Just south of SW Sherwood Place there is now a rock buttress, and the hillside below SW Fairmount Boulevard sits on it. A photo PBOT took on October 7 shows the finished slope. On the west side of the road there are a new catch basin and fresh drainage. The pavement is new asphalt, edged with compacted gravel shoulders. That same day, PBOT announced the road was open again to all users. That ended a closure that started after a landslide on March 12.
On a calendar, that gap is close to seven months. Drivers really were detoured for that long. Anyone walking, running, or riding the loop was shut out for roughly four weeks. The difference changes what the reopening actually means on the ground.
Six months of local-access traffic, then four weeks of nothing
The March 12 slide came after an atmospheric river dropped several inches of rain on Portland. It tore off the eastern edge of the asphalt and left soil and conduit exposed. On March 27, a PBOT traffic advisory said Fairmount was closed to vehicles but still open to pedestrians and people on bikes. Between SW Marquam Hill Road and SW Mt. Adams Drive, only vehicles needing local access were allowed. KPTV reported the same split, with the closure expected to last into summer.
That setup held through spring and summer. The full closure came only when construction started.
Period in 2026 | Drivers | Walkers and cyclists |
|---|---|---|
March 12 to early September | Local access only between Marquam Hill Rd and Mt. Adams Dr | Open, with barricades around the slide itself |
Week of September 8 to October 7 | Local access only, plus hard closure at the work site | Hard closure at the work site |
October 7 onward | Open | Open |
PBOT's updates in September put the hard closure plainly. People walking, biking, and driving were all kept out of the slide area for crew safety. The Southwest Hills Residential League's repair update described the change the same way: still local traffic only, now with a total closure at the project site "including bikes and pedestrians."
The detour pushed cars onto the other half of the loop
The quiet wasn't spread evenly around the loop. Through traffic still had to go somewhere. In early April, PBOT finalized a detour plan that sent drivers along Fairmount Blvd (West) to get around the slide. The updated detour route went up in the field on April 16.
So the east side near Sherwood Place had only local trips for most of the year, while drivers who would normally have passed through there were sent around the west side. In June, PBOT gathered more vehicle speed and volume data. It then installed speed reader boards in the Council Crest neighborhood to encourage slower driving.
The barricades themselves needed attention. In early April, PBOT said it had received reports that signs and barricades at the slide were being moved. Crews added concrete blocks on both sides and secured metal barricades so they couldn't be shifted.
How four weeks of construction went
The six months before construction were mostly planning. PBOT and the Bureau of Environmental Services surveyed the slide, drilled soil borings, and compared alternatives. In May they worked with affected property owners to settle on a preferred design. On May 20 they presented an update at the SWHRL monthly meeting. City arborists took out or pruned two hazard trees in August.
Once crews mobilized, the work went quickly:
- Week of September 8. Traffic control, erosion control, and sediment fencing went in.
- Week of September 14. A long-reach excavator set up on the roadway, and crews started digging out debris and the shear key at the toe of the slide.
- Week of September 21. The shear key was finished and filled with rock, and a drainpipe was laid at the base of the future buttress.
- Final two weeks. The rock buttress was completed and drainage was added on the west side. Crews vacuum-cleaned the connecting pipes, then repaved the road and shoulders.
The trail system below the road has its own notices, and they don't fully agree. SWHRL reported in September that Portland Parks said the Towhee Trail was open and should stay open, with perhaps one day of closure for work around September 16. The Friends of Marquam Nature Park trails page still shows a March 2026 notice saying the Towhee Trail is closed between Marquam Hill Road and the Marquam Trail because of a landslide. That page points visitors to Portland Parks & Recreation's trail closure listings for current status.
What was still being finished after October 7
The reopening notice also listed two jobs still underway. PBOT and PGE were coordinating to turn the streetlights in the project area back on, and PBOT planned to take down the neighborhood detour signs "in the coming days." PBOT's October 7 update gave the week after reopening as the window for both jobs. As of October 12, that window is still open. SWHRL marked the reopening with a short post thanking PBOT for keeping neighbors updated throughout.
Taken together, the timeline shows where the change lands. The section near Sherwood Place goes back to through traffic after a spring and summer of local trips. The detour signs that sent drivers around the west side are coming down. And the people who lost access in September get it back.
The loop the runners describe
Portland Running Company's Fairmount Loop guide puts the loop at 3.5 miles. It is almost all on Fairmount Boulevard, with a short stretch on SW Talbot Road at the start. Going clockwise, Talbot dead-ends into Fairmount and you turn right. Going counterclockwise, you turn left onto Talbot instead of continuing straight. According to the guide, that's the only intersection on the loop. Store owner Dave Harkin explains in the same guide why it works for marathon training:
"The loop is almost exactly 3.5 miles so whether your GPS is working or not, you know how far you have run. The loop rolls but is gentle enough to do uptempo work, traffic is light, and very pedestrian friendly."
The guide is frank about the drawbacks. Gravel shoulders don't always leave much room, so it recommends running no more than two or three abreast. There is one porta-potty on the loop. The nearest other amenities are at Council Crest Park. On the stretch where the 4T uses Fairmount, the 4T trail guide advises walkers to use shoulders or paths where they exist and to face traffic where they can. That is guidance, not a posted rule.
Where the loop meets the trails
Fairmount is also the junction for the trail network on Council Crest. On the 4T route, the trail comes off the summit from the interpretive sign on the east side and follows green 4T signs downhill to Fairmount. From there you have two options. Crossing the street puts you on the Forest Trail, also called the Marquam Trail, which crosses SW Sherwood and drops through Marquam Nature Park to the Marquam Shelter off SW Sam Jackson Parkway. Turning right takes you along Fairmount on the Urban Route toward OHSU.
Heading the other way, Friends of Marquam Nature Park describes a 1.7-mile one-way hike from the Marquam Shelter to Council Crest. The northern end of the Marquam Trail leaves the Wildwood Trail above the Vietnam Memorial. FMNP says that route is 1.8 miles to Council Crest. Where Talbot meets the park, pedestrians cross Fairmount and walk up between wooden posts onto a paved trail. Along the way a plaque marks the old Council Crest Trolley stop.
The summit itself sits at 1,073 feet, one of Portland's highest points. Portland Parks notes that the hill was once called Fairmount, after the road that circles it. On clear days you can see five Cascade peaks from the top: Hood, St. Helens, Adams, Jefferson, and Rainier. The park is open 5 a.m. to midnight. The gate on SW Council Crest Drive closes to vehicles from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.
Before or after a lap
The Hillsdale Farmers' Market made its own short move this month. Starting October 4, it set up in front of Rieke Elementary School at 1405 SW Vermont St. It's the same parking lot, 350 feet south of the old spot. Hours are 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sundays. The weekly season runs through November 22, and then the market meets twice a month from December through March. Bike parking is at the north entrance off SW Capitol Highway and at Rieke off SW Vermont.
Closer to the north end of the hills is Vista Spring Cafe, at the corner of Vista Avenue and Spring Street. It's open seven days a week for lunch and dinner, and it makes its own pizza dough, focaccia, and milkshakes.
Hillside repairs like the buttress at Sherwood Place can affect access, drainage, and the feel of a street. Those effects show up when nearby homes are valued. If you own near the Fairmount loop and want to know how this year's repair and reopening factor into your home's position, Eleete Real Estate can walk you through it street by street. Request a complimentary market valuation.
