Hess, Crew Leader, Trailkeepers of Oregon

On an April 2019 weekend, Chris Guntermann and I led a Boy Scouts of America troop on a camping and trail restoration trip in Cottonwood Canyon State Park. (more…)

by Ezra Cohen, Volunteer, Trailkeepers of Oregon

With a fluttering rush of wings, the western screech owl shot from its roost in the cleft of a limb and, dodging between branches in the ashen light, landed inside a tangled thicket. (more…)

by John Sparks, Newsletter Editor, Trailkeepers of Oregon

Distance: 4.3 miles
Elevation gain: 165 feet

Fine weather windows make the Oregon Dunes an ideal area to explore in the early months of the year. (more…)

by John Sparks, Newsletter Editor, Trailkeepers of Oregon

Did you know that Oxbow Regional Park sits on top of a buried forest? (more…)