Clark's Oregon Wildflower Blog: Tryon Creek State Natural Area

If memory serves me correctly, the last time we visited this 500 acre urban natural reserve was about 20 years ago! This is an estimate, but I do remember purchasing the small version of the "Very Hungry Caterpillar" book by Eric Carle for Kyle at the Nature Center! Well, they still have a small store in the Nature Center and still sell the same book! The store is operated by the Friends of Tryon Creek (see link below). Likewise, in the park and along the trails, not much else has changed, which is a good thing. Today, we covered about half of the eight mile trail system, with Al-the-Dal and Kyle. The one word that could be used to describe the visit is "green."

Kyle and Al-the-Dal ponder the greenery.

The park is a lush, shady, woodland parcel, with several small creeks and a good mix of up and down on the trails. There are some old growth conifers, but mostly the trees are ancient big leaf maples. The nature center has a good summary of its varied past and how it came to be a park. It was named after the settler Socrates Hotchkiss Tryon Sr., a pioneer settler of European descent, who owned a portion of the present day park (see link below for history).

Typical trail view - the ground is covered with Fendler's Waterleaf.

Our visit (4/18/2014) on a mostly sunny day during the week made for a good experience with no horses and few other hikers, some joggers, and a couple of other dog walkers.

The maples are getting their leaves and in most places the ground is covered with huge swaths of Fendler's Waterleaf, which adds an attractive blanket of green. We saw quite a few western Trillium in their purple stage as well as many blooming Salmonberry near the creeks. The visit was rewarding in several ways: we got exercise, I captured a new wildflower, and we enjoyed the great outdoors!