Hendricks Park

Hendricks Park is a sacred place for Eugeneans, both in their city and in their hearts. Being the oldest park in Eugene, its history is plentiful, and its character and importance have become as established as the Douglas firs that abound there. Made possible by a donation from the affluent Hendricks family in 1906, the park has since been visited and enjoyed by visitors from Eugene and beyond. Almost fifty years later, the world-famous rhododendron garden was completed. Today, visitors enjoy a system of walking trails throughout the forested section, an elaborate and intimate rhododendron garden patched with luscious lawns and picturesque benches, and a separate, smaller garden featuring plants native to the Willamette Valley.

Hendricks Park Picnic Area

While the majority of acreage within the park boundaries is occupied by natural vegetation, including an extensive Douglas fir forest where native wildlife is able to thrive, the most notable and visited section of the park is the rhododendron garden at the north end. Newcomers may feel like Alice in Wonderland meandering up and down the narrow gravel paths, ducking under tree limbs and trying to read the little signs denoting names of ground cover alongside the trails. The garden is not big enough to get lost in, but is so rich in biodiversity that many frequent stops throughout the garden are mandatory to fully appreciate its flora. The largest lawn sprawls out at the north end of the garden. Black lampposts blend into the foliage here and throughout the garden, and the fluorescent green grass makes a popular reading and resting area for visitors. Joggers, students, and flirtatious, giggling couples are regularly spotted in the garden, but you won’t see any dogs, as they are not permitted in this delicate and protected environment.

The rhododendron trees are in full bloom in the spring, although during a visit in late June, the last of some flowers still linger. Competition for parking is heightened in April and May as the garden is most visited during the peak blooming season. Later in the summer, there are a handful of days in the Willamette Valley when the temperature soars into the nearly unbearable mid to high nineties. By this time, the flowers are gone, but as the park’s elevation is slightly higher than the valley’s and the dense foliage creates an almost impenetrable shade, the park is a favorite nearby getaway for locals on hot summer days. However, one Veneta resident, Bob, says he enjoys the park in the middle of winter. “There’s a magic to a foggy wet forest. It’s very alive; it’s a genuine northwestern experience to get all the rain gear on and hike in the misty rain under these awesome stands,” he explains. If you do make it in the summer, remember to bring bug spray as mosquitoes are out in full force. Picnics are a fun activity and picnic benches sit near the parking areas just south of the park. There are a few water fountains, but no play equipment except for two lonely swings rigged between two supporting trees.

Hen turkey and her chicks stroll at Hendricks Park

At the eastern boundary of the park and surrounding the landmark F.M. Wilkins Shelter is the native plant garden. Very much an ongoing work in progress, this special garden serves many purposes. Like any successful landscaping feat, it is aesthetically pleasing, but it also demonstrates the use of native species as opposed to invasive, non-native ones. The garden has potential as an educational tool by which local gardeners can generate ideas for integrating native plants into their projects at home. Gardeners are to be especially aware of harmful invasive plants they should avoid having in their gardens, such as Scot’s broom, Periwinkles, and English laurel to name a few. These are among up to twenty plant species that are a threat to Hendricks Park.

Hendricks Park’s importance to the community is manifest in part by its own nonprofit: Friends of Hendricks Park. The group conducts fundraising, prints a quarterly newsletter and a variety of informational brochures, manages volunteer programs, and works to improve the park grounds. They also conduct tours through the gardens and forested areas for an affordable, suggested $3. Lots of hands-on community help is needed to maintain the gardens and to keep invasive plant species at bay. Fiscal contributions are also needed to generate educational programs and future projects. To volunteer in any way or for tour or shelter reservation information, call 541-682-5324. To join or sponsor Friends of Hendricks Park, call 607-4066 or visit them online at www.friendsofhendrickspark.org.

Getting There

Try to find Hendricks Park on an internet map and you will probably end up more confused than if you get in the car and wing it. Students venturing up together from the dorms for the first time render the city map useless and end up following the signs from Agate Street east up the hill.

This is probably the easiest way to go: take Agate Street south through and past campus until you see Washburn Park on the left (equivalent of 21st Ave). Turn left onto Fairmount Blvd and continue uphill. Follow the signs until you are inundated by the deep green canopy and proceed slowly until you come upon the parking areas. If you go by bicycle or walk, keep in mind the climb is not very long, but is rather steep.

Article and photos by Lauren L. Zavrel

Hendricks Park Rhododendron - One of many thousands of blooms. Photo by C.A. Clark