Cascade Streamwatch

A 40 minute drive drive up up highway 26 out of Portland will put you just outside of Welches, OR.  On the right, if you don’t fly by it, is a small parking area and a gate into the Cascade Streamwatch at Wildwood Recreation site.

Located along the Salmon Wild and Scenic River, Wildwood Recreation Site is a day-use area that is home to the Cascade Streamwatch and Wildwood Wetland Trails. These trails provide a unique opportunity to explore natural stream and wetland ecosystems along barrier-free interpretive trails and boardwalks. From the “Streamwatch”, you can view young salmon and steelhead in a stream through an “in-channel glass viewing structure”.

Unfortunatly for us, they close the road down for the winter, so we hoofed it from 26.

Cascade Streamwatch Trail. [link] About a quarter mile in you’ll hit a main rest area and a trail map.

The Streamwatch area was way in, so we skipped the hike that direction and opted for the Wetlands Trail instead.

To my dismay, this place is not dog friendly.  You can bring them, but the repeated signage declaring their “on-leash” policy is obnoxious.

The first structure is a foot bridge that offers a fantastic view.

The trails are well maintained.  I was surprised there was almost no one there, which makes it a great escape. I’m sure that is not the case in the summer and spring.

Season Dates: 3/15 – 11/30