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River View Natural Area Trailhead
4 ★★★★☆ 42 Google reviews · Running trail in Portland, Oregon · Posted hours
Runner's snapshot
- Surface
- Mixed
- Distance
- Not reported
- Shape
- Not reported
- Shade
- Tree cover
- Access
- Posted hours
Confirmed from River View Natural Area Trailhead'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.
Kid-friendly hiking area featuring a forest.
What runners say about River View Natural Area Trailhead
River View Natural Area is a wooded 146 acre piece of land near the west end of the Sellwood Bridge. It was privately owned prior to 2011, and had been logged in the 1800s and in the 1950s. It is now run by the Portland Parks Bureau.
One of the best set of hiking trails in Portland metro. You can easily spend 2-3 hours exploring the heavily forested slopes.
A pleasant, secluded-feeling walk just shy of being a hike through an otherwise urban park. It’s in the process of repair so some trails are off-limits, but there’s still plenty of space to go. The trees are dense and cool for an early summer.
Love this place. Great place to take the doggie for some trail walking (bring bags and plan to pack out pet waste) as well as some quick trail running close in to Sellwood. For running purposes, linking loops or doing a few laps around the outside loop will get you are few miles and some vert.
Trail conditions & character
“Nice in city trail- kinda hard to find a trailhead that isn’t in the cemetery or on the highway, but once you do, it’s pleasurable.”
“The property is located south of River View Cemetery, north of Lewis & Clark college, west of Rt 43, and east of Palatine Hill Rd.”
“We were unable to locate the trail that led to a river view and there was downed trees across the trail but other than that it was a nice walk.”
“The trails are hard packed dirt, with lots of exposed tree roots for potential ankle twisting.”
“River View Natural Area is a wooded 146 acre piece of land near the west end of the Sellwood Bridge.”
“On Rt 43, there is a gravel pull-off with room for maybe 2 vehicles.”
Plan your run at River View Natural Area Trailhead
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.
- ShadeRunners describe real tree cover here — it makes a summer afternoon workable
- At the trailheadparking — reported by runners
- DogsWelcome, per reviewers. Leash rules vary by park — the trailhead sign is the authority.
Hours
| Monday | 5:30 am–10 pm |
| Tuesday | 5:30 am–10 pm |
| Wednesday | 5:30 am–10 pm |
| Thursday | 5:30 am–10 pm |
| Friday | 5:30 am–10 pm |
| Saturday | 5:30 am–10 pm |
| Sunday | 5:30 am–10 pm |
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