Wildwood Recreation Site
Encyclopedia
Mount Hood National Forest
The Mount Hood National Forest is located east of the city of Portland, Oregon, and the northern Willamette River valley. The Forest extends south from the Columbia River Gorge across more than of forested mountains, lakes and streams to the Olallie Scenic Area, a high lake basin under the slopes...
in northern Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, USA. It contains 580 acres (2.3 km²) of natural rainforest
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
and five miles (8 km) of interpretive trail along the Salmon River
Salmon River (Clackamas County, Oregon)
The Salmon River is a 33.9 mile river in Oregon's Cascade Range and drains a portion of southwestern Mount Hood.The entire length of the river is protected National Wild and Scenic River, the only such river in the contiguous 48 states....
. It features Cascade Streamwatch, an underwater viewport into a mountain stream bed
Stream bed
A stream bed is the channel bottom of a stream, river or creek; the physical confine of the normal water flow. The lateral confines or channel margins, during all but flood stage, are known as the stream banks or river banks. In fact, a flood occurs when a stream overflows its banks and flows onto...
and live fish habitat. There is a wetland boardwalk
Boardwalk
A boardwalk, in the conventional sense, is a wooden walkway for pedestrians and sometimes vehicles, often found along beaches, but they are also common as paths through wetlands, coastal dunes, and other sensitive environments....
trail, and trail access to the nearby 70 square mile (180 km²) Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness
Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness
The Salmon–Huckleberry Wilderness is a wilderness area located on the southern side of Mount Hood in the northwestern Cascades of Oregon, United States. It lies within the Mount Hood National Forest and comprises of land...
, and the Sandy River
Sandy River (Oregon)
The Sandy River is a tributary of the Columbia River in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Measured by a United States Geological Survey gauge downstream of the Sandy's confluence with the Bull Run River, from the mouth, the river's average discharge is . The maximum daily recorded flow...
.
Wildwood educational programs offer scientists and researchers to help students gather and analyze environmental data related to the Salmon
Salmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
environment such as the river's chemical and physical properties, and the many resident invertebrate
Invertebrate
An invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. The group includes 97% of all animal species – all animals except those in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata .Invertebrates form a paraphyletic group...
s.
A variety of streams and wetlands provide a diverse environment. Sixes Creek and a quarter mile (400 m) side channel of the Salmon River (restored in 1998), provide habitat for several anadromous fish: Steelhead, Cutthroat
Cutthroat trout
The cutthroat trout is a species of freshwater fish in the salmon family of order Salmoniformes. It is one of the many fish species colloquially known as trout...
and Chinook
Chinook salmon
The Chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, is the largest species in the pacific salmon family. Other commonly used names for the species include King salmon, Quinnat salmon, Spring salmon and Tyee salmon...
. The wetlands and Huckleberry Mountain are the source of Sixes Creek, both of which provide habitat for juvenile Coho salmon
Coho salmon
The Coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch, is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family. Coho salmon are also known as silver salmon or "silvers". It is the state animal of Chiba, Japan.-Description:...
, waterbirds, amphibian
Amphibian
Amphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods...
s, and migratory birds. Other frequently seen wildlife include beavers, blacktail deer, raccoons, rabbits, and snakes. The entire 33.9 mile (55 km) length of the Salmon River is protected National Wild and Scenic River
National Wild and Scenic River
National Wild and Scenic River is a designation for certain protected areas in the United States.The National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act was an outgrowth of the recommendations of a Presidential commission, the Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Commission...
, the only such river in the contiguous 48 states.
Wildwood Recreation Site is located 39 miles (63 km) east of Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
on U.S. Route 26 along the Mount Hood Scenic Byway just east of the Mount Hood National Forest
Mount Hood National Forest
The Mount Hood National Forest is located east of the city of Portland, Oregon, and the northern Willamette River valley. The Forest extends south from the Columbia River Gorge across more than of forested mountains, lakes and streams to the Olallie Scenic Area, a high lake basin under the slopes...
information center. This area was near the end of the Barlow Road
Barlow Road
The Barlow Road is a historic road in what is now the U.S. state of Oregon. It was built in 1846 by Sam Barlow and Philip Foster, with authorization of the Provisional Legislature of Oregon, and served as the last overland segment of the Oregon Trail...
, the end of the Oregon Trail
Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail is a historic east-west wagon route that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon and locations in between.After 1840 steam-powered riverboats and steamboats traversing up and down the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri rivers sped settlement and development in the flat...
.
The site is administered by the Bureau of Land Management
Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior which administers America's public lands, totaling approximately , or one-eighth of the landmass of the country. The BLM also manages of subsurface mineral estate underlying federal, state and private...
and charges an admission fee.
Facilities include outdoor study areas, picnic areas, group shelters for up to 200 people, softball diamonds, volleyball pits, basketball courts, horseshoe pits, playground with jungle gym, swings and slides.
External links
- Wildwood Recreation Site - Bureau of Land Management
- Wildwood Recreation Site - details
- Carol and Art's Excellent Adventure volunteer caretakers perspective
- Mount Hood area hiking trails
- Huckleberry Mountain trail