From the Salmon Street Springs fountain, follow the river path north through Tom McCall Waterfront Park. A quick urban run that makes you forget you’re in the city. Fun scenery and people along the Willamette River. It’s an easy 2.6 mile loop.
Looking for a quick run along the water in the heart of Portland? Look no further. This relatively flat 2.6 mile loop runs right along the Willamette and features great views of the city’s bridges, river, the downtown skyline, and all of the fun people enjoying this urban park.
From the Salmon Street Springs fountain, follow the river path north through Tom McCall Waterfront Park. Take the Steel Bridge across the Willamette River. Follow the river path south, passing over the floating Eastbank Esplanade. Turn right on Hawthorne Bridge and return to the start.
Waterfront loop Portland
There are a good number of festivals and concerts in this area, and it can get a bit crowded during lunch on a nice sunny day, so keep that in mind when you plan your next run and enjoy the scenery.
It’s also a very pleasant flat walk that never takes you more than 100 yards from the river. It reaches the city’s southern boundary at Powers Marine Park (a 1.7 mile out and back diversion), crosses the Sellwood Bridge, and then heads north past the Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge using the Springwater Corridor and the Eastbank Esplanade. After crossing the Steel Bridge, you can enjoy the various sights of Portland’s Waterfront Park before threading roads and trails in the booming South Waterfront area. Then take the South Waterfront Greenway Trail, still not completed in a couple of sections, back to the Willamette Park Trailhead. The hike makes use of small natural areas and riparian corridors while also touching on the throb of commerce and industry and noisy traffic corridors. A shorter loop that focuses on the downtown area is the Eastbank Esplanade-Waterfront Park Loop
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