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Oregon City & Camassia Natural Area

  • Start date: 05/02/2026

  • Start time: 7:45 AM

Description:

This is a day trip to explore historic Oregon City with a side hike to the Camassia Natural Area to see spring wildflowers. We will be traveling by train and on foot.
We gather at the Eugene Amtrak Station, then depart for a 2-hour train ride to Oregon City. Arriving, we will walk for approx 1.8 miles (45 minutes) in an urban setting following sidewalks and back alleys, then cross a historic arch bridge, eventually reaching the Camassia Natural Area. The natural Area is a Nature Conservancy preserve that includes a 1.5-mile loop walk, seeing spring wildflowers. Around noontime, wherever we are, we will find an area for enjoying our bag lunches.
We return to Oregon City on foot (1 mile) again crossing the arch bridge for views of the Willamette Falls in the distance. We will make a half-hour stop at the White Rabbit Bookstore/Coffee Shop to re-energize.
A quarter-mile away is the Municipal Elevator, where we will begin the McLoughlin Promenade Hike, a 2.3-mile out-and-back hike that overlooks the river and Willamette Falls below. Along the way, we will visit the Museum of the Oregon Territory. Plan for an hour at the museum, which includes watching the 25-minute movie "Willamette Falls: Where the Future Began."
Returning on the footpath, if time allows, we will visit the "McLoughlin House," part of the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, then return to Main St. via the Singer Hill Falls and Stairs.
We hope to have some free time to explore the shops and eateries on Main St. This will also be an opportunity to grab a sandwich, etc for eating on your return trip on the train. At 5:45pm, we will gather at White Rabbit Bookstore. As a group, we will make our way back to the Oregon City Amtrak Station, which is about a mile (a 25-minute walk) for our 6:34 departure.
The train ride back to Eugene is just over 2 hours.
This trip is exploratory for the trip leader. KEEP READING TO UNDERSTAND COSTS

Costs:
Train-
Everyone on this trip will need to purchase their own Amtrak tickets at amtrak.com. It is suggested to pay the extra dollar each way for a refundable ticket so you have that option.
Train: Cost is $32 round trip (coach)
Saturday. May 2, 2026
Amtrak Cascades
EUG > ORC Departs 7:45am - Arrives 9:38am
ORC > EUG Departs 6:34pm - Arrives 8:47pm
Museum-
The museum is $8 - $10 per person and paid upon entry.
Parking in Eugene-
Park at the Hult Center Parking Lot on 6th and Olive. The trip leader will be parking on the first floor closer to the 6th Street side. Parking is free on Saturdays in the Hult Center Parking Garage, though an event can override fee parking. There does not appear to be a major event at the Hult when this trip is posted, but please be flexible. The walk from the parking garage to the train station is about 5 minutes. There is some limited street parking on the weekend.

Photo by: Mark Hougardy

  • Event Leader: Mark Hougardy

  • Event Leader Phone: 541-206-9532

  • Event Leader Email: hougardy@gmail.com

  • Assistant Leader:

  • Event category: Trips

  • Area Type:

  • Departure Location: See Trip Description

  • Rating: Mixed

  • Roundtrip total drive miles:

  • Season: 2026

  • Permits Required:

  • Event Status: Passed

  • Supplies and Equipment Required: Bring snacks, lunch, munchies, rain gear, and comfortable shoes. Wear layers.

  • participant prerequisites:

  • Conditions:

  • Total Distance: 7

  • Member Fees: —

  • Elevation Gain: 500

  • Non-Member Fees: 8

  • Committee: Trips

  • Junior member fees: —

Trip Report

Upon arriving in Oregon City via Amtrak, we walked about a mile through town, where we found ourselves in the staging grounds of the Teddy Bear Parade. We saw horses, marching bands, an ROTC group, firetrucks, police cars, a local jeep enthusiast group, and many more vehicles, all decorated with Teddy Bears. The parade is an annual event that gathers teddy bears and stuffed animals, which are then distributed to local law enforcement agencies, fire departments, emergency rooms, children’s help centers, hospitals, and women’s shelters. Our Obsidian group made our way across the Oregon City Arch Bridge for views of Willamette Falls in the distance. We meandered our way on side roads to The Nature Conservancy’s Camassia Nature Preserve, where we saw a bounty of Camas in bloom. At the preserve, we met a volunteer named Walt who helped us with the correct pronunciation of Camassia and shared more about the area’s natural history. We walked back to town and enjoyed a coffee and a short rest at the White Rabbit Book Cafe. We then rode the Oregon City Municipal Elevator to the top of the bluff. The McLoughlin Promenade was constructed in 1937 as a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project, and the views of the area are magnificent! We walked to the Museum of the Oregon Territory and visited for an hour, enjoying a twenty-minute video about the area’s rich and varied history. Returning via the Promenade, we stopped at the NPS’ McLoughlin House - Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, where we were greeted by a tall man wearing a top hat and who was sporting a mutton chop beard. He introduced himself as Dr. John McLoughlin and welcomed us inside, where he sat in a rocking chair and shared much of his life’s story. Dr. John McLoughlin’s key role in Oregon\'s early history, being the chief superintendent of the British Hudson\'s Bay Company (HBC) based at Fort Vancouver on the Columbia River, and also working with American pioneers at Oregon City who crossed the continent, later earned him the moniker, the ‘Father of Oregon.’ A special thanks to the volunteer interpreter in this role who gave us all much to talk about. Afterward, we walked down the WPA-created Grand Staircase back to the elevator and to downtown. Everyone’s energy was a bit spent, so we made our way to the Corner 14 Foodcarts area, where we rested and re-energized for a time, then made our way to the Amtrak Station and returned to Eugene. This was a memorable trip with a lot of laughter.

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