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Cooks Butte Natural Area
4.5 ★★★★★ 109 Google reviews · Running trail in Lake Oswego, Oregon · Posted hours
Runner's snapshot
- Surface
- Mixed
- Loop distance
- Not reported
- Shape
- Loop
- Shade
- Not reported
- Access
- Posted hours
Confirmed from Cooks Butte Natural Area's own listing, the park or land manager's website, and runner reviews. Blank cells mean we could not verify that fact — we would rather say "not reported" than invent one. There is no Easy / Moderate / Hard rating on this page on purpose: a one-word difficulty score tells you nothing about whether a trail suits your run. Surface, distance, shade and hours do.
City park featuring forest trails for walking with family and dogs.
What runners say about Cooks Butte Natural Area
“The walk through Stevens Meadow is beautiful and a good warm up before getting to Cook's trailhead.”
“The feel of a dense forest in the middle of a city, pretty easy hike and is super quiet.”
“The feel of a dense forest in the middle of a city, pretty easy hike and is super quiet.”
This is a beautiful park worth preserving and it happens to be in my neighborhood. It feels like deep forest, despite its urban surroundings. Some good elevation gain sections with switchbacks make this a decent workout. The trailmarkers are easy to follow.
It is a beautiful place to walk in a quiet way. With the family and pets.
I'm a fan of any park with forested walking paths close to home, especially ones that allow bikes on the trail. However, the trails are steep and very rough in spots. If you do decide to ride a bike here, please control your speed so you don't scare or hit the walkers. Bikes should always yield to pedestrians.
Great park for a short hike, but google maps has the address wrong. The correct place to access the park is the same as the Stevens Meadows Parking area off of Atherton Drive. The current address is bringing people onto a dead end residential area with no public access.
Trail conditions & character
“It’s short (for either activity), but it makes up for it with the view and ease of repeating the trail.”
“However, where the GPS took us was a dead end in a neighborhood and it was only street parking in front of peoples house.”
“It's dog friendly with plenty of wide open spaces for dogs run and romp with each other.”
“You're definitely going to want to wear hiking shoes, as this is not just a paved trail, at least from where I was.”
“I would suggest not coming here after it's rained as the trails could probably get pretty slippery and muddy.”
“Some good elevation gain sections with switchbacks make this a decent workout.”
“The feel of a dense forest in the middle of a city, pretty easy hike and is super quiet.”
“A nice loop to get your heart pumping then slowing down on the way back.”
Plan your run at Cooks Butte Natural Area
The practical stuff
- AccessPosted hours — posted hours below; park gates sometimes close earlier than the listing says
- SurfaceMixed — more than one surface along the route, so check the segment you plan to run
- DistanceNot reported. Trail systems often quote total path mileage rather than a single loop, so measure the route you actually want before you drive out.
- ShadeNot reported. Assume some of it is exposed and carry water in summer.
- At the trailheadparking, water — reported by runners
- DogsWelcome, per reviewers. Leash rules vary by park — the trailhead sign is the authority.
- Websiteci.oswego.or.us
- Phone+1 503-675-2549
- Social Instagram · Facebook
Hours
| Monday | 6 am–10 pm |
| Tuesday | 6 am–10 pm |
| Wednesday | 6 am–10 pm |
| Thursday | 6 am–10 pm |
| Friday | 6 am–10 pm |
| Saturday | 6 am–10 pm |
| Sunday | 6 am–10 pm |
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Other trails within easy driving distance — useful when this one is flooded, gated, or just not the run you had in mind today.
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