Beaverton's Community Website

Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District

About the Park

The Tualatin Hills Nature Park is a 222-acre wildlife preserve in the heart of Beaverton, Oregon. It features evergreen and deciduous forests, creeks, wetlands, ponds, and meadows. The park is home to a variety of birds, mammals, and smaller creatures.  About 1.5 miles of trails are paved, while the remaining 3.5 miles are well maintained, soft-surface trails. 

The Interpretive Center, Oak Trail and sections of the Vine Maple Trail are accessible to the disabled.  For visually impaired visitors, we have an audiocassette tour available.  We also have a wheelchair that can be checked out for no charge.

Highlights of the Interpretive Center include a reference library, classrooms, nature store, and exhibit area. The center offers a variety of outdoor recreation and environmental education classes for adults, children, and school groups, throughout the year. Gifts and supplies for all ages are available at the Nature Store. You will find a wide selection of field guides, hiking books, and children's books.

There are also shirts, stuffed animals, magnifying glasses, nature toys, birdhouses, feeders, and more. 

Special Events

Fall Native Plant Sale 2008
Saturday, October 4
10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Attention all gardeners!  Fall is the best time to plant natives. We will offer a large selection of native plants for purchase.  Select from a wide variety of trees, shrubs, and flowering plants in all price ranges for every spot in your garden!  Once established, native plants need little water and are easy to care for!  All proceeds go towards future park improvements.  

Newt Day 2008
First weekend in November
Celebrate autumn at Newt Day in November, a family-friendly event that provides educational and experiential opportunities for participants to learn about the autumnal changes in nature!  Discover some of the amazing natural events that happen in the forest during the fall months.  Activities and other offerings provide motivation for participants of all ages to explore nature and to discover the wonders of fall in the out-of-doors.

Earth Day Celebration & Spring Native Plant Sale
Saturday, April 2009 (date TBD)
10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Come to the Nature Park for the 11th annual Earth Day celebration.  There will be fun for all ages.  Admission to this event is free!

BUG FEST 2008 

General Description:  Bug Fest is a celebration of invertebrates and the important roles they play in our environment.  The event is a partnership between the Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District and METRO.  It aspires to challenge preconceived images and engage local citizens in a fun summer event focused on insects and other invertebrates -- changing the typical reaction from "oh, gross" to "wow, cool!"  Bug Fest combines interactive discovery stations, craft tables, and games with a range of activities that help attendees experience these boneless/spineless creatures that make the world go round.

Celebrate the many spineless creatures both big and small that keep the environment healthy and in balance. All those tiny critters (such as beetles, butterflies, bees, slugs, spiders, true bugs, and ants that help recycle fallen trees, pollinate flowers, and get eaten by other animals) are the real heroes of our planet! Discover more about our little friends at the 8th annual Bug Fest, where games, displays, crafts, live bugs, carnivorous plants and guided activities await the whole family. You can even bring a bug to be identified by an expert.
 
It's the 8th year of Bug Fest, celebrated on the 8th month of the 8th year of the century.  If that doesn't say SPIDERS - what does?  So this year's Bug Lab is focusing on these amazing arachnids and their eight-legged relatives.  Explore the spider maze and see what cool activity is around each corner.  Then head out into the Nature Park for a self-guided spider web tour.   We are also excited to welcome Greta Binford, a local spider expert from Lewis & Clark College in Portland to this year's Bug Fest.  She will be answering spider specific questions and debunking common spider myths.
 
This year's event will have more live bugs then ever before at Discovery Stations throughout the event.  In addition to the live bugs at Catch-a-Bug, where you can catch a bug and learn about it before setting it free, you'll also be able to get up close and personal with bugs at stations that include: Backyard Bugs, Aquatic Insects, ZAP Team (Zoo Animal Presenters), and Metamorphosis Mania.
 
Visit Sam, the Carnivorous Plant Man, to discover the world of plants that eat bugs!  He'll share where they live and how they lure and capture their prey.

 
There's a lot more fun to be had in the Ladybug Meadow where kids can learn more about bugs through buggy games.  Around the Interpretive Center, let your creativity run free at spider-themed craft stations and an interactiveentertainment stage.
 
We'll have a Bug I.D. Station where an expert will identify a bug you bring from home. (Please note: you must take bugs back home. Please don't release them in the park!)

Parking is available in the Nature Park parking lot and at the overflow lot east of the Nature Park (the northwest corner of 154th and Millikan).  The Caterpillar Shuttle will run every 5-10 minutes from the overflow lot to the festivities.

The Bug Fest Partners

Formed in 1955, THPRD is the largest special park district in Oregon, spanning 55 square miles and serving more than 200,000 residents in the greater Beaverton area.  The district provides year-round recreational and educational opportunities for people of all ages.  Offerings include a broad range of classes and more than 200 park sites, 35 miles of trails, eight swim centers, three recreation centers, and 1,100 acres of nature preserve. 
 
The Tualatin Hills Nature Park is a 222-acre wildlife reserve in the heart of Beaverton with trails and an interpretive center.  Environmental education programs for children, adults, and families are presented throughout the year to inspire a sense of wonder and stewardship of the natural world. For more information, www.thprd.org ( http://www.thprd.org/ ).

Metro serves the 1.3 million people who live in Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties and the 24 cities in the Portland metropolitan region.  Metro manages regional parks and greenspaces, as well as providing land-use and transportation planning and overseeing regional garbage disposal and recycling.  Visit the Metro web site at www.metro-region.org ( http://www.metro-region.org/ ).