Talking Water Gardens Trail
About Talking Water Gardens
Designed in 2010 as a joint effort between the Cities of Albany and Millersburg and the metal manufacturer ATI, Talking Water Gardens is a unique and creative answer to waste-water treatment.
The project reclaimed a former industrial area and turned it into a wetland filled with native species of plants, animals, and birds.
A series of pools cool the water before it is released into the Willamette River.
The outcome is a green oasis, good for the environment and useful to the people that visit it.
We stopped here on our Pacific Northwest Road trip. It was the perfect place to stretch our legs, decompress from our drive through Portland and eat lunch.
Facts
Where
577 Waverly DR NE
Albany, Oregon
Hours
Open 7 days a week, sunrise to sunset.
Length
2 miles of trail.
Start and end point
You enter the gardens in the parking lot.
The trail is a loop.
Elevation
Flat
Surface
Paved, crushed gravel.
Most of the trails are wheel-chair accessible.
Parking
Plenty of parking.
Restrooms
Porta-potties.
The trail is in Albany – near restaurants, gas stations, and the general services of a town.
Why head to Talking Water Gardens?
Things to see (aka. photo ops)
Native plants
Wetland species, submerged and floating plants fill the ponds.
White oak, native to Oregon.
Wildlife
Birds are plentiful (over 100 species), especially in the early morning.
You might also see butterflies, turtles, reptiles and other creatures.
We saw a mink skulking around the rocks.
Water
You can see it and hear it.
Several waterfalls and cascades create water white noise – another reason to escape the world for a walk.
More information
Helpful links
If you go to Talking Water Gardens, share a photo with us. Tag us on Instagram @jauntyeverywhere or use #jauntyeveryday.
