The Tualatin Hills Nature Park is a 222-acre nature park and wildlife preserve in Beaverton,

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, owned by the

Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District (THPRD) is a special parks district located in the eastern part of Washington County in the U.S. state of Oregon. Created in 1955, the district covers all of the city of Beaverton and many of those commu ...

(THPRD). It is one of THPRD's two nature parks along with

Cooper Mountain Nature Park Cooper Mountain Nature Park is a nature park in the Portland metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Oregon. Opened in 2009, the park is owned and operated by Metro, the regional government in the Oregon portion of the metro area. The park is name ...

. The park features of trails, of which 1.5 miles are paved and 3.5 miles unpaved. The park features a diverse environment including several types of both evergreen and deciduous trees as well as creeks, wetlands, ponds, and meadows. Located on 15655 S.W. Millikan Way, at the main entrance to the park, is the Tualatin Hills Nature Center, formerly called the Tualatin Hills Nature Park Interpretive Center. The name was changed in November 2014. Nature supervisor Kristin Atman said that "six words is really a mouthful" and the new name would be more consistent with THPRD's other facilities.

History

Before being developed with trails and opened to the public, the site was known as St. Mary's Woods. It was still known by that name when it was acquired by THPRD from the

Archdiocese of Portland The Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon (''Archidioecesis Portlandensis in Oregonia'') is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It encompasses the western part of the state of Oregon, from the s ...

in 1981 after local voters approved a tax levy providing $5.5 million towards the purchase cost. By 1984, when periodic tours of the still mostly undeveloped site gave the first regular public access, the site had been named the Tualatin Hills Nature Park.

Access

Although the Nature Center on Millikan Way is the primary access point, the park can also be accessed at several other locations, including two trail entrances along S.W. 170th Avenue and a trail entrance adjacent to the

Merlo Rd/SW 158th Ave MAX Station Merlo Road/Southwest 158th Avenue is a light rail station on the MAX Blue Line in Beaverton, Oregon, United States. It is the 10th stop westbound on the Westside MAX. Located to the south of the station is Merlo Garage used by TriMet buses and a ...

. THPRD's Westside Trail skirts the east side of the park and THPRD plans to connect the park with downtown Beaverton via the Beaverton Creek Trail. Washington County has also identified potential road improvements along SW 170th Avenue, which would improve access to the park from the west.

References

{{Protected areas of Oregon Parks in Washington County, Oregon Nature centers in Oregon Beaverton, Oregon 1984 establishments in Oregon Protected areas established in 1984 Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation District