Portland "4T"

Trail, tram, trolley and train. Really, it's not 4T, it's TATSCMAX. That's not as clever though, is it? In case you're wondering, that's Trail, Aerial Tram, Street Car, MAX. In our case, we started with MAX. I'm getting too picky here, aren't I?

Anyway, we started at the Galleria stop and got on MAX. We rode it to Washington Park and let the adventure begin! Gag. Anyway, up the elevator and we headed toward the zoo. The signs were easy to find (all saying "4T"). It heads down to Hwy 26 and over the freeway. The oddest part of the loop is probably that the trail head is halfway down the on ramp. Whatever works, I guess. As expected, the trail heads up up up to Council Crest. I knew it was going to be uphill since it claims to go to the highest point in Portland. Overall, not too hard of a hike. It was nice to have Council Crest at a little past midway in the hike, especially since it was a beautiful day. It was nice to have a break and look around the park.

The hike then went down to what I believe to be the Marquam Nature Park. I was hoping that it would be downhill all the way to OHSU, but it just went down to go back up. Again, not too bad though. Aside from a short part of the trail that went up to Council Crest, it was all on an actual train and stayed off the city streets. There is an "urban" option that would likely have been less up and down between Council Crest and OHSU, but this was probably more scenic.

The trail wasn't the highlight of the trip, however. The views were the highlight. The pictures posted below leave out most of the view from Council Crest because I plan on going up there on a perfectly clear nice day and taking pictures and posting about that park itself. The best views from this trip were probably from OHSU. There is a large deck with views of the city and mountains near the tram. It's a small park all on its own. The tram should have been the highlight, but it wasn't very exciting. It went down, we got off. The views from the tram weren't even any better than the views from the top. Maybe on a clear day they'd be better, but nothing spectacular.

From there, we took the streetcar back into down and got some food. All in all, a good way to start our monthly summer hikes.

Here are the specifics:
Fee: TriMet all zone pass - $2.30 currently. If you go around the loop clockwise instead of counter-clockwise, the fare becomes $8.30 (The tram is $4 going up, free going down. One TriMet all zone pass is $2.30 and lasts only two hours on the MAX, but all day on the streetcar.)

Pets: Prohibited

Facilities: Restrooms at certain locations, picnicking
Attractions: Trail, wildlife/bird watching, native plants, views
Round Trip Hike: 3.95 miles (one-way, but public transit covers loop back)
Hiking Difficulty (out of 5): 3

Camping: No

Season: Year round

Coordinates: 45.510623,-122.717328 - Brochure suggests starting at Washington Park, so that's what these coordinates are.

Governmental Agency Land: Metro, City of Portland, OHSU

Nearest town: Portland, Oregon (2.5 miles from downtown)

Nearest 10,000+ city: Portland, Oregon

County: Multnomah, Oregon

My rating (out of 6): 6 for beauty, 3 for crowds, 5 for play availability, 5 for surroundings - 5 average

More Information: Portland 4T

My Current Location: Home - Portland, Oregon

Trailhead on Highway 26:
Trees at Council Crest:
Trilliums on trail:
Aerial tram:
View from tram: