Rocky Butte Natural Area
The captured official page publishes visiting hours. Check the source for current closures. Public-entry status is separate from wheelchair accessibility.
Classification and evidence
Official page label: Natural area; Atlas classification rules. Classification: source-labeled.
Source captured: 2026-06-02. Human verification: Pending.
Check current official informationPublished activities: find a published trail, be in a natural area, and be in a park.
Photo from the City's park pagePark history
Rocky Butte is an extinct volcanic cinder cone butte with steep forested slopes visible from Interstates 205 and 84. Joseph Wood Hill Park is located at the top. The slopes of Rocky Butte are managed as the Rocky Butte Natural Area. The Butte is part of the Boring Lava Field, a group of over 30 cinder cones in Oregon and Washington. The site was formerly home to Rocky Butte Jail.
Formerly known as Wiberg Butte, a large quantity of rock was removed from the quarry on the east face of Rocky Butte in the 1940s for use in a new Multnomah County jail. After the jail was demolished in the 1980s, much of the stone was reused along the Historic Columbia River Highway.
From the City's page for this park.
Visitor amenities
Published amenities are checked separately from entry conditions. Each links to other documented locations; confirm current hours before visiting.
- be in a parkAny park
- walk a soft pathUnpaved path
- find a published trailTrail
- be in a natural areaNatural area
- look out over waterRiver or vista views
- see public artPublic art
What kind of place this is
A natural area: habitat protection and stewardship guide what uses and facilities are appropriate. Classified from official page labels it a natural area; our model.
Something specific to this park — the thing you'd use it for if it were here.
Send an idea for this park →School grounds nearby
Public school grounds within a half mile, by straight line. What is listed is what OpenStreetMap mappers have recorded, not an inventory. The district sets public access.
- Jason Lee Elementary · Portland Public Schools · 9.1 acres0.4 mi
On record: 1 playground. Not recorded in this property’s inventory: playground.
Beyond parks explains what opening a school ground would take.
School grounds: Metro RLIS. Features inside them: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Through the year
Seasonal facilities and listings captured by the Atlas. These records do not measure attendance, utilization or all activity at the site.
Counts describe captured listings, not attendance or all activity. No listings captured does not mean the site is unused.
Dark by 5 and wet most days: cover, lighting, indoor rooms, and paths that drain.
- find a published trail
- be in a park
- walk a soft path
- be in a natural area
- look out over water
- see public art
Fields and gardens open; showers between sun. Leagues, planting, first picnics.
- walk a soft path
- find a published trail
- be in a park
- be in a natural area
- look out over water
- see public art
Water, shade, long evenings — the season the system is built around.
- be in a park
- walk a soft path
- find a published trail
- be in a natural area
- look out over water
- see public art
Light shortens and leagues wind down; shelters and lighting carry the season.
- find a published trail
- be in a natural area
- be in a park
- walk a soft path
- look out over water
- see public art
| Season | Programs | Recurring events | One-time |
|---|---|---|---|
Winter Dec–Feb registration opens 10/08 (activities Nov 2 – Dec 13 and winter-break camps Dec 21 – Jan 3) | — | — | — |
Spring Mar–May Recorded from 2026-06-11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Summer Jun–Aug Recorded from 2026-06-11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fall Sep–Nov Recorded through 2026-09; 2 months still to come | 0 | 0 | 0 |
What's on
No current listings were captured and matched to this property. This does not establish that no activity takes place. See the citywide calendar and programs.
Partners & friends
The whole ecosystemNo known partner is currently linked to Rocky Butte Natural Area in the Partnership Atlas. This is an opportunity signal, not an official priority.
See opportunity signalsSupport this park
Real ways to help Rocky Butte Natural Area and parks like it. This site does not process donations; every link below goes to an official giving or volunteering channel.
How it's holding up
The City's own inventory of what is here and the condition it last recorded for each item. Dates are the source's; old dates mean no newer public assessment, not that nothing has happened since. PP&R does not publish itemized repair costs, so needs appear without dollar figures.
Condition across all assets
Citywide condition atlasAcross 2 assessed assets at this park, 100% are in poor or very-bad condition (rated 4–5). Pooled from the City's public assessment layers — buildings, bridges, playgrounds, courts, fields, fences, paths and amenities.
This count comes from the City's rated asset layers; the “Public assets” list below is a separate furnishings inventory, so its items and scores are counted separately and the two totals need not match.
Condition is rated 1 (good) to 5 (very bad); no score means not yet assessed and is excluded. Park trees are inventoried separately and not counted here. No repair costs — those aren't published.
Repair ledger
Public data does not currently flag repair candidates for this park. Additional PP&R maintenance exports can be added without changing the page structure.
Seen something here that's broken, fixed, or missing from this list? Records are updated periodically; tell us what you see.
Send a condition note →Public assets
All 0Furnishings the City inventories here, with each item's condition score — 1 is good, 5 is very bad. Asset photos aren't public yet.
From the City's park page
Rocky Butte Natural Area on Portland.gov
The City closes the gate into the park from May 1 through October 31 annually to prevent motor vehicle access to the loop portion of NE Rocky Butte Road adjacent to Joseph Wood Hill Park.
5:00 a.m. to midnight. Parking around the park is restricted in the evening; review parking signage carefully.
All dogs must be leashed in this park.
This page, on a sign
The QR label for this park points here. Print labels →
https://parks.portlandciviclab.org/parks/rocky-butte-natural-area-568?utm_source=park_qr&utm_medium=sign&utm_campaign=park_568
Where this comes from
Facilities from the City's amenity pages and asset layers; hours, photo, and history from the City's park page; programs and events from its catalogs; condition from PortlandMaps public records. Where the City publishes nothing, this page says so instead of guessing.