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In this ClackCo Works episode, Parks Manager Tom Riggs offers a behind-the-scenes look at the Clackamas County Parks system, which covers nearly a thousand acres and draws over a million visitors each year. Tom shares stories about the county’s most popular parks, unique features like walk-in and hammock camping, and hidden gems such as the Madrone Wall and Wilhoit Springs. He explains how the parks are funded mainly by user fees rather than local taxes and highlights the dedicated staff who keep everything running smoothly. Tom’s passion for connecting people with nature shines through, making this episode a great listen for anyone curious about local parks or looking for new outdoor adventures.
Transcript
Dylan: Welcome to ClackCo Works, where we chat with the people who make Clackamas County work for our community. I'm Dylan Blaylock with Clackamas County Public and Government Affairs. I'm here today with Tom Riggs, Parks Manager of Clackamas County. Tom, thanks for being here.
Tom: Thank you for having me.
Dylan: It's good to see you. You have a cool and unique job. I’ll start by saying we are not talking about the North Clackamas Parks and Recreation District – that is totally separate. We are talking about the regular Clackamas County Park system. Can you give us an overview of the county park system as a whole? How big is it?
Tom: Clackamas County Parks has 16 parks and four undeveloped properties, just shy of a thousand acres, spread over about a 400 square mile service area. We serve 1.4 million visitors a year. Most of them come in the summer, but we have good offseason usage too. We have 232 campsites and serve about 14,000 camper nights a year. Three of our park properties have camping. We also have seven boat launches, a marina that holds 100 boats, and a golf course that hosts about 50,000 rounds of golf each year.
Dylan: Is that Stone Creek?
Tom: Yes, Stone Creek Golf Course.
Dylan: That's a lot of people and campers.
Tom: We're not North Clackamas Parks. We're more rural and unincorporated. We fit that niche between city parks and wilderness areas—a bridge between the two.
Dylan: And our county parks are really all over, some south of Molalla, a lot along the river, the Clackamas River, and others.
Tom: Yes, we have parks along the Sandy River, Deep Creek, Clear Creek, and some near Wilsonville.
Dylan: What are the really popular parks in Clackamas County? I've heard we have a "big four."
Tom: Our big four parks are Barton, Eagle Fern, Feyrer, and Metzler. Barton Park, near Boring on the Clackamas River, has RV and tent camping, picnic shelters, a playground, a boat ramp—a full-service park. It's also a popular spot for floating stretches of the Clackamas River. Eagle Fern Park is day-use only, with old growth trees, a great place to cool off in the summer, and a popular A-frame picnic shelter for weddings and family reunions. Feyrer Park, near Molalla, has 20 paved campsites with water and electricity, all nestled along a creek, and a day-use area along the Molalla River with good swimming holes. Metzler Park has RV and tent camping, a disc golf course, hiking trails, picnic shelters, and a ball field. People often say it feels like you're way off in the woods, even though it's close to home.
Dylan: The disc golf course is used a lot?
Tom: Yes, in the winter it's a full 18-hole course, but in the summer it shrinks to nine holes because some go through the campgrounds.
Dylan: What are some hidden gems in the park system?
Tom: Wagon Wheel Park, right along Highway 213, has probably the best swimming hole in the county. Madrone Wall is named for the madrone-dotted basalt cliff, about 100 feet high with around 100 climbing routes—one of the premier climbing destinations in the Portland area. It's closed during peregrine falcon nesting season but opens in mid-July. There's also a hiking trail to the top of the bluff, built by Trailkeepers of Oregon and the Madrone Wall Friends Group. For flatter trails, Barlow Wayside near Brightwood has a mile and a half of hiking trails along Little Joe Creek, picturesque footbridges, and access to the Sandy River and the Sandy Ridge Mountain Bike System.
Dylan: What are some unusual amenities people can find throughout our park system?
Tom: We have walk-in camping at Metzler and Barton Park, where you park and carry your gear in. At Metzler, we developed sites for van or rooftop tent camping. We also have dedicated hammock camping sites at Barton Park—six sites where you string your hammock between the uprights of a converted picnic shelter, so you're covered but still camping open air.
Dylan: How does funding work for the parks? Where does the budget come from?
Tom: The county parks budget primarily comes from park fees—parking, camping, and shelter rentals—which make up almost half our operating budget. We don't receive any local tax dollars or general fund money. We get some funding from the state RV fund, proceeds from county timber sales, and revenue from the marina and golf course, both of which are operated by others for us. For capital projects, we apply for grants, like Oregon State Parks lottery dollars, but our basic operating budget is from fees and those other sources.
Dylan: How many people work in the parks department, both regularly and seasonally? What do park staff do?
Tom: We have seven full-time employees and about 20 temporary, seasonal employees. Our staff are true generalists—they answer questions, check in campers, clean bathrooms, repair water lines, direct traffic, fix buildings, do accounting and paperwork, landscaping, and more. A park at full capacity is like a small city, and our rangers maintain all the systems and manage the crowds.
Dylan: What do you wish Clackamas County residents knew about the park workers or the park system?
Tom: Our team is very mission-focused and believes in what they do. We're overworked and under-resourced, but no one is just phoning it in. Everyone gives their best to help people have fun, create a place to refresh and connect to nature, and support the social, economic, and health benefits of parks.
Dylan: What's your favorite spot in any Clackamas County park, personally?
Tom: Wilhoit Springs, south of Molalla. It's a small, primitive park with beautiful grounds, the site of an old 1800s resort. The mineral springs are still there, and some local residents swear by the water. There's no cell service, but it's a beautiful, serene spot I highly recommend.
Dylan: Great. Tom Riggs, Parks Manager for Clackamas County, thanks very much for joining us today.
Tom: Thank you. I appreciate it.