Upper Tualatin River Gravel

I've biked to Gaston several times. Hwy 47 is the major car route and terrible to bicycle. Instead, take either Old Hwy 47 or Fern Hill to Spring Hill Road from Forest Grove. The western route offers rolling hills through farmlands and the eastern route parallels the Tualatin River wetlands for stretches.

Nestled on the border of Yamhill County (boo!), the town incorporated over a century ago but stayed small with fewer than 700 people in the last census. It has a few shops and restaurants and its own school district. What's more interesting to me is something else that's no longer there: a giant lake.

Wapato Lake

In the 1800s, the largest body of water in the area was Wapato Lake, about 1000 acres and just to the east of present-day Gaston. It's gone now. The lake supported 22 permanent Atfalati settlements and they grew Wapato, an edible tuber commonly called Duck Potato.

When settlers arrived en masse in the 1850s, the Atfalati negotiated with the provisional government to retain a reservation on Wapato Lake. The local provisional government agreed but...the federal government went backsies and kicked the Atfalati further upstream until they were decimated and relocated to the Grand Ronde.

Once the settlers had control of the lake they built a small settlement along the shores and named it Wapato. Then they destroyed it. Over decades, channels were cut into the mud to drain the lake and cultivate onions. I might have preferred duck potatoes.

With the lake gone, the railroad was built and the town was renamed after the railroad executive. Yes, Gaston used to be a railroad town. The tracks are gone now but you can still follow the path of the old right of way to Yamhill on satellite images. 

Meanwhile, onions became economically unviable. The federal government stepped in to rehabilitate the mudflat into a controlled wetland. The refuge was replanted with wapato. 

In other words, we spent years pushing native farmers out and decades draining a lake that we failed to farm viably. Then, we spent decades (and millions of dollars) undoing it. 

Maybe we shouldn't have done anything...

I mention all of this because today, I start my ride from the Wapato NWR parking lot. The wetlands are less well-known among the birding community than Fern Hill or Koll but still an excellent place to view waterfowl during the spring and fall migrations. 

Note: the refuge is open for hunting and closed for birdwatching in winter. 

From here, I cross through the quaint town of Gaston and head West up the Patton Valley.

Patton Valley

The Tualatin River originates high in the mountains on the west edge of the county. Before entering the Tualatin Valley, it passes through a narrow gap named Patton Valley after the original land claim. Gaston is situated at the bottom and Cherry Grove at the top. 

There's two major routes joining the two communities, I use South Road, the gravel option for my trip up the river. Unlike most gravel in Oregon, this path stays fairly flat. My only complaint is the heavy washboard. You can prevent washboarding: drive slower.

The route passes through stunning farmlands, backed by treed hills. We briefly cross in and out of Yamhill County (boo!) and the road oscillates between paved and gravel. South Road snakes across a couple of bucolic tributaries of the Tualatin. 

The historic community of Cherry Grove is just a few scenic miles away.

Cherry Grove

Cherry Grove is a former logging hub founded in 1911 that at one time rivaled Gaston for population and commerce. It was named after a township in Minnesota because Appleton was already taken.

Now, it's an unincorporated community with no shops but both a historic church and cemetery. Many of the roads abruptly transform to gravel. 

Still, the views are nice.

We pass through the historic homes and hobby farms and make our way uphill and upriver.

It's on Lee Falls Road where we pass through the gate:

I had been expecting it. It's a very confusing situation. This is a publicly maintained road, no doubt. There's picturesque waterfalls a few miles in. Locals like to visit the waterfalls and hate it when anyone else visits (to be fair, there were wild parties...30+ years ago).

The solution has been to install a gate and forbid parking anywhere near it. Locals can still walk to the falls but its highly inconvenient for anyone else. It's still a "popular" trail on hiking websites but it's very unclear if there's any actual laws that forbid me from passing on my bike (are bikes unauthorized? who authorizes vehicles on public land? If I walk my bike does it count as a vehicle? Do the No Parking signs apply to all vehicles or just cars? In an unincorporated community, who enforces parking violations anyway? Unless they incorporate, all county residents, including me, have just as much rights to the area.).

In any event, the long-term relentless campaign to keep people out of a public space has been successful. I think most WashCo residents are entirely unaware of the unique waterfalls right near their backyard.

The gate was open and we're emboldened by advice from the internet so we pass through. From this point, there are no more houses. The road is used by two groups: Stimson lumber and the water commission. More on both later, the first stop is Little Lee Falls.

LLF is more of a cascade than a falls. There's signs of a sizable bonfire along the shore. Since it's a short walk from the gate, I expect this is where the locals mostly hang out. We were there on a weekday and had the place to ourselves.

Further upstream, we pass a Truck from the Hillsboro Department parked at an inconspicuous building. What? What's this municipal vehicle doing 20 miles from home?

A lot of the drinking water in WashCo is maintained by the Joint Water Commission, encompassing many towns and communities along the Tualatin River. The primary water treatment facility is outside of North Plains but the population upstream needs their own water supply.

Cherry Grove maintains small facilities that fill the gap. This building is the pumphouse that maintains water pressure. Further upstream, past a more robust gate is a small reservoir and a purification site called the Slow Sand Filter Plant.

Since these small towns can't provide their own services, Hillsboro is responsible for these sites as well. I wave at the workers but they don't wave back.

Next, we enter a burn zone. The Lee Falls Fire raged through 300 acres in 2024. Cherry Grove was evacuated and water was pulled from Hagg Lake. The cause was never determined.

The charred trunks and cleared land are a stunning reminder that fires can and do hit very close to home.

Finally, we arrive at our destination: Lee Falls. It's a 10-ft basalt drop. At the current low water levels, it was easy enough to walk along the top shelf and pose. 

It seems like a nice place to hang out but we don't feel welcome. After a few minutes to reapply sunscreen and eat a trail snack, we head back to Cherry Grove.

We take a different route back to Gaston, choosing to follow the paved Patton Valley Road along the north side.

The road is smooth with little traffic. Views are near identical to South Road so non-gravel cyclists shouldn't feel intimidated visiting Cherry Grove.

We just have one more quick stop.

Patton

No trip up the Patton Valley would be complete without a trip to Patton itself. There's just one big problem: there is no Patton, there never was.

The Pattons were the first settlers and named the valley (apparently after their uncle). Their homestead was located at the mouth of the valley.

For some crazy reason, this homestead started showing up as an unincorporated community in the USGS maps in the 1940s. It's not the only curious inclusion (looking at you Starkey's Corner and Onion Flats). As far as I can tell, there has never been a town called Patton in the area.

No matter, I'll visit the former homestead site.

Today, Patton is occupied by two separate nurseries. Things haven't changed that much over the past 100 years here. That makes this a dispiriting end to an exciting day. 

I have been meaning to make the ride to Cherry Grove for a few years now and this project finally kicked me into gear. In total, this jaunt was under 18 miles and doable for any casual rider. I definitely recommend the ride to Cherry Grove for anyone that's gravel-curious. The waterfalls should be seen by more people. If you do visit, please be respectful.