This summer we picked up a copy of “Walk There!”, 50 treks in and around Portland, jointly sponsored by Metro and Kaiser Permante.  A great little book with all sorts of ideas for some good walking around town. It is in that book that we discovered the Mt. Talbert Park walk.  A mountain top hike through the forest,  located just a mile off I-205.  Too many days spent hanging close to home due to the snow, had created a need for us to get out, and this hike was just the thing.   About 4 miles of trails encircle and climb this extinct 750 foot volcanic butte, just SE of Clackamas Town Center.  On trail follows the ridge to the top and other seem to up and down as you walk around, what I am guessing is a park of about 1/2 mile in diameter.  All that climbing was a perfect complement to the 35 degree day, where there was still snow at the top.
On a clear day, there is likely some nice views. This winter afternoon, the sky was cold and, well, very gray.

There is a nice trail head parking area on SE Mather road, complete with restrooms, covered picnic area, signs, and bike racks!
Next time we come, we will ride there.

At the top, it is very natural, no real signs of intrusion.  Views of the city arent as good as other similar vantage points such as Mt. Tabor, or Rocky Butte, but it was kind of hard to tell on this day.

All the trails are well marked, and it was very easy to tell where we were and what  were our options.
Each intersection had one of these great markers.  There are at least 6 exit/entrance options here.

The trails are easy to follow and not at all technical, although they are not wheelchair accessible. We couldnt tell if you could bike them. Didnt see any signage either way. Most the trails are dirt, with only a few short sections of gravel.  Those gravel sections are apparently there due to erosion issues.  The large snowfall, followed by heavy rains, did cause some washout damage to the fine work someone has done in creating these trails.  Nothing to cause a problem in walking them, but they will likely need to be repaired.