Oregon's Forest Park Is America's Largest Urban Forest
By Hillary Louise Johnson
VACATIONS
Located in Portland, Oregon, Forest Park's 5,200 densely wooded acres span an 8-mile stretch of the Tualatin Mountain Range, making it the largest urban forest in the U.S.
The park's 80 miles of trails are a mix of single-track, dirt, and gravel fire roads, and can be combined into a nearly infinite number of loops, starting from over 40 trailheads.
The best urban day hike in the park may just be the six-mile out-and-back Macleay Trail to Pittock Mansion, which features dramatic sword ferns and old-forest growth.
The tree cover in Forest Park is so dense that you can even take a bike ride or trail run in the rain using the canopy as a living umbrella — just watch out for the mud.