Great spot to walk around the pond. No fishing or fires. They just got rid of the homeless camps.

I actually went for a walk and its beautiful. Set backs are this homeless camp close by also homeless often park on street in front leaving their garbage and drug paraphernalia !

A lovely nature preserve right being the native American school, in North Portland. Many natural areas for bird watching and a bunny is never more than a few feet away during our visit, also signs of beavers and some herons were seen as well as ducks.

You can drop into the Whitaker Slough here, which connects with the Columbia Slough. You can get a map of the waterway through the Columbia Slough Watershed Councils web-site or through their office, which is located down a path on the south side of the parking lot (to the right of the gazebo if your back is facing the parking lot).Many of the Columbia Slough Watershed Councils public paddle events launch at Whitaker Ponds. They provide boats, paddles, and life jackets. So, all you need to bring is yourself. Their events are perfect for newbies and families with young kids, so dont let that deter you! You can get more information about their community events through their web-site.Whitaker Ponds also features a newly paved parking lot, an outhouse/porta-potty, a gazebo, lookout point, nature paths, a small dock, and informational signage.Whitaker Ponds is nestled in an industrial part of Northeast Portland, so most people dont know that its there. But, its worth checking out sometime if you live in the area or are looking for a calm body of water to paddle.There is lots of wildlife here. Ive seen herons, ducks, geese, and other birds. Ive heard reports of deer and other wildlife as well as some interesting plants, if youre into that kind-of thing. The most interesting for me was seeing these patches of yellow lilies in the middle of the slough. I have since learned that they are invasive and that the watershed council is concerned about them. But, they are still a treat to see when paddling these waterways.

Pretty park. Good spot for ducks. They are making weird choices about cutting trees down right now. Sounds of industry sometimes drown out birdsong, but it is pretty good habitat regardless.

Paths are well marked and its a pleasant walk

Great hidden natural area. Great for birding or a nature walk. It can be a quick walk around the pond less than 15 min if you go quick.... but why do that when you can take in all the beauty and wildlife

A jewel in the city, beautiful place to observe nature, it has a dock to lounch if you want to canoe the slough and a beautiful gazebo next to the pond.

Quiet. Lovely nature park.

Nice little pond to watch the birds. Better when its cloudy and not 90+ degrees.

Nice place in Portland to get away from the hustle and bustle. I like to look at the thousands of little fish in the stream going out of the west pond.

Beautiful place surrounded by ugly loud industrialism

Bald eagles, Falcons, hawks, blue herrings, Canadian geese, plus forest walking trails to enjoy here

Nice easy hike around a small pond with lots to see.

Disappointed! It wasnt very nice. A lot of brush was shredded and flagged. The pond didnt look like it was in great shape. The construction was very close to the park. Two stars for the rabbits we saw though.

Quiet place to stroll. Just minutes from bustle but seems like wilderness.

A beautiful, little somewhat hidden nature park right in the middle of the city........

Love this park. Have many hours here. Beavers are all the rage here

Incredibly beautiful when the homeless are not there, but they almost always are. Otherwise 5/5 spot.

Really beautiful park to go for a walk. Its a kind of sketchy part of town, so its hard to say what you might run into, but the baby ducks in the spring are adorable. And the path is taken care of. Its got a lovely field to let your kids run in, if you make it to the other side of the lake. There were school kids kayaking the couple of times Ive gone.

A hidden gem in the city. I felt like I was out in the hill country again. There is so much wildlife to observe! My favorite were all the baby bunnies!

Nice and quite. Will be much better once the road is repaired.

Nice little walking area with a kept up trail. couple of ponds with great wild life around. theres an old abandoned baseball field which was perfect for dogs or kids to run around in but part of the fence in tbe outfield has fallen down. lots of ducks & birds to feed! the dock that goes onto the pond closest to the parking lot offers a view that is awesome but not safe at all for little kids since there is no rail. which i find strange/stupid since theres no boat launching into the protected pond. parking is good. nice covered spot to eat or do whatever.-be aware of the porta potty it is disgusting!-going off trail would b cool if there werent homeless people that think any area they temporarily occupy is theirs...

