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    Home » Travel » Oregon

    Hike to Witch's Castle | Forest Park, Portland, Oregon

    August 20, 2014 • Updated: July 28, 2021 • by Renée B. • This post may contain affiliate links.

    Hike to Witch's Castle, Forest Park, Portland, Oregon • Includes history, folklore, and hike details. | The Good Hearted Woman

    Easy half-mile Hike to the Witch's Castle; Forest Park, Portland, Oregon. Learn how real-life turned into local legend, plus hike details and trail tips.

    Hike to Witch's Castle, Forest Park | The Good Hearted Woman

    This post may contain affiliate links, but don't worry - they won't bite.

    Once upon a time, I had visions of hiking through the hills and valleys of the Pacific Northwest with my happy little train of children, traipsing along whilst singing our hearts out all Von Trappified and such. (In my perfect world, it would be totally acceptable to break out into song at any given moment.)  

    Then Tweens. Then Teens. Do you know how hard it is to entice the average teenage girl to go on a Hike with her Family?

    Then one day...

    Me: "Hey, do you want to go an a super-easy hike to a mysterious (probably haunted) definitely creepy stone Witch's House hidden in the forest?"

    Teen Daughter: 

    Me: "Yeah. I thought so. Let's go." 

    Exterior walls and stairways of stone building (probably WPA era) known as Witch's Castle, Forest Park, Portland, Oregon.

    Before I give you the scoop on the actual hike - tips, directions, and so forth - a little history lesson is probably in order.

    Wavy Line

    With 5,200 acres and more than 80 miles of trails, fire lanes and forest roads, Portland's Forest Park is one of the largest urban forests in the United States. Forest Park has always been a hotbed of strange happenings in the Portland area, and Witch’s Castle is at the epicenter of one particularly haunting tale.

    {Dun-dun-duuuun...}

    Emmy, posing on moss-covered staircase at Forest Park landmark.

    It seems that back in 1850, one Danford Balch filed a claim on a parcel of land near the newly settled town of Portland. Danford needed some help clearing the land, so he hired a transient worker named Mortimer Stump. Balch invited Stump to stay with his family, which included his wife Mary Jane and their nine children, while the work was being done.

    Unfortunately, Stump ended up staying on a lot longer than was healthy for anyone.

    It seems that Stump eventually fell in love with 15-year old Anna Balch and asked for her hand in marriage. When Danford and Mary Jane refused, the couple threatened to elope, and Father Balch retorted that if they did, he would kill Mortimer Stump. Young love being what it is, Mortimer and Anna ran off to Vancouver and were married in the fall of 1858.

    Danford Balch would later claim that what happened next was the result of his wife “bewitching” him. The next time he encountered the couple, in Portland with other members of Stump's family, a drunken Balch shot Mortimer Stump in the head. Balch was arrested, but escaped while awaiting trial.

    Finally arrested again six months later on his own property, he was tried, found guilty, and subsequently hanged in October of 1859, making Danford Balch the first (legal) hanging in the Oregon Territory.

    Mary Jane Balch, the "Witch" in our story, continued to live on the property. To this day, some attribute the strange occurrences at the Witch's House to the ghosts of Danford, Mortimer, Anna, and Mary Jane.

    If that story isn't enough to intrigue your teen off the couch, I don't know what is.

    Curved doorways aligned, Witch's Castle, Forest Park, Portland.

    Lamentably, the Witch’s House is not the actual Balch home. Over time, the Balch land was passed to various owners, and was eventually given to the City of Portland by Donald Macleay in 1897 to be used as a park.

    In the 1950's, a stone ranger station and restroom was constructed near the old Balch place, but was soon abandoned and quickly deteriorated. It is that stone structure that stands today as the Witch’s House.

    Wavy Line

    How to Get to the Witch's Castle Trailhead at Forest Park

    Forest Park stretches more than seven miles of Northwest Portland along the eastern slope of the Tualatin Mountains. The park is open every day of the year from 5am until 10pm.

    The Witch’s Castle is an easy half-mile hike from the Upper Macleay Parking lot near the Portland Audubon Society, or a slightly longer three-quarter mile jaunt starting from the Lower Macleay Parking lot at at NW 30th and Upshur.

    Signs to Witch's Castle trailhead, from the Portland Audubon Center.

    If you want to visit the Audubon Society first, as we did, you can pick up the trail just to the right of the Wildlife Care Center, and then the only turn you’ll make is a quick left onto the main trail.

    Emmy, along the Wildwood Trail at Forest Park.

    From the turn onto the main trail, it's an easy twentyish-minute walk in from Upper MacLeay, following Balch Creek on the Wildwood Trail.

    Rocks along a stream bed.

    Weird whirling camera shot along Forest Park stream, near Witch's Castle.

    Strange things are afoot at the Witch's Castle... (If someone knows how I did this, please tell me - I may want to create the effect again someday! And no, I did not drop the camera.)

    Me & Mr B at Forest Park.

    Speaking of Stranger Things, Mr. B and I pose in front of a seemingly innocent doorway. And yet...

