Jim W.
Yelp
I'm giving this 4 of 5 mostly due to it's tranquil feel and how much I enjoyed the walk.
If you are looking for a nature-hike while not having to venture far from an in-town starting location, this is a good target venue. It is located on Cascade Road a couple of miles inside 285. There are no amenities on site (restrooms, etc.) so plan accordingly.
The parking lot is gravel. The overall feel of the park is of semi-neglect. There are boardwalks and trails, but they are only marginally maintained. Where large trees have fallen onto paths, the paths have been diverted. Where such trees have damaged boardwalks, there are stop-gap plywood repairs. My wish would be that high-dollar, wasteful projects like the pedestrian bridge near MB Stadium ($25+ million) would have been scaled back slightly and $500k or so devoted to places like this.
Still, there is nothing profoundly wrong with this venue. Especially after a rain, you should wear hiking boots. If you do, you should have no real issue in navigating the trails within the park. We explored most of what appeared to be the larges loop. We spent a total of an hour inside the park, and enjoyed it. There is a fairly sizable (15 foot) waterfall to observe. The trail is a bit hilly, but easily navigable. When we went (mid-afternoon on Sunday) there were not that many people. We had the trail to ourselves for about 3/4 of the hike. There were occasional other hikers and one guy asleep on a bench along the trail (?), but otherwise it was quite nice. Be prepared to climb over the occasional fallen tree.
My only advice would be to come here after a few dry days, so as to avoid any muddy patches. We arrived the day after a rain, so there was definitely a lot of water and mud to get by. But overall, for convenience to the city, this is a nice park.