Council Crest Park

Council Crest Park sits at the top of the West Hills, at the end of a winding residential road. The summit has a small paved loop path, picnic benches, and a view indicator identifying the peaks and landmarks visible from the top. The panorama on a clear day takes in the Willamette Valley, the Cascade range, and the distant Columbia River.

Getting there without a car requires either a bus (line 51 to the nearest stop, then a walk) or a moderately strenuous hike up from the Marquam Hill area using the Marquam Trail, which links to the Wildwood Trail in Forest Park. The park itself is small and takes only 20 minutes to walk around. Best visited in the evening when the light catches the volcanic peaks.

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A story
Council Crest is the highest point in Portland, at 1,073 feet above sea level. On a clear day — which in Portland means roughly any day from late June through September — you can see four volcanic peaks simultaneously: Mount Hood to the east, Mount St Helens and Mount Adams to the north, and Mount Rainier in the far northeast. No other point within Portland city limits gives this view.

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