By Bryan Hoffer
With the changing season rolling in soon, a reemerging tourism is popping up all around Portland—leaf peeping. Locals and visitors alike flock to these picturesque sights with the opportunity for fantastic photo-ops of color-changing and falling leaves. Come pay homage to this turn-of-the-season celebration with the Heritage Trees of Portland, honoring the oldest, biggest and most significant natural spectacles in the SE.
Oregon White Oak, #4 Quercus garryana 2137 SE 32nd Pl.
This local oak nestled between SE Division St. and SE Hawthorne Blvd. is sure to invite leaf-peeping eyes with its golden- and amber-colored leaves in the autumn. Receiving the heritage honor in 1993, this 45-foot tall, 59-inch wide gentle giant is part of the group of 60 oak species native to North America. Look out for squirrels searching for a fall feast as they gnaw on the oak’s ripe acorns. Wave back at these hand-like rounded lobe leaves as they fall to the floor. It may be #4 on the heritage list, but it could be the #1 spot to get a splash of fall color.
American Sycamore, #15 Platanus Occidentalis SE Holgate Blvd. and SE 32nd Ave.
This stately 101-foot tall, 61-inch wide sycamore calls Kenilworth Park its home. With a massive spread of 105 feet, come check out its arms of modest, yet meaningful, yellow-gold and orangey-brown leaves. Looking to tout its trunk too, the mottled bark of the sycamore shows irregular patterns of browns, tans and greens all year round. A North American native, trees like these are a staple of parks and neighborhoods. Come thank this tree for its community service since becoming a heritage tree in 1994.
Largeleaf Linden, #62 Tilia platyphyllos 6325 SE Division St.
Situated at the foot of Mt. Tabor Park, this pleasant platyphyllos, with its five- to seven-inch leaves, serves up stares as the yellows and golds emerge each fall. This year is its 30th anniversary on the heritage tree registry, reminding us of its prominence at 126-feet tall and 63-inches wide. Come check out its showery leaf show this season as it reaches across its 88-foot spread to cover the ground below in golden glory.
Scarlet Oak, #91 Quercus coccinea 2510 SE Sherman St.
Rooted a few blocks east of Ladd’s Addition, this 111-foot tall and 82-inch wide auspicious oak was made for the season. Aptly named for its fall foliage, this scarlet star shows its neighbors the brilliant deep, rich red leaves that populate, and soon fall, from its 82-foot spread of stout branches. In 1996, it joined the ranks of Heritage Trees of Portland and now, in 2025, it is still worthy of wows when it shows its true colors.
Pacific Dogwood, #117 Cornus nuttallii 2944 SE Taylor St.
Trailing down SE Taylor St., this dogwood, designated in 1996, often draws viewers for its phenomenal six-petaled white flower displays April through June. Its swan song, before resting each winter, is a crimson display of oval leaves and waxy berries that attract grosbeaks, cedar waxwings and woodpeckers. Standing at 29-feet tall and 50 inches in diameter, come pay tribute to this year-round Pacific Northwest performer.
Katsura, #160 Cercidiphyllum japonicum SE 39th Ave. and SE Oak St.
First given the heritage honor in 1997, this charismatic Katsura lounges in Laurelhurst Park off of Cesar E Chavez Blvd. Known for its rounded leaves, this deciduous dandy puts on a dynamic color choreography, beginning with reddish-purple leaves in spring that mature to blueish-green leaves in summer and ending in a fallen finale of gold, orange and red leaves. Come cap off a visit to Laurelhurst Park’s over 1,000 trees, of which almost half are native, with this 72-foot tall and 45-inch wide triumphant tree.
For more information on all of the 300+ Heritage Trees of Portland, visit portland.gov/trees/heritage
Heritage Tree #4 Oregon White Oak. Photo by Bryan Hoffer.