I would not recommend this park for a wheelchair user like myself. Theres no ADA bathroom and only the parking lot is paved. This park is a half mile, mostly gravel loop. Some of the gravel is very loose and soft, which is hard to navigate with a wheelchair. Also, the views are significantly less impressive than the pictures of it online. I will not be returning.

Its peaceful when you get a chance to walk onto the dock. Especially early in the morning before everything wakes up.

Not the most well cared for site. Could be amazing.

Wonderful easy hike.

Whitaker ponds are a really great resource for birding really close to portland. it only takes minutes to get there and i always see interesting wildlife. highly recommend for a quick nature outing for anyone!

We had a wonderful afternoon. Just enough wildlife for little people.

This place is awesome. There is a great horned owl with 2 chicks about to fledge this spring (4/19) and so many other birds. You can see the owls with your naked eye or bring binoculars. Its lovely how friendly people are here when sharing info about birds and other wildlife. Its also a great access point for the Columbia Slough which is a lovely place to paddle. Theres even more wildlife visible from a boat: eagles, beaver, osprey, coyote, deer, even otters! And today we saw a sea lion after paddling downstream to Elrod Levee... Which was a little bit creepy for some in the group. Im really stuck by what a treasure the Slough is, and right in the midst of the city. Enjoy it! My only negative is the trash. Theres a lot of trash dumped here. Definitely dont swim. But there are cleanups multiple times a year. The city and the users are putting in good work to make it better.

It is usually very clean and it has trails that go around the ponds. And generally is not that busy.

Peacefull, lots of forest foliage, nice walk for me and my dog. parking is ok.i have a rv that it dont accommodate.

Very nice place with some great hiking trails

This is a really neat park to walk around...a lot of wildlife to look at...the baby ducks are out...

Not very clean and smelly.

Good to get out see a bit of nature.

My favorite place to go birding, hands down

As I helped build I can say care and attention to detail was spent. Great place for peace and quiet with trails to explore and places just to sit and just take in nature and wildlife. Plenty of parking and well lit at night.

Nice nature park with an recently upgraded parking area. Unfortunately homeless congregate here and leave trash all over.

This is an amazing place, but its a QUIET place, please respect that. Yelling kids and loud scares away the birds, come see and sit in quiet serene beauty , while watching, eagles ,.owls , worblers (spelt wrong lol). But please respect the park.... Beautiful 20 minute nature walk around the sanctuary.

This is a great place for a little walk around a small lake in the middle of an industrial area. That may sound like no fun at all but once you get on the trail you dont even see the businesses that surround it. The new parking area is very nice as well.

A cute little pace for burning in the middle of town. They did do some work on the parking lot which really didnt impact the park itself. I guess the city had extra money to spend. Not. There are definitely some good Birds to be seen here. Its really too short for a walk, well it is flat and if you are not able to walk far its good. I tend to be a bit of a hiker so it is by no means a place for hiking. I would imagine the circumference around the lake is less than half a mile. I did get to see a white-throated sparrow so thats always nice. Right now they would no doubt be Cedar Wax Wings, parents maybe some vireos?

Nice little nature park/path

So...on its own, this place is a nice little escape from the city, with peaceful ponds and streams...... however, the amount of trash thrown around by the hovering crowds at the entrance are a huge minus - multiple RVs equally full of trash and their owners apparently think this park is their own private dumping ground. Molding blankets, food, wrappers, drug paraphernalia...Portland PD should probably take over for Parks and Rec.

Pretty much just a swamp with a gravel path.

Lots of beautiful nature to experience

This is a very nice well keep nature park that does not require experience so any age can enjoy... There is even a porta-potty for public use which is also will keept.

This park is small and dirty, but not a bad place to wander around for an hour or two and soak up some sunshine. There are a few ponds nearby that people seem to enjoy trying out their kayaks in. I would definitely not be caught anywhere near the water though.

Great place!! The first time I went I didnt realize that there were no dogs allowed and had my little dog on a leash. Today I didnt have him with me and looked at the signs. Oops!!

