Wildwood Recreation Site
A family-friendly wonderland connecting kids to watershed ecology, parks and recreation
Wildwood Recreation Site
OVERVIEW
The Wildwood Recreation Site is a nature park with paved trails, picnic areas, a playground and an underwater fish viewing area–all woven through the Salmon River and old growth trees.
ADDRESS
65670 US-26
Welches, OR 97067
Directions | Website | Reservations
7 minutes from Mt. Hood Alpine Chalet
FIELD NOTES + INSIDER TIPS
Level: Easy | 4.4 miles | 40’ Gain | 1,235’ High Point
Just off of the Mount Hood Scenic Byway (AKA Highway 26) is a 560-acre, day-use area that has been built into the wilderness. Cradled on a sweeping bend of the Wild and Scenic Salmon River, the Wildwood Recreation Site offers visitors a chance to hike stroller-friendly, ADA-accessible trails that weave through old growth, explore rivers and streams in-depth and hover over wetlands.
The site is also a great spot to relax with family and friends for the day with its numerous picnic areas, outdoor kitchens, basketball and volleyball courts, fire rings, group shelters and flush toilets.
If you have kids in tow, the first rule of Wildwood is to let them lead the way. These trails are so safe, you don’t have to worry about where they roam. Heck, print a few of these maps provided by the Bureau of Land Management and give them a guide to more than a dozen viewpoints and interpretive sites. Here’s how they’re laid out:
Wetland Trail Loop
.75 mile (mixed terrain)Cascade Streamwatch Trail
.75 mile (mixed terrain)Salmon River to Family Picnic Area
2.5 miles (paved)
Wetland Loop Trail: Varied Kid-Friendly Trails to Explore Wildlife
The order of importance depends on what you’re looking for and when you arrive. If it’s before noon and you like wildlife, make a beeline for the arched footbridge over the Salmon River (at the east end of the Trailhead Parking area). In the fall, you might spot coho salmon heading upriver, and the far side of the river is teeming with even more life.
The Wildwood Wetland Trail has two viewing platforms over Sixes Swamp where you can scan for ripples and ruffles. Look close for a glimpse of the resident rough-skinned newts that surfaced multiple times on our last trip. Other frequent wildlife include frogs, beavers, blacktail deer, raccoons, rabbits, snakes and a variety of birds.
If you can get your trail guides to stop, you’ll also find fun facts about these species in kiosks along the boardwalk. In order, the interpretive sections explore a cattail marsh, beaver dam, ghost forest, skunk cabbage corner (a beautiful early-spring sight) and wetland stream.
The boardwalk ends, but a quick right wraps you back around on an unpaved trail that runs parallel to the river and through our favorite stretch of forest in the park. Kids can duck down to the riverbank, touch thick beds of moss and climb on massive stumps that harken back to the early 1900’s when a sawmill resided nearby. After finding all your photo ops, hit the footbridge back over the river to choose your next move.
Cascade Streamwatch: Loop to an Underground Salmon Shelter
Feel free to hit the playground, dip into the river or have a picnic (info below), or you could move straight to the Cascade Streamwatch Trail. Navigate the trail between the parking lot and river or take the more direct route through the lot. Both will land you at the belly of a steel fish statue that begins this paved trail to salmon school (pun intended).
The interpretive stations walk you through the salmon life cycle with fun facts like how they can jump over 6 feet high and swim up to 15 miles per hour. There’s also a three-dimensional map of the Mount Hood’s drainage area, which encompasses the Salmon River and Sandy River watersheds. But the real high point is sitting just under the surface.
Roughly halfway through, you’ll come upon a spur that leads to Wildwood’s underwater salmon-viewing chamber. On the other side of the window lies a section of Sixes Creek and the aquatic life that calls it home. Again, Salmon are likely visitors in the fall, but you can see sculpin, trout and crayfish floating by all year. Once you're done watching them, you can finish out the trail and join them in a swim (if you have time).
Get Playful Post-Hike
Wildwood Recreation Site boasts swimming (during the summer) and fishing (year-round) in the beautiful, but cold, Salmon River. The Cascade Streamwatch Trail has the most access points. If you’re just doing the wetland trail, look for the “Big Fish of the River” sign near the wooden bridge for another good location.
Ready for a nap instead? Whisk yourself back to Mount Hood Alpine Chalet’s luxury bedding or find the sprawling grassy field at the Group Picnic Area. For option two, we recommend getting in your car and looking for signs pointing left as you head toward the exit. Once you arrive, you’ll find a playground, volleyball court, baseball diamonds and horseshoe pits among other amenities. You can reserve the facilities, but feel free to use any open court, table or shelter you see.
You might also be in the mood for one of our favorite family-friendly restaurants in Welches or Rhododendron. No matter where you go, you’ll be sure to find more fun and a great spot to recap all the adventures you found around Mount Hood.
