Hyland Woods Natural Area

Hyland Woods Natural Area in Beaverton is a short, forested hike with an awesome "free play" nature area where kids are encouraged to explore their natural surroundings. 

Hyland Woods Natural Area is formerly known as Hyland Forest Park, which Google still refers to it on its map (though trail signs are updated). It's 30 acres tucked in a suburban neighborhood with seven official trail access points from all sides. There is free street parking at all of them, though the most parking is found on SW Sexton Mountain Drive. There are also a couple of trail parking spots at the end of SW 139th Avenue. These were full on a winter weekday morning. So, I suggest SW Sexton Mountain Drive. Now that you know how to find the park and where to park, let's talk about why.

What intrigued me was that it has a 1.5-acre kid's nature play area with designated boundaries and some easy-going rules. Like, don't light the forest on fire. Seriously though, it feels very freeing to be able to tell your kids to go ahead and climb the logs, break the branches, build with sticks, dig in the dirt, etc. without the worry of breaking any rules like many other hiking spots where you must stay on the trail. Sometimes it feels like our kids have a lot of boundaries placed on their play. For instance, stop digging up my hydrangeas and pulling all the unripe green tomatoes off the vines. Just me? I'm light-heartedly chuckling, but it's true. There are a lot of parameters placed on our kids around play, whether they are at school, home, in the car, at grandma's house, or wherever. Other than "Don't poke your eye out" with a stick, kids can have a sense of freedom in this outdoor space to explore and adventure as they please. I wish this were my backyard growing up. I wish it were my kid's backyard now. But alas, it's not, so coming here is an awesome outlet for their creative energy.

If you're looking for this particular part of the park, it is on the Southeast end toward SW 135th Avenue. Other than the nature play area, there is a loop hike around the park that is about 1 mile or 1.85 miles if you take shortcuts through the woods in addition to the outer loop. It is fairly flat, and although it is advertised as a "soft" dirt trail and not compact, I feel like a jogging stroller could manage the trail by navigating a few spare roots as long as it weren't too muddy after a rain. There are no bathrooms here or drinking fountains. But, there are a couple of garbage cans and one bench. If your kids are itching to get even more energy out or you're searching for a more traditional playground after your hike in the woods, there is Meadow Waye Park to the east on SW Davies Road, about one block from Hyland Woods.