Wapato Greenway Loop Hike

Bring binoculars and the whole family to this Sauvie Island hike…the Wapato Greenway Loop Hike. It’s a relaxed loop trail that follows a seasonal lake past trees, cheerful greenery and a variety of wildlife. The path is well trodden and has minimal elevation changes, so it’s great for hikers of all ages.

The trailhead is clearly marked, and takes travelers straight through a wooded area with cottonwoods, maples, hazel and Douglas firs. There are pockets of vetch, wildflower and blackberry fields too, which serve as great picnic stops. While paused, look for the arrow-shaped leaves of wapato, for which the trail is named after, and which blooms in the late summer.

Another great place for a trail break is Hadley's Landing. It can be found a ways down the trail at a spur that leads to the left. Here can be found a fishing dock, picnic tables, and a horseshoe playing area.

Keep walking, however, and along the trail unfolds other delights: snowberry thickets, wetlands populated with water birds, a beaver dam or two, and open fields of bluejoint grass and reeds. At the final stretch, walk pass a health crop of blackberry bushes (and indulge, if they’re in season) and then the trail leads straight back the entrance.

Note that the trail is part of the Wapato Access Greenway State Park, which means visitors do not need a Sauvie Island Wildlife Area parking permit. It’s an all-season trail, about 2 miles total, and never too crowded.