2.3 hr
Overview
Beginning in the 1890s, farmers from the community of Gaston began draining the wetlands at Wapato Lake, an area seasonally flooded by Wapato Creek, a tributary of the Tualatin River. These wetlands consisted of wide, shallow expanses of marshland expanded by beaver activity and brimming with wapato, a major source of nourishment for the local Atfalati Kalapuyans. The beaver ponds had collected rich organic debris for thousands of years and, with the surviving Atfalati already sent off to the Grand Ronde Reservation, onion farmers had replaced the wapato gatherers. In the 1930s, a dike was constructed along Wapato Creek. In 2007, the federal wildlife refuge system purchased the onion flats and allowed them to flood. (Now, most Oregon onions are grown near the Idaho border. They are the state’s 12th largest crop.) There has been much restoration of natural vegetation, and the refuge, which is right along Highway 47 in Gaston, has been open to the public since March 2023. After February 1st, close to three miles of trail, mostly on top of the levee, can be accessed when the hunting season is over.
Trail Stats
9.2 km
9 m
55 m
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Photos
Trail photo
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Trail photo
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