Between 3107 and 3111 NW Chapin Drive, a trail entrance sits between two houses. It leads up a renovated stairway of 18 steps. Near the far end, another 55 steps climb to Skyline Boulevard. The whole trail runs about 495 feet. The HOA's own profile also lists it as "0.9 miles," but the meters given on the same line put it closer to 0.09.
It's one of the shortest trails in Forest Heights. It's also the one that matters most. The Forest Heights Homeowners Association says the neighborhood has roughly four miles of private walking trails, and that those trails connect to Forest Park and Skyline Cemetery through the Skyline Trail. Every other trail on the list is a short piece. Together they link cul-de-sacs, creeks, Mill Pond and Miller Road, and the Skyline Trail is how the system reaches the park.
Four miles, split into short connectors
The HOA's trail profiles describe ten or so named trails. None of them is long.
| Trail | Length or walk time | Where it starts and ends | What the walk involves |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skyline | About 495 feet | NW Chapin Drive to Skyline Boulevard | 18 steps near the bottom, 55 near the top, 23-foot elevation change |
| Upper Caxton | About 0.1 mile | NW Mayfield to the Engleman and Fleischner cul-de-sacs | Short neighborhood link |
| Lower Caxton | About 0.25 mile | NW Mayfield at NW Slocum Way, NW Marvin Lane, NW Randall Lane | Four bridges over two creeks, 52 steps up to Randall Lane |
| Swordfern | About 12 minutes | Two NW Miller Road entrances to NW Bartholomew Drive, plus NW Norfolk Court | A creek bridge joins the two sections; 25-foot drop over 400 feet from either Miller Road entrance |
| Miller Hollow | 0.9 mile with park extension | Near Miller Road and Bartholomew | Almost 400 feet of elevation gain |
| Deer Run | 0.51 mile total | Branches off Miller Hollow, ends at NW Holloway Drive | Passes NW Birkendene Street |
Each of these is a quick walk on its own. Lower Caxton has three street access points in a quarter mile. Swordfern has three entrances in a walk of about 12 minutes. Trails with that many entrances in that little distance were built as shortcuts between streets more than as hikes. That's why their value grows when you chain them together.
The flat middle: Mill Pond and the Wetlands Trail
The center of the system is the easiest part to walk. The HOA calls Mill Pond Park the "Living Room" of Forest Heights. The park covers more than 8 acres, with a paved walking path, fitness stations, a playground, picnic areas and an amphitheater used for summer concerts. The Mill Pond Trail is a mostly flat walk around the pond, with its main access on Mill Pond Road.
What makes the pond a hub is how many paths reach it. The HOA's Mill Pond profile lists these connections:
- The NW Village Circle walk-through at Forest Heights Crossing
- The Boulder Creek Trail, from NW Mill Ridge Road
- Links from the Village at Forest Heights
- The Wetlands Trail, which runs from the pond to the Village Center shuttle stop, north toward Mill Pond Road near Burkhardt Court, and on toward Miller Road
That shuttle stop serves the HOA's free commuter shuttle to Sunset Transit Center. It runs Monday through Friday at peak commute times. So the Wetlands Trail does double duty. It's a nature walk, and it's also a walking route to the shuttle that avoids the street.
The climb: Miller Hollow and Deer Run
The flat middle has an uphill side. Miller Hollow starts near Miller Road and Bartholomew at 480 feet of elevation. It reaches the Deer Run junction at 0.3 mile and meets the Murdock Bridge trail near 0.6 mile. A side trail at 0.5 mile heads toward Forest Heights Park. Deer Run splits off at that 0.3-mile mark, crosses NW Birkendene Street and ends at NW Holloway Drive at 723 feet.
That's a 243-foot climb in about 0.8 mile of trail. For comparison, the Skyline Trail changes 23 feet over its whole length, and Swordfern drops 25 feet. Miller Hollow is the network's real workout, with almost 400 feet of gain once the park extension is included.
