Tucked neatly into the heart of downtown Portland, is a wild, majestic place of both grandeur and simplicity. It features the highest point within the city limits of Portland, as well as a trail that will take you to the all-in-one buffet of culture that is the World Forestry Center-Oregon Zoo-International Rose Test Garden complex. What is this unbelievably well connected piece of heaven you ask? It's known as Marquam Nature Park, and it's one of Portland's best-kept secrets.

The park features a forty-mile loop of trails that will take you from Council Crest - the highest point in Portland at 1040 feet - all the way to the Portland Japanese Garden. Council Crest has a rich history as one of Portland's most scenic viewpoints. It was once home to an amusement park with a roller coaster, shooting galleries and rain, of course. It's Portland. These days, however, Council Crest stands quiet and undisturbed above downtown Portland, watching as people ride bikes naked through the streets and drink copious amounts of locally brewed beer in the pubs. A lovely spring dawn spent relaxing at Council Crest after a good hike should be on every Portlander's checklist, as well as any visitor's.

In the park you can see a wide variety of flora and fauna that at times seem to be completely surrounding you for miles. It's easy to forget that you are in the middle of a city of half-a-million people, but that's part of what makes the experience so unique. On the trail you're likely to see Banana Slugs, Maiden-Hair Ferns, Big-Leaf Maples, Douglas Firs and perhaps some Salmonberries for a quick snack.

While Council Crest technically is its own park, it is closely connected with Marquam Nature Park via the forty-mile loop, which will you bring you to the Marquam Park Shelter on the East end. Marquam Park Shelter occupies an elevation of 300 feet, for a difference of over seven hundred feet in elevation change from Council Crest, for those of you numbers people. While the trails are not all that steep, seven hundred feet is a fair amount of elevation change, so you can certainly get your blood pumping or just casually stroll through its lushness.

The trails in Marquam Nature Park are well maintained by Friends of Marquam Nature Park and certainly on the easy side as far as hiking goes, but for those who wish to get out of the city without leaving the city it offers a beautiful and tranquil adventure.