    Scary-looking, graffitied interior of the building known as the Witch's Castle

    ... the doorway above leads to this not so innocent little room/cave under the Witch's Castle. > >Shivers< <

    OK, maybe it's time for something pretty...

    Local flora, nurse log across streamLooking for more easy Portland area hikes? Be sure to check out the Camassia Nature Preserve in West Linn, just south of Portland. 

    Along the trail. (I am not that short!) Forest Park

    At the end of the day, we all had a great time together, and got to explore a pretty cool little corner of our world. And for the record, I did sing on the trail on the way back - accompanied by the lilting tones of, "Oh my gosh, Mom! You are so weird!"

    As a Portland native, I take that as a real compliment.

    P.S. About the picture above: I'm pretty sure I'm not really that short. I'm almost positive I was standing in a hole. Or something.

    Wavy Line

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    Hike to Witch's Castle, Forest Park, Portland, OregonWavy Line

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    More Oregon Travel

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    • Camassia Nature Preserve: Wildflowers & Family-friendly Hiking
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    About Renée B.

    Renée is writer, music maker, artist, and storyteller. In her spare time, you can find her writing love songs about cowboys, exploring the moss-covered nooks and crannies of the Pacific Northwest, and making music with her talented singer-husband.

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    1. Christine Hylton says

      June 03, 2018 at 6:19 pm

      I enjoyed a hike there yesterday.
      The photo with your daughter in the door way has a backdrop of trees several feet behind her, why is there a silhouette shadow behind/around her if there isn't anything for it to be on but air? spooooky lol

      Reply
      • Renée ♥ says

        June 04, 2018 at 9:00 am

        I wish I could chalk it up to something more exciting, but that shadow is just camera shake. ?

        Reply
    2. Mom says

      February 12, 2018 at 1:27 pm

      Your blog is awesome and I am so sorry I don't check in more. I am going to try and do better.

      Reply
      • Renée ♥ says

        February 12, 2018 at 1:40 pm

        Love you, Mom ? You're great!

        Reply
    3. Eva Villarreal says

      June 28, 2017 at 9:17 am

      OMG you guys are so cute! Thanks for the funny narrative and thanks for sharing! ?

      Reply
    4. Catherine @ Ten Thousand Hour Mama says

      October 23, 2016 at 6:13 am

      Mortimer Stump - that name is almost too good to be true! Thanks for the history lesson and idea for a future hike. I believe I'll tell my preschooler the ruins are a castle, though, and not a haunted witch's house!

      Reply
    5. Linda Stewart says

      June 24, 2016 at 10:12 pm

      Love this!!!

      Reply
    6. Mary @ Fit and Fed says

      March 20, 2016 at 2:10 pm

      I thought I was going to browse your recipes, but I couldn't scroll past your photo of that amazing mossy stone ruin. You can't beat the names in this story! And congrats on getting the teen on an actual hike!

      Reply
    7. Lauren Miller (ZoePhee) says

      August 23, 2015 at 10:56 pm

      Your pictures are so awesome! I've hiked here before and it's a fun little hike! Your dog is so cute!

      Reply
    8. Ted says

      June 19, 2015 at 6:44 pm

      Nice story but its past is much less glamorous as it's a dilapidated restroom from the 1930s.

      Reply
      • Renée ♥ says

        June 19, 2015 at 7:06 pm

        Thanks for the comment, Ted, but I'm wondering if you read the whole post. That part is in there too, right after the story wraps up. I do my homework. 🙂

        Reply
    9. Lisa says

      June 10, 2015 at 12:44 pm

      Great story! And i'm wondering why it looks like your daughter is standing in front of the doorway to the graffiti room, but she's casting a shadow??? hmmm...

      Reply
      • Renée ♥ says

        June 10, 2015 at 3:14 pm

        The shadow is likely from the flash I had to use to take the picture. (Sorry - no mystery there.)

        Reply
    10. Leah says

      May 23, 2015 at 5:38 am

      I too have a tween who is too cool for hikes. Can't wait to find the "witch's house" Thanks for sharing!

      Reply
    11. paul says

      January 30, 2015 at 10:47 am

      That camera effect it's made using a slower shutter speed less than 1/60 and spinning the camera along the lens axis as you take the photo 🙂

      Reply
      • Renée ♥ says

        January 30, 2015 at 12:36 pm

        Thanks, Paul. The thing is, for that particular photo, I had it on auto, and the camera was stationary. Weird, huh?

        Reply
        • Gerri says

          May 17, 2019 at 8:35 pm

          Not sure if you ever revisit this post, but I thought I'd share that my husband took the exact type of photo of my daughter with his iphone. I'm wondering if there is some type of magnetic field there. I could share the pic if you're interested. 🙂

        • Renée ♥ says

          May 17, 2019 at 11:16 pm

          It's a weird phenomena, for sure! Yes - please share!

        • Gerri says

          May 17, 2019 at 11:34 pm

          If you can tell me how to post a pic in the comments, I’ll send one tomorrow. 🙂

    12. Pech says

      August 23, 2014 at 6:06 am

      Thanks for sharing this hike that comes with views and a story! I'm impressed you could hike and sing at the same time... But no running on any Hills?

      Reply

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