Sunday 10/23/2005

Willamette Greenway
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Eugene Willamette River bike trail (Eugene, OR):

Getting There: To reach it, take I-105 to the end, then turn right (west) at the light and take an immediate right (north) turn at Madison. Take Madison Street north to the end. (see the map below)

This path, along with the Willamette River Trail-East, represents Eugene's finest, the almost perfect greenway paths that serve a very wide mix of users. These two paths are very popular and form a veritable freeway through the heart of Eugene and into Springfield. There are numerous opportunities for a picnic along these paths and lots of spots for you to explore the river bank.

Starting on the south side of the DeFazio Bike Bridge next to Ferry Street Bridge (Coburg Road), the path heads northwest, hugging the Willamette River and enters Skinner Butte Park. Here you can leave the path and, given enough energy, pedal up a steep street to the top of Skinner Butte for a excellent view of the city. Just past this park is the Owen Rose Gardens with its very wide variety of roses. From here, the path passes the Greenway Bike Bridge (to VRC) and then continues along the bank ending at the sewage treatment plant. You can also go over the Owosso Bike Bridge at the north end and head down on the northeast side of the Willamette River past Marist High School where the path continues through a protected wetland and past Valley River Center Mall. It then gets sandwiched between the river and I-105 for about three quarters of a mile. This is the only stretch on the river pathways where the noise is high.