While we'd already been to two of the Eugene area State Parks, we had an open weekend and decided to complete the rest of them to continue on Callie's State Park journey. An overview of each park is below.
Jasper State Recreation Site
Jasper State Recreation Site sits right along the Willamette River. This park has a large offleash fully fenced dog park where you can hear the river. It can be a busy park with reservable picnic shelters, volleyball courts, and a playground, along with trails that wind along the river, so you'll likely encounter lots of kids and dogs here, even if you're not at the dog park.
Across the river is a small bonus park right across from the Jasper Store where you'll find the remnants of the old Jasper Cereal Mill and a lovely view of the Willamette River at one of the Willamette Greenway locations. Jasper State Recreation Site Website
Elijah Bristow State Park
This park also has a HUGE fully fenced dog park. There's a frost-free hose so you can get water any time of year, a restroom, and tons of room to run around. If you'd rather take a leashed walk, there are a ton of trails you can fully explore the park with. They're all color coded and fairly flat, so great for walks with kids, or your older dog babies. Warning, these are equestrian trails as well, so you will likely encounter horses! Even in January it wasn't super muddy. Great park overall for a leisurely day.
Willamette River Greenway - Pengra Access
This park has a boat launch and a 2 mile loop hike from the launch, which takes you back to the open picnic area. The river is too fast for swimming here, but the dogs got to wade at the water edge and get a good drink before we headed off to our next park.
Dexter State Recreation Site
This park features an 18-hole disc golf course, picnic tables that overlook the late, and a large parking area. Not a whole lot else for the dogs.
Lowell State Recreation Site
This park has quite a few offerings, a marina, boat launch, large reservable shelter, awesome views of the lake, playground, and a huge swim beach. However, this lake sometimes has the blue-green algae blooms, and is not always safe for dogs to swim. We went in late July, and there were signs everywhere so we did NOT swim, and poor Mollie was not pleased.
Alderwood State Wayside
This small pull-out on the way to Triangle lake has a single picnic table next to the creek, a restroom, and two trails. One follows the road and creek, and one heads up into the mountains. With a mildly reactive dog, we didn't want to follow the only other person at the wayside up into the trees, so we opted for the short hike along the creek. It is a nice little pit stop if you need to get out and stretch your legs. Alderwood State Wayside Website
Callie's State Park Tracker: #142
Willamette River Greenway - Marshall Island Access
This small park has a boat launch and miles of pathways through the surrounding fields. A small picnic area provides a view to watch the boats go by in the summer. We watched the Sheriff launch on marine patrol, and found a very small area where Mollie could finally swim. The water moves quickly here, so not recommended for weak swimmers, or easily distracted dogs who might swim into the current.
Callie's State Park Tracker: #143
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