The way out: Skyline Boulevard and Firelane 2
The Skyline Trail ends at Skyline Boulevard, where the public park begins. The HOA's profiles don't name the Forest Park trail you pick up from there. The closest documented entry is Firelane 2, which a trail description on Hiking Project places off Skyline near the edge of Forest Heights.
That description, written by a site user, makes the entrance easy to miss. It's a small dusty path with a gap cut in a chain-link fence that blocks vehicles. Just inside, an old "no trespassing" sign refers to a gas line path running parallel to Skyline on the left, not to the firelane. The description says to keep straight up a short climb. After that, the firelane runs downhill to Wildwood Trail and NW Leif Erikson Drive, except for one rise between the two. The surface is described as rocky, with hard mud that gets slippery when wet. Coming back up, the same write-up says the view at the top, across Skyline, looks down over Forest Heights and Beaverton. The site lists the current condition as unknown, so treat the details as a guide rather than a guarantee.
Firelane 2 is the step that turns the neighborhood loops into park mileage. Wildwood and Leif Erikson run for miles through Forest Park, so the walk can go as far as you like.
Two more doors to the southeast
To the southeast, the Bird Alliance of Oregon Wildlife Sanctuary at 5151 NW Cornell Road has more than 4 miles of its own trails across 172 acres. They pass a pond, a small pavilion, and Balch and Bones Creeks, and they're open dawn to dusk every day. The organization's directions approach from Miller Road or from Cornell. Portland Parks & Recreation lists the Wildwood and Pittock Mansion trailhead as having more than 20 parking spaces, including ADA parking.
For much of this spring, part of Cornell itself was closed. Heavy rain set off a landslide on NW Cornell near Eloise Lane on March 13, 2026. After crews found a sinkhole, the City closed the section between NW Thompson Road and NW Skyline Boulevard. According to the City's June 8 traffic advisory, that stretch reopened after emergency repairs, with final paving done June 5. This is the first fall since then with Cornell open the whole way.
Trail conditions heading into October
Portland Parks & Recreation's trail closures page, updated September 28, 2026, lists two Forest Park notices. The Ridge Trail parking area on NW Bridge Avenue is closed indefinitely. The bridge at Wildwood mile 15.2 is closed, with a stepped bypass. Neither is near Forest Heights. The page lists nothing for Firelane 2 or the Wildwood and Pittock Mansion trailhead. A clean listing doesn't mean a dry trail, though, and Firelane 2's hard mud is the part to watch after rain.
The park side also got a summer of upkeep. In an August 21 stewardship update, the Forest Park Conservancy reported 29 volunteer events, 652 shifts and 51.17 miles of trail brushed across Forest Park and Marquam Nature Park. The work was meant to improve access and visibility and to help prevent erosion. The post doesn't say which trails were brushed. The Conservancy has scheduled Independent Volunteer training for the morning of October 31.
On the neighborhood side, the HOA's site carries a headline for trail work parties on 09/05, 10/03, 11/07 and 12/05, with no year given. The year, meeting place, start time and task list sit behind the resident login on fhhoa.com. One trail document is a reminder that undated notes can go out of date. The Caxton profile describes the NW Randall Lane handrail as "currently leaning," but the document carries no date.
A fall route that uses the whole system
Strung together, the trails make a route that tours the neighborhood's terrain and ends at the park:
- Start at Mill Pond for a flat warm-up lap, then take the Wetlands Trail past the Village Center shuttle stop toward Miller Road.
- Walk Swordfern from a Miller Road entrance over the creek bridge to NW Bartholomew Drive.
- Climb Miller Hollow from near Miller and Bartholomew, then turn onto Deer Run at 0.3 mile and finish at NW Holloway Drive, 723 feet up.
- On a day with more time, take the Skyline Trail from NW Chapin Drive up its 73 steps to Skyline Boulevard, and from there head into Forest Park by way of Firelane 2.
The streets between these trailheads aren't laid out in the HOA documents. The neighborhood map on the amenities page is the best way to plan the street sections.
If you're thinking about how the trail network, Mill Pond and a short walk to the shuttle factor into your home's value, Julie Williams can talk through how those features show up in a Forest Heights listing. Schedule a consultation.
