Oregon City Opens New Park, Names Another Park

OREGON CITY —Newell Canyon Creek Nature Park, a 236-acre Oregon Metro park, officially opened to the public Monday in Oregon City, according to Metro.

Metro works with communities, businesses and residents in the Portland area to create a vibrant and sustainable region for all, and the organization said the $2.45 million park has been decades in the making.

According the organization, voters passed parks and nature bonds in 2006 and 2019 supporting the cost of the park, though Metro has been doing conservation work at the site for nearly 25 years.

The park features 236 acres of riparian upland conifer forest, ample parking and accessible day use areas, Metro said. The park also has 2.5 miles of hiking trails and 2 miles of biking trails, according to KOIN.

On YouTube Christine Lewis, Metro councilor for District 2, told voters they were responsible for making the park a reality.

"This park was built because voters like you have chosen to support nature," Lewis said. "You voted for natural area levies and for parks and nature bonds in 2006 and 2019. These investments have paid off. We have been able to purchase land, and have supported our ongoing work here at Newell Creek Canyon Nature Park and at natural areas across Oregon City, Clackamas County and across the region."

In addition to connecting the community to the land, officials also said the new park helps to create safe habitats for animals like frogs and steelhead, to name a few.

"When you visit, you may seen signs of beaver, red fox and black-tailed deer," said Lynn Peterson, the Metro Council president. "You may also see and hear pileated woodpeckers among the native trees, and plants like big leaf maple, Douglas fir and western red cedar."

Lewis said Metro currently is working on Phase 2 of the park, and she said community members have expressed interest in seeing a nature-oriented play structure installed in the park.

According to Metro, the park is open from sunrise to sunset. Dogs, smoking, hunting and camping are not allowed.

On Dec. 13, Metro also will be opening Chehalem Ridge Nature Park in Forest Grove.

In other Oregon City park news, the city announced that a 3.5-acre, in-the-works park, which was informally named Filbert Run Park, has been officially named Hazel Grove Park. Local residents voted on the name.

The park, which is set to be completed in 2022, is located on Hazelnut Avenue in the Hazel Grove/Westling Farm neighborhood.

According to the city, the park features several mature Douglas Fir and Oak trees and open lawns on both the east and west sides. Additional scattered trees, both mature in size and very young, are located on the west side of the park.