June 9, 2011
Mary S. Young Viewpoint looking south
How many times have you driven on Highway 43 between Lake Oswego and I-205 and seen the sign for Mary S. Young State Recreation Area? Did you ever wonder who she was and what the park was like? Today I stopped and drove in for the first time. Mike Houck is right in his book Wild in the City–the park has something for everyone in 133 acres.
In addition to off leash dog areas and soccer fields, it has nearly eight miles of trails through wooded canyons, across bluffs and along the river. The City of West Linn manages the area for the state and has great trail maps. The City is also close to adopting a Trails Master Plan for inclusion in their comprehensive plan. You can see the work of engaged citizens on the trails where they have worked hard to remove invasive species and plant natives.
The park wouldn’t be here at all if it weren’t for the vision and dedication of Mary Scarsborough Young who bought the property as a farm retreat. She was a leading citizen of Lake Oswego where she volunteered for countless civic projects from the 1930s until her death. She planned to build a house and tennis courts and you can see the results of her work in the lovely rock walls and terraces and garden perennials throughout the park. She donated the property to the state. She and the citizen volunteers embody C.E.S. Wood’s saying, “Good citizens are the riches of a city.”
Hearing the cry of a pileated woodpecker in the middle of the city is astonishing. The paths were busy with runners, young couples walking hand in hand, and people walking their dogs. The river is so high that the waterfront trails and the bridge to Cedar Island are flooded. But the view of the river, dotted with salmon fishing boats and a sightseeing jet boat, was as inspiring today as it probably was to Mrs. Young.
I’m reading Richard Louv’s new book, The Nature Principle: Human Restoration and the End of Nature-Deficit Disorder, and parks like Mary S. Young put us at the forefront of connecting people to the natural world for personal restoration and community building.
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