Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
28
REED COLLEGE AND
WOODSTOCK: COMMUNISM,
ATHEISM, FREE LOVE
BOUNDARIES:
SE Woodstock Blvd., SE 28th Ave., SE 47th Ave., SE Steele St.
DISTANCE:
2.5 miles (not including optional Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden
detour)
DIFFICULTY:
Easy
PARKING:
On street, small lot on campus
PUBLIC TRANSIT:
TriMet Bus 75 (SE Cesar Chavez Blvd. and Harold or Knight St.) or
Bus 19 (SE Woodstock Blvd. and 46th Ave.)
Reed College occupies a beautiful campus surrounded by an equally attractive resid-
ential neighborhood. Founded in 1908 and named for Oregon pioneers Simeon and
Amanda Reed, the school is uniquely and legendarily progressive. (Its unofficial
motto is “Communism, Atheism, Free Love.”) Apple founder Steve Jobs famously
dropped out—he often credited a calligraphy class he took at Reed with helping him
figure out computer fonts and backgrounds. Other notable Reedies include journalist
Barbara Ehrenreich, poet Gary Snyder, and (briefly) musician Ry Cooder. The stu-
dents here work their tails off (Reed produces disproportionately high numbers of
Rhodes Scholars and PhDs and is notorious for academic rigor), but anyone can enjoy
strolling the grounds without so much as setting foot in a library. Add in a side trip
through Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden before you head up the hill into the
heart of the charming Woodstock neighborhood.
Start at SE 39th Ave. and Reedway St. Walk down the hill on Reedway to
SE 38th Ave. and find the little dirt trail that leads down into the woods.
This path winds through Reed Canyon, alongside Crystal Springs Creek
and around Reed Lake. The canyon is a 28-acre watershed that essen-
tially bisects the Reed College campus. It's home to a range of interesting
plants and wild animals (and no, we don't mean the students—more like
garter snakes and birds). Where the trail forks, bear right, which will
lead you meanderingly around the north side of Reed Lake. Eventually
you'll come to a gray concrete-and-steel bridge; don't cross it, but pass
underneath it and continue along the trail.
