In this Park Facility
Dog off-leash area is now open
Improvements to the Mt. Tabor dog off-leash area are complete and the area is once again open to the public. Please keep your dog out of the fenced areas to allow plants to establish. There are signs posted to indicate where dogs are not allowed.
Improvements include:
- Erosion control
- Vegetation management to address blackberries and poison oak
- Clearing of the stairway from East Tabor Drive
- A new entrance at SE 68th complete with new fencing and stairs and a new trash can in this location
Thank you for your patience and cooperation. We hope you enjoy the new improvements.
El área para perros sin correa ya está abierta
Las mejoras en el área para perros sin correa de Mt. Tabor están completas y el área está nuevamente abierta al público. Mantenga a su perro fuera de las áreas cercadas para permitir que las plantas se establezcan. Hay carteles colocados para indicar dónde no se permiten perros.
Las mejoras incluyen:
- Control de la erosión
- Gestión de la vegetación para abordar las zarzamoras y el roble venenoso
- Limpieza de la escalera de East Tabor Drive
- Una nueva entrada en SE 68th completa con cercas y escaleras nuevas y un nuevo bote de basura en esta ubicación
Gracias por su paciencia y cooperación. Esperamos que disfrute de las nuevas mejoras.
Mt. Tabor Maintenance Yard and trail project
The multimodal pathway is open! The Portland Bureau of Transportation has installed temporary crosswalk striping on SE Division Street at SE 64th Avenue to allow for safer crossing.
TriMet will make improvements to pedestrian facilities as part of their SE Division Street Transit Project later in 2024. A community celebration is being planned for summer 2024.
Visit the Mt. Tabor Maintenance Yard and trail project page for the latest information.
Friends of Mt. Tabor Park
This park is maintained with the volunteer assistance of the Friends of Mt. Tabor Park. To find out how you can volunteer at your neighborhood park, call 503-823-5121.
Portland's Mt. Tabor is a volcanic cinder cone. In 1894, the city built two open reservoirs on the site (two other open reservoirs were built in 1911). By 1900, Portland's growing eastside population demanded park space; in 1903 landscape architect John C. Olmsted recommended the city obtain more land at Mt. Tabor. In 1909, the Board of Park Commissioners used voter-approved bonds to buy approximately forty lots on Mt. Tabor for $366,000.
Portland Parks Superintendent Emanuel Tillman Mische, who had worked with the Olmsted Brothers' landscape design firm in Massachusetts, developed a naturalistic design for the park. The plan included long flights of stairs, gently curving parkways, numerous walking trails, and a nursery yard. It also showcased native plants. In 1912, construction workers discovered volcanic cinders which were later utilized in surfacing the park's roads.
At the crest of the park is a bronze statue of Harvey W. Scott, editor of The Oregonian newspaper from 1865-1872 and from 1877 until his death in 1910. A gift to the city by Scott's widow, Margaret, and family, it was sculpted by Gutzon Borglum in the early 1930s while he was at work on his monumental sculpture of four American presidents on Mt. Rushmore in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Cast by the Kunst Foundry in New York, it was unveiled in June 1933 with great ceremony.
In 2017, the Mt. Tabor Park summit restrooms were reopened after being closed for many years. Funding from the 2014 Parks Replacement Bond allowed critical improvements like new plumbing, electrical systems, sewer line, lighting, roof, seismic upgrades, and ADA accessibility improvements from Harvey Scott Drive to the ADA accessible restroom.
Accessibility Notes
Parking
- Parking lot and street parking
- 1 designated parking space (van)
- Paved pathway to play area with a moderate slope
- 500 feet to play area
Play Area
- Engineered mulch surface
- Ramp into the play area
Play Equipment
- Transfer station
Other Amenities
- Accessible restroom at the summit
- Accessible picnic table
