About this time last year, a routine walk along the Eastern Prom changed Mary and Chris Copeland’s lives forever. But that’s not the beginning of the story. The story starts on a different walk along the Eastern Prom Trail, on a fall evening in 2017. Chris almost proposed to Mary at Fort Sumner Park on North…
School is beginning again, which means teens everywhere are being bombarded with one question: “What did you do this summer?” The 24 inaugural members of the Portland Youth Corps might just have the coolest answer. The new Portland Youth Corps (PYC) program, which just wrapped up for the year, aims to bring environmental education and…
After a year of cancelled events, City at Your Feet – Portland Trails’ cross-town, people-powered scavenger hunt – made its return on July 10th and 11th! 23 teams cracked clues to find unique locations along the trail network while traveling car-free throughout Greater Portland. Participants walked, biked, and took the bus to the 19 clue locations, learning about Portland…
This summer, eight-year-old Rylan Phillips buckled his helmet under his chin, climbed atop his new bike, and pedaled through the woods for the first time. His dad, Russ, led the way while guiding him over the packed dirt and coaching him through the turns. For this father-and-son duo, mountain biking became an escape from the…
As 2020 draws to a close and we take a moment to reflect on this wild year, what are the moments where you found ease? Rejuvenation? Joy? For tens of thousands of community members throughout Greater Portland, the trail network became a space for connection in the midst of isolation and a place of comfort…
How did Portland Trails find its way into a virtual surprise birthday party turned Jeopardy game turned marriage proposal this spring? As with most things this year, it started with cancelled plans due to the coronavirus pandemic. Libbytown couple Jon Kleiman and Leila Pike had planned on celebrating Leila’s 30th birthday with a trip…
Lin Lisberger’s 2019 sculpture, Fore River Sanctuary, feels familiar the first time you see it. With understated detail, her woodcarving evokes a memory of standing on a long, curving bridge stretching across the sanctuary’s grassy marsh. “The Fore River Sanctuary trail is a really beautiful walk because it crosses so many different microcosms of land,”…
Portland Trails volunteer David Fitz is quite the renaissance man. He’s a retired plastic and hand surgeon, a canoe maker, a backyard trailblazer, a mountain biker, and, as of this spring, a volunteer heavy-metal bridge builder. The trails behind the Riverside Golf Course, owned by the City of Portland, are a popular winter destination…
In this audio story, you’ll hear the stories of Burl Hall and Martha Haskell. They’re both residents of the senior living facility Woods at Canco, and they both spend hours every week on the nearby trails in Canco Woods. For the past few years, Jaime Parker (Trails and Transportation Manager for Portland Trails) has met…