Creek Trail (Bird Alliance)
A 320-foot Balch Creek detour to a weir: nearly level to the water, with a steep little terminal loop.
This Creek Trail is a 320-foot hello to Balch Creek: follow a built, raised tread upstream from near the footbridge to a weir, look for crawdads, and turn back after the small loop at the far end. It is not an outing by itself. It is the detour you take because moving water has made a persuasive argument.
The “Strenuous” difficulty word belongs to the terminal ring, not the creekside walk. Most of the trail is essentially level; then the tiny loop climbs about 18 feet and drops it again, steep enough to drive the gradient rating but too short to turn this spur into a hard walk. Think sharp little finish, not endurance test.
The weir is the point of the walk, and the pool here is the place to scan for crawdads. Walk the ring if you want the brief climb, or turn around at the weir if level creekside time was the entire plan.
Forest Skill Keep your feet on the raised tread and out of Balch Creek. The water here supports the healthiest native cutthroat trout population in the city. The kindest way to look closely is from the bank.
Do not confuse this with Hoyt Arboretum’s Creek Trail. That is a different trail on Johnson Creek in a different park, and leashed dogs are allowed there. This one is in the Bird Alliance of Oregon Wildlife Sanctuary on Balch Creek, where no dogs are allowed at all. Travel is on foot only; bicycles, horses, and smoking are not allowed.
The pond and pond pavilion beside the approach are temporarily closed for repairs under Bird Alliance’s April 28, 2026 notice. Check the Jay Trail guide for current sanctuary conditions and access before setting out.
At the weir, let the creek occupy the whole five minutes. That is plenty of time for a trail this small to do its work.
Getting there
Out & back · returns to Bird Alliance of Oregon headquarters
- Start
- Bird Alliance of Oregon headquarters, 5151 NW Cornell Road, Portland, OR 97210
- Orientation
- From the headquarters, descend the stone steps between the main building and Wildlife Care Center, follow five switchbacks to the footbridge over Balch Creek, and take the first branch beyond the bridge
- Parking
- Very limited at the headquarters — only a few spaces, some signed for 30-minute use; overflow parking is across and along NW Cornell Road
- Transit
- No direct bus service to the headquarters
- Amenities
- Restroom
- Accessibility
- The creekside stem is nearly level and uses a built, raised tread, but the approach requires stone steps and five switchbacks; the small terminal loop has a steep pitch
- Dogs
- No dogs at all; foot only; no bicycles, horses or smoking
- Best
- as a short Balch Creek detour from the sanctuary’s lower trails; stop at the weir to look for crawdads