One City's Wilderness

Situated in the rugged hills west of Portland, Oregon, Forest Park is one of the largest urban parks in the world and the only city wilderness park in the United States. The park is home to hundreds of native plants and animals and offers more than eighty miles of trails—all within minutes of downtown Portland.

This updated and expanded edition of One City’s Wilderness provides directions to twenty-nine hikes of varying length, difficulty, and scenery, covering every trail within the 5,100-acre park. Each hike is accompanied by new, full-color maps, and a fold-out, full-color map of the entire park is included inside the back cover.

Marcy Houle shares the history of Forest Park, introduces the people who fought to preserve it, and explores the role stewards play today. She describes the park’s critical wildlife corridor, its exceptional watersheds, and its important native interior forest habitat. She encourages people of all ages to take an “All Trails Challenge”—learning about the unique nature of the park by exploring every trail.

For its recreational and educational opportunities as well as its extraordinary natural beauty, Forest Park is unquestionably America’s premier urban forest. One City’s Wilderness, in its updated third edition, continues to be the authoritative, complete guide to Portland’s greatest natural resource.

• Full color trail maps for 29 hikes
• Fold-out color map of entire park
• 84 color photographs of native plants and birds
• Park history, geology, watersheds, vegetation, and wildlife
• Bird, plant, and mammal checklists