Wow, this is a big park! - and it was remarkably peaceful on this extremely cold October day. There was not a soul in sight, except for a few construction workers busily moving about behind the fences - that's where the renovated Library is, of course....
Shute Park is 13-acres, the oldest park in the city. It's gradually undergone many changes; for example, there was once a roller skating rink, and then the eye-catching Cheif Kno-Tah wood sculpture was added in around the late 80's...and now the renovations to the library.
Shute Park's greatest features are its large play areas for kids. There is another play section, apart from this one. If your kids love running around and climbing, this is probably the best one there is - from the local parks we've written about.
Indeed, this is an activities park: with the library nestled into it and an aquatic center adjacent to the parking spaces.
Indeed, this is an activities park: with the library nestled into it and an aquatic center adjacent to the parking spaces.
Here is a demonstration of one of the cool toys kids can try out at Shute Park. Well, we adults can too, just hold on tight!
This sign warns parents regarding the hard surfaces and their dangers to young children.
Compared to other Portland parks, we found this one had plenty of seating areas around the playgrounds and a great variety of, well, everything: swings, slides, and even a sand basin. (The basin looked yucky and wet - but it probably is just fine when it dries up.)
There were also dozens of benches, all neatly lined up in V's in the middle of the 'forest'. We think the above covered seating area would be an excellent place to stage a small family get-together, or an outing with office folk.
As we said earlier in this post, the Hillsboro's Shute Park Library is undergoing maintenance until 2014, when it will be reopened: Here is a sneak-peek of what's to come. We were actually excited to see a library within the park, but alas we came here during construction!
Notice there's a place to set a fire in the midst of these benches, but I'm not sure if you need permission for it or not - best to ask.
While strolling down the paved path through the park, we noticed a great number of mushrooms spreading among the firs. We're not mushroom-experts or anything, but we did like the added natural beauty of these small mushroom patches throughout the entire park.
Now here's the awesome statue we saw on Google Maps that we just had to come by and see in person:
From the side, it still feels like a very large, very tall tree. But as you walk around, its menacing size really gets you.
From afar, the face of Chief Kno-Tah is striking. We looked around for an actual photograph of the Chief, but had no luck. Apparently it is in honor of the chief, but includes features drawn from the Chief Joseph. Well, Wikipedia has more on that.
I needed to stand next to it to give you an impression of the size. I would have loved to see a speed video of the carving being made - but that was so long ago, not sure they could have expected Youtube in the 80's.
An excellent park, well worthwhile for outings and casual strolls with a cup of coffee. Please check it out!
Hours: Closed at dusk till dawn.
Restrooms: Quite a lot of them, sorry we haven't checked their cleanliness.
Official Website: click here
Hours: Closed at dusk till dawn.
Restrooms: Quite a lot of them, sorry we haven't checked their cleanliness.
Official Website: click here