Hikers with disabilities seek access to information about Oregon trails - Here is Oregon

Sharon Mitchell (left) reads a plaque at Powell Butte Nature Park to Patricia Kepler, who is blind, during a 2016 hike. Both women are part of Access Recreation, a group that gives hikers with disabilities the information they need to get out onto Pacific Northwest trails. (Jamie Hale)

Georgena Moran has always immersed herself in the outdoors. But when the avid hiker, backpacker and outrigger canoe racer was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at 40 years old, paralyzing her from the neck down over the next three years, she found herself suddenly facing many more barriers to getting outside.

Obstacles on the trails, difficult terrain, tall lips on footbridges, and cramped parking lots with no room for ramps all posed obstacles to getting out to the places she loved. After a trial-and-error process that led her to dead-ends in the wilderness, she decided to dedicate her time to helping hikers with disabilities overcome the most crucial barrier to entry: access to information.

In 2003, Moran began work that eventually culminated with the creation of Access Recreation, a nonprofit that works with regional land management agencies to provide information to hikers with disabilities. The organization also created Access Trails, a website that shows exactly how to do it, which launched in 2016 and now features 36 hikes around the Portland area.

With detailed trail reports, photos and videos outlining easily overlooked details like restrooms, parking lots and terrain, Access Trails has been a boon to the community – though Moran said there's still a long way to go. She's hoping it will come from the agencies in charge of these outdoor spaces, like the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Oregon and Washington state parks departments.

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"We're getting praise for what we did, but I would prefer the agencies did it themselves and we could praise them," Moran said. "I'm just now being asked to be at the table that makes changes for different agencies."

Of those agencies, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been making the biggest strides, Moran said, taking feedback and making swift changes to better serve hikers with disabilities. Juliette Fernandez, manager of four national wildlife refuges in southwest Washington, said the agency has started looking at its outdoor spaces differently, now seeing the myriad barriers to access and solutions to changing them.

"A lot of these things are kind of small adjustments that you can do fairly easily," Fernandez said. "They can be done so quickly, it's a matter of changing a sign sometimes."

Contrary to the stereotype of bureaucratic gridlock, she said the work addressing accessibility issues at refuges has been quick and seamless, as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service continues to make changes that are important and obvious to those who need them, yet unobtrusive to those who don't.

At the newly-renovated Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge, for example, officials received feedback that a long trail leading into the refuge could use some benches for those who might have trouble hiking all the way in. Shortly thereafter, new benches were installed.

With features like flat trails and auto tour routes, national wildlife refuges in Oregon and Washington have long been places that cater to those with mobility issues. Now, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is taking things a step further, tweaking their websites, printing new signs, resurfacing trails and making basic information more readily accessible, Fernandez said.

"They're not asking you to change the world and make these huge expensive adjustments," she said of advocates like those at Access Recreation. "But in working them it kind of makes you want to a little bit, it makes you want to change the world a little bit."

A sign indicates a wheelchair accessible trail at the Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Washougal at the edge of the Columbia River Gorge. The refuge reopened in May, 2022 after a two-year closure to restore the wetland habitat. (Jamie Hale/Jamie Hale/The Oregonian)

Georgena Moran, founder of Access Recreation, a group dedicated to giving hikers with disabilities the information they need to get onto Pacific Northwest trails, hikes at Powell Butte in 2016. (Jamie Hale)

A paved universal access trail gives great views of Mount Hood, wildflowers and the Columbia River at Catherine Creek, a recreation area near Lyle, Washington, in the Columbia River Gorge. (Jamie Hale/Jamie Hale/The Oregonian)

Access Recreation hasn't been alone their efforts. Another Portland-based organization, Empowering Access, has been pushing for inclusion in outdoor recreation, led by outdoor enthusiasts with disabilities. Another community, Disabled Hikers, is the work of Washington hiker Syren Nagakyrie, who earlier this year also published a book on accessible hiking, "The Disabled Hiker's Guide to Western Washington and Oregon."

In an introduction to the book, Nagakyrie underlines the importance of access to detailed information about a trail, which they said can benefit hikers with and without disabilities. Without that information, however, some hikers might not feel comfortable or welcome on those hiking trails, they said.