So peaceful and well kept. Nature at its best.

Lovely little spot with a nice walking trail around the pond. Very quiet pristine place with lots of good bird watching.

Could be nice, but it sits next to dirty industrial businesses. The park is primarily a transient camp, lots of sketchy people, high crime area, and youll rarely see a police officer. Visit in groups, stay together, and dont leave valuables in your car.

Very nice. school outing there when we visited.

Big ol pond

Fun to have this little nature pocket so close to our office. Always tons of wildlife and great place to take a quick walk. Very beautiful.

Great place to walk around or hang out and observe the lake!

Came for an environmental science lab and multiple peoples cars were broken into in the less than two hours we were there. Staff is really cool but be aware

A nice park to walk around the pond with easy trails.Paddling certainly looks like fun too.

My bike was stolen while I used the restroom which btw horribly needed to be cleaned

I love this place

Its small but very nice and peaceful you should try it out if you like the outdoors and peace and quiet.

The new parking lot and everything they have done is great! I work near by and it is a nice place to go during break to get away from work for a sec.

Nice parking, great dock for kayaking.

Its winter but for the most part its nice

Algae overgrowth in the ponds, no trash bins (I was wondering why there was so much litter off path), undermaintained paths, hard to access by anything but car (and the parking is a joke too). Still giving three stars because its a great trail filled with oft unseen wildlife, but it sure does need better management.

A beautiful place to come and reconnect with the wild, right in the middle of the city. Beavers, egrets, herons, owls, there is so much in this small area. Great for quiet walk or nature journaling. Sadly there tends to be persistent industrial noise, traffic, and the sound of airplanes. If you are able to tune that out you are in for a treat. Please be respectful and be prepared to pack your garbage out with you as there are not garbage cans available.

Good little nature walk.

It’s a wonderful little bit of nature in the middle of the city. If you can overlook the garbage left by awful people.

That parking lot is creepy! I did not feel safe parked there.

Nice little park, good place to chill on your lunch break.

Didnt stop only passed buy, so I dont have an opinion.

The bathrooms an outhouse....but HAPPY TO HAVE IT.

I hate the place brings alot of weird people there

Lovely, quiet area on a Sunday with nice eating area and new picnic tables

Rustic park soon to see development. Beautiful lake with lots of wildlife.

Great quick walk to get your nature on.

Nice little spot seeing a lot of improvements lately.

No info that says no dogs until you get to the park. Old cars dumped on the side of the road.

Quiet, beautiful way walk around the pond. Dock available for water viewing and gazebo.

No dogs, canoes only in slough, no wading or swimming. Its a nice little walk, very short with no hills. We pulled a little wagon with our baby through it and made it over all the gnarled roots on the mostly dirt paths. Local kids or vagrants or maybe just disrespectful wanderers have unfortunately left garbage and graffiti everywhere despite plenty of garbage cans. There are a few port-a-potties throughout. Trail loops around and between two shallow ponds where you may spot some white herons and plenty of ducks. Salmon berries, thimbleberries and huckleberries are everywhere. It is very peaceful and worth a gander but the community needs to share in keeping it clean.

Nice little park

Clean park nice views and a dock to launch a Kyack.

No dogs allowed

A decent spot to stop for a walk.

The city is attempting to turn these long neglected ponds into an actual park, nature area. Its going to take some time, the area is pretty rough, but hopefully moving in the right direction. I did see lots of ducks.

No dogs allowed.Handicap parking for Vans only

Just got a new look, and now you get to park in an actual parking lot. Yah

Cool brand new Portland OR park.

One of Portlands hidden industrial treasures

Quiet place on Columbia Slough.

NO DOGS!!!! There are numerous signs that say this; it could not be clearer. And yet, a few boorish/selfish dog owners still bring them here, scaring the birds and making a mess. People are the worst.That being said, this is a tiny birders treasure of a park in North Portland with quite a variety of species for such a small area.

Ok

Peaceful and relaxing

Loved the park.

Good place

Birds galore!

Park

Beautiful

Terrible waste of time

Nice. Nature.