MT HOOD RECREATION

Experience the Magic of Rivers and the Miracle of Salmon

at Cascade Streamwatch at Wildwood Park

“Cascading water and migrating salmon have long symbolized the bounty of the Pacific Northwest and inspired its people.  Immerse yourself in the magical world of wild fish and tune into the water’s call.  Listen as it lures you along a trail of exciting exhibits.”  After reading the opening statement in the Cascade Streamwatch brochure, who wouldn’t want to experience this wondrous and amazing trail?

Cascade Streamwatch’s 1-mile trail is divided into 10 sections, each with its own unique and interesting display.  Kids and adults alike will marvel at the wonders of nature while learning more about aquatic habitat, watersheds, hidden worlds of smaller streams and the rushing waters of the Salmon River.

Local arts are highlighted along the trail including bronze sculpted salmon and a timber-framed Group Shelter, which can be reserved for groups up to 50 for special events.  Even the signs and information pavilions are artfully crafted.

Perhaps the favorite display at Cascade Streamwatch is the Underwater Viewing Window where you can look for fingerling and juvenile salmon and trout swimming, feeding and resting in the shelter of logs and roots.  You may find crayfish, sculpin, insects, larvae and snails thriving in the rocks of the stream bottom.  In the late fall you may catch a glimpse of an adult Coho salmon.

A 10-year collaborative effort by the Bureau of Land Management, US Forest Service and Wolftree, Inc (non-profit organization), created this premier interpretive site that provides opportunities for people to observe, learn about and appreciate some of the Northwest’s foremost natural resources.  Cascade Streamwatch is not only an interpretive trail, but it is also an innovative science education program, teaching hundreds of local kids each year about the environment around them.

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