It was a sunny Halloween morning when we realized October was slipping by and we hadn’t yet explored the fall leaves. A search for fall hikes near Portland turned up the Riverbend Trail at Milo McIver State Park, so we headed out to see what could be seen.
In addition to fall colors, we found something unexpected at Milo McIver State Park: it turns out Milo McIver State Park is home to the second-largest yew tree in the US, and the largest in Oregon. You never know what you might find!
In today’s post, I’ll share the highlights of Milo McIver State Park, including the fall leaves on the Riverbend Trail and how to find the famed yew tree.
Getting to Milo McIver State Park
Milo McIver State Park is in Estacada, Oregon, about 40 minutes by car from Portland. Along the drive, Mount Hood looms huge in the backdrop, rising behind farms whose green pastures are dotted with cattle and horses. Within Milo McIver State Park, you can still catch the occasional Mount Hood view over the treetops; the photo below is an example.
Parking at Milo McIver State Park
Parking at Milo McIver State Park requires a day-use fee on site, or you can use an Oregon State Parks day-use parking permit (there are one-year or two-year options). The annual or two-year pass is much more cost-effective than buying individual day passes if you visit state parks in Oregon regularly.
Fall Leaves at Milo McIver State Park
By Halloween (October 31), the fall colors at Milo McIver State Park were beginning to fade. But despite being a little late in the season, plenty of brilliant yellow leaves remained. The yellow trees shone in sharp contrast against the blue hues of the sky and Clackamas River. Everything seemed to take on a faint red-gold glow in the low autumn sunlight.
We took the Riverbend Trail Loop, an easy 3.5 miles that winds along the Clackamas River and then through forest with a mixture of deciduous trees and evergreens. The first fall rains had swelled the moss into plump cushions on the tree branches. The day felt lazy and peaceful, and on the brink of change.
Along the river, we saw a crayfish, crawfish, or crawdad (depending on where you’re from). Bryan has seen lots of them, but it’s actually the first one I’ve seen!
How to Find the Second-Largest Yew Tree in the US at Milo McIver State Park
On one of the park signs, we saw an intriguing label on the map legend: “Nation’s second-largest yew tree.”
I’d never seen a promotion for a tree that’s “second-largest” or “second-oldest,” but we love big trees and had to check this out.
After hiking the Riverbend Trail Loop, we headed to the other side of Milo McIver State Park to look for this fabled tree. The map had marked the yew tree with a tree symbol along the short Dog Creek Trail.
Since this was our first time seeing a yew tree at all, we took a while to find the tree we’d seen on the map. After walking right past it initially, we finally spotted the tree on the right side of Dog Creek Trail (from the perspective of leaving the parking lot). If you’re looking for it, it’s before the trail’s big bend to the left. It isn’t marked, and there’s no nearby signage to indicate it’s there.
We were surprised to find no signs, and also surprised at the yew tree’s somewhat diminutive stature. Compared to the Oregon redwoods near Brookings, a massive myrtle tree in Curry County, and the enormous fir trees we’d seen along the Frances Shrader Old Growth Trail, this yew tree was positively small. For details on those three old-growth forest hikes, check out our Big Trees of Oregon blog post.
The yew tree at Milo McIver State Park is a Pacific Yew tree. Per the Oregon State Parks, in addition to taking second at the national level, it’s the very largest Pacific Yew in Oregon. The parks department also points out that yew trees are quite slow-growing, which explains its modest size. Its age isn’t known, but it’ll be older than it looks!
Other Popular Activities at Milo McIver State Park
Milo McIver State Park offers space for a variety of activities in addition to hiking, including disc golf, camping, fishing, kayaking, canoeing, swimming, and horseback riding. Something we’ll check out next trip is the nearby Clackamas Fish Hatchery. The visitor center is open daily, and you can see steelhead March through April and Chinook salmon from June to October.
Other Adventures in the Pacific Northwest
Thanks for joining us at Milo McIver State Park! For more adventure ideas in the Pacific Northwest, check out our PNW Trip Planner. You can find adventures near you and filter by season and difficulty level. There are weird and wonderful things to explore any time of year. The trip planner links to blog posts to help you plan your next adventure.
Happy exploring!