"A lack of information that met my needs, limited understanding and acceptance of disability in the outdoors, and not seeing any other disabled people represented in the community all contributed to feeling excluded from outdoor recreation," Nagakyrie wrote. "It just didn't feel like something that was meant for me. But nature has always offered a sense of belonging even when I felt excluded otherwise."

And while Nagakyrie acknowledged the dearth of trails designed for people who are blind, autistic or who have other sensory or developmental disabilities, the very existence of their book is proof that having a disability does not have to prevent a person from enjoying the outdoors.

Between Nagakyrie's hiking guide, Moran's website, and work being done by land management agencies and other groups around the region, there is now more information than ever for hikers with disabilities. Still, advocates stress the importance of pushing forward, arguing that there's still much more to be done.

"We're just slowly making inroads to be able to make a difference," Moran said. "I think there's a little bit of that discounting people with disabilities, that our voice isn't loud enough yet in places that make the changes."

The Redwood Deck stands among the trees at Hoyt Arboretum in southwest Portland. (Jamie Hale/Jamie Hale/The Oregonian)

5 PARKS FOR HIKERS WITH DISABILITIES

Moran and Nagakyrie both stress that "accessible" is a word that means very different things to different people. For that reason, neither refers to trails as "accessible" but instead simply presents factual information about access issues at local recreation areas. For full details on the hikes, head to accesstrails.org or get a copy of "The Disabled Hiker's Guide to Western Washington and Oregon."

Here are five hikes recommended by Access Recreation for hikers with disabilities near Portland.

1. Fields Bridge Park

A tiny 19-acre park in West Linn, Fields Bridge Park offers a wealth of amenities including a wide, paved interpretive trail and a fishing platform. Benches and picnic tables with views of the Tualatin River are scattered throughout the park. Moran said she especially enjoyed an interpretive trail that tells the story of the Willamette Meteorite, which includes tactile displays.

Open dawn to 11 p.m. daily; 821 Willamette Falls Drive, West Linn; 503-557-4700.

2. Hoyt Arboretum

With 189 acres, 12 miles of trails and more than 2,000 species of plants, the Hoyt Arboretum in Southwest Portland is an absolute gem. The popular Redwood Trail can get muddy, but it leads to a beautiful viewing platform in the trees, and can be combined with the nearby Bristlecone Pine Trail. Those who want a little more mileage can tackle the Overlook Trail Loop, which features an easy grade and few obstacles. The maze of trails includes many that are paved and well-graded, making it a great spot for anyone with mobility issues, and there are a number of good amenities like parking spaces and accessible restrooms.

Open 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily; 4000 S.W. Fairview Blvd., Portland; 503-865-8733

3. Mary S. Young Park

Mary S. Young Park in West Linn features trails that lead through the forest and down to the Willamette River, with wildlife along the way. The hike ranges from easy to difficult, according to Access Trails, as only one mile of trail is paved and some trails have fairly steep grades, but Moran said she likes it for the rare opportunity to access the beach – though the paved trail ends at a sandy beach, which may be difficult for some people using mobility devices.

Open 7 a.m. to dusk daily; 19900 Willamette Drive, West Linn; 503-557-4700.

4. Rood Bridge Park

The 59-acre Rood Bridge Park in Hillsboro features a mix of paved and natural surface trails that lead through the forest, past lakes and ponds, and down to the Tualatin River. Visitors will find interesting amenities like themed loop trails and a rhododendron garden. This is a moderate to difficult hike, according to Access Trails, with some natural-surface trails and steep sections, but the sheer variety of natural opportunities makes it a rewarding visit, Moran said.

Open dawn to dusk daily; 4000 S.E. Rood Bridge Road, Hillsboro; 503-681-6120.

5. Wildwood Recreation Site

Found east of Portland on the slopes of Mount Hood, Wildwood Recreation Site is a 550-acre park along the scenic Salmon River with boardwalks and picnic tables immersed in natural beauty. Both the Wildwood Wetland and Cascade Streamwatch trails are worth exploring, with a mix of gravel or natural surfaces in addition to boardwalks, according to Access Trails, which rates this hike as easy.

Open 8 a.m. to dusk daily; 65670 U.S. 26, Welches; 503-622-3696.

— Jamie Hale

503-294-4077; jhale@oregonian.com; @HaleJamesB

This article is supported by PacificSource, a partner of Here is Oregon. The journalism is produced independently by members of The Oregonian/OregonLive newsroom.