A Nature Park With Culture
Accessible Trails And Respecting The Environment Are At The Heart Of This West Linn Park
By Guest Author: Lilly Longshore
Mary S. Young Nature Park in West Linn, Oregon, offers a wooded setting along the banks of the Willamette River with features for all to enjoy. The park hosts annual events such as Art in the Dark and Pollinator Week, adding cultural flair and environmental awareness to its natural beauty.
The 128-acre parcel was gifted to the public in 1973 by Mary Scarborough Young, with the stipulation it remain a natural area. The City of West Linn has honored that wish, and today the park is home to the Down to Earth Forest School, which provides outdoor environmental education for children.
More than five miles of hiking trails wind through the park, about two miles of which are wheelchair-friendly. Picnic tables, a covered shelter and two off-leash dog areas make Mary S. Young Nature Park a popular destination for families.
I rolled the Riverside Loop in my powerchair, following a partly paved and partly graveled path through firs, maples and oaks to a peaceful view of the Willamette River. I stopped short of the shoreline to avoid getting stuck, but still enjoyed a lovely view of the water. Heading the opposite direction, the loop passes under a leafy canopy and leads to a well-used picnic shelter. There, I encountered a woman suspended from a line anchored to a tall fir, practicing graceful acrobatics for Art in the Dark, held each summer at the park. Watching her was magical — I can’t wait to see the full performance.
Beyond the parking lot, and just past accessible restrooms, an open meadow is edged by the paved, wheelchair-friendly Trillium Trail. The short path leads from the meadow through the forest and into a nearby neighborhood, with interpretive signs along the way.
The park’s pollination garden comes alive during the annual Pollinator Week celebration, when families can learn about bees, butterflies and other pollinators that keep our planet full of flowers, fruits and vegetables. Booths, crafts and displays show visitors how to create pollinator-friendly gardens of their own.
There is always something wonderful happening at Mary S. Young park. Dancers in the trees; young, inquisitive minds asking thought-provoking questions about our ecology; and nature lovers taking strolls and rolls through the enchanting forested park. This park remains a cherished gift from Mary S. Young to the community.
Lilly Longshore is an accessible travel writer, a speaker and an advocate/educator for those with physical disabilities and vision impairments. She has written for various magazines including New Mobility, PN Magazine and Cascade Journal, as well as for various travel blog sites. Passionate about traveling and sharing possibilities with others, she adventures via wheelchair and shares the world of travel possibilities through her writing. After retiring from civil/environmental engineering, she continued to give back to her community by serving as parent representative on the Board for the Washington State School for the Blind, on Washington’s Governor’s Committee on Disability Issues and Employment and is currently serving as Community Outreach Chair for Clark County, Washington’s Accessible Communities Advisory Committee. Connect with Lilly through her Wheeling the World Facebook page. Photo by Carla Foth Christian.
