Salem’s biggest park offers a wooded escape just minutes from downtown. It features bark chips and paved trails, plus an off-leash dog area.
The sloughs and seasonal floodplain forests on MICA provide migration, rearing, and spawning habitat for spring Chinook salmon and winter steelhead trout. Click for more.
Start from the paved trailhead at Lot 3. Head right onto Path H through ash and madrone swales.
1. 1200 Acres of Untouched Forest
The massive Minto-Brown Island Park covers over 1200 acres with tons of untouched forest and 9 trail loops. The park is also home to a large off-leash dog area and an on-site wildlife sanctuary where you can view native birds in their natural habitat.
Start out from the park’s parking lot number 3 and head straight on a paved path (Path H). Walk through a few madrones, ash, and maple woods along with brushy areas of white oak, Armenian blackberry, and teazel.
After a while, come to a small pond and slough. Here you’ll find water lilies and a few clumps of red-osier dogwood among the cottonwood, reed canary grass, and western spiraea. The pond is also the home of many ducks and other waterfowl species.
2. 9 Trail Loops
There are 9 trail loops in Minto-Brown Island Park for visitors to walk, jog or run. The trails are a mix of hard and soft surfaces making it a popular place to run and walk. The park is a wildlife sanctuary and you may spot wild animals during your run.
The Blue Heron Loop is a 3.6-mile paved path with a slough lined with cottonwoods and the Willamette River. The route starts from the Shelter Parking Lot 3 and heads south passing a field of blackberry bushes, a slough, and a wooded lane.
Then, you reach a junction and bear right on Path A. The path soon crosses a slough and passes Douglas-firs before reaching a swale lined with a willow grove. At this point, you are entering the wetlands of the Minto Island Conservation Area and will cross the Peter Courtney Minto Island Bridge connecting Minto-Brown Island Park to Salem’s Riverfront Park and Wallace Marine Park. Browse around this site to check more places to visit.
3. Off-Leash Dog Park
With 30 acres set aside for a designated off-leash dog area, this park is a great place to get your furry friend socialized and exercised. There are separate areas for large and small dogs, which ensures a safe experience for all animals.
The park also serves as a wildlife sanctuary, with plenty of sloughs and wetlands where you can spot ospreys, blue herons, squirrels, and rabbits. You can also enjoy the views from the numerous observation platforms along the sloughs.
The park has plenty of parking spaces, but some of them can be muddy or snowy during the winter. The city is in the process of paving two of the parking lots, including the one beside the off-leash dog area. This should be completed by early 2020.
4. Picnic Areas
The park offers reservable picnic shelters, playgrounds, a reserved group shelter, an off-leash dog area, and many walking, jogging, biking, and fishing spots. You can also take in the beautiful scenery and wildlife that calls the park home.
A reforestation project has transformed the once industrial area into a tranquil wildlife sanctuary. The park has numerous sloughs, ponds, and wetlands along with wide open areas and forests.
Over 29 miles of trails make this park a big playground for Salem residents. With both paved and bark chip trails, nine different loops, and the newly built Peter Courtney Minto Island Bridge that connects to Riverfront Park and Wallace Marine Park, you have plenty of options for a leisurely walk, a brisk jog, or a vigorous bike ride.
5. Fishing Spots
At a whopping 1200 acres, this massive park has a lot to offer. There is a ton of untouched forest, 9 trail loops, and more.
There are also sloughs, ponds, and wetlands teeming with wildlife like osprey and blue heron. The park’s mix of paved and soft trails makes it popular for running, walking, and biking. High water closes some of the trails, but a new footbridge connecting this park to Salem’s Riverfront Park and Wallace Marine Park will allow you to explore the parks without setting foot on a road.
From the group picnic gazebo on River Road S, follow the paved path to the right on Path E and cross the bridge. After passing a pond on the left, the path enters brushy young white oak, Armenian and evergreen blackberry, teazel, and Scots broom. Up next is Bush’s Pasture Park.
Driving directions from A+ Exterior Cleaning to Minto-Brown Island Park
Driving directions from Minto-Brown Island Park to Bush’s Pasture Park
