Friends of Spring Garden Park
Friends of Spring Garden Park seeks to activate the park through stewardship opportunities and community events. The park is located just south of Multnomah Village among the headwaters of Tryon Creek.
Committee Co-chairs: Pam Fox & Sarah Dodge
Email: springgardenfriends@mnapdx.org
Important Materials
Reserve the picnic table through Portland Parks & Recreation customer service center
Learn about the Coyote Crew, a Portland Urban Coyote project
Read the Guide for car free trick-or-treating
Follow us on Facebook!
Did you know Spring Garden Park is part of the Tryon Creek Watershed?
Read Oregon Humanities Magazine Article’s “The Flow Below: Learning to see the hidden springs and streams that shape Portland”
About Spring Garden Park
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Play
This neighborhood park has play structures, swings and wide slides. Our unique nest provides ample imaginative play opportunities.
In the summer, the splash pads are on and the bathroom is open. Several picnic tables are available under a shaded structure.
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Stewardship
These family-friendly, all ages event invites you to get outside, enjoy nature, and help care for your local park. No experience is necessary. Tools, gloves, and project instructions will be provided.
Events are year-round.
Tasks vary but may include unwanted plant removal, tree relocation, mulching and soft surface trail maintenance.
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Friends of Spring Garden Park Committee
We are a small but mighty Friends of Spring Garden Park group.
Our goals are to grow our community and find a few helping hands to organize some fun, family-friendly activities.
Spring Garden Park Events Calendar
Subscribe to the Google calendar to get notified when new events, hosted by Friends of Spring Garden Park or other organizations, are taking place in Spring Garden Park.
Have an upcoming event in Spring Garden park, and want to be added to the calendar?
Friends Email List Archive
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Coming soon!
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July at Spring Garden Park
Friends of Spring Garden Park provides opportunities for neighbors to activate the park! Join us!
In this Newsletter:
Movie in the Park
Stewardship Events
Family Picnic
Monthly Meetings beginning Fall
Spring Garden Halloween
Archives
Garage Sale Day
Movie in the Park July 25
Free movie in the park! "Coco" at the bottom of Spring Garden Park Friday, July 25, 2025. Gather at 7:30pm for pre-show entertainment: music by Multnomah Village's own Otto Lange, visit from a fire truck at the top of the park, and Kona Ice treats for purchase. Movie begins at dusk. about 8:30pm. "Coco" is rated PG and will be screened in English w/ Spanish subtitles.
Stewardship Events
All ages join us to work on various tasks getting reading for the 7/25 movie in the park event and more!
Family Picnic July 14
An invitation to join an informal gathering at the top of the park! Meet new neighbors and enjoy our awesome park in summertime. Do you have a great idea for an engaging activity you'd like to organize for one of the August family picnics?! Bubbles? -? Email us, we'd love to incorporate it in our event plan and let families know!
FSGP Meetings Begin Fall
Friends of Spring Garden Park (FSGP) is currently 2 people :) We're looking for volunteers to join our team. We'll begin monthly meetings this fall to start drafting a 2026 schedule of events. Please email us if you'd like to work with us to maintain the park and activate this civic space for community engagement! Current ideas are not limited to, but include:
Fitness classes at the bottom of the park
Neighborhood playdate with special activity
Native plant sale fundraiser
2026 summer free for all event
Spring Garden Halloween
Librarian lead "storywalks" for children
Free ice cream in the park
Free family music in the park
Stewardship events
Future of The Nest
Spring Garden Halloween
Since 2023 several streets in the park area have teamed up to organize "car free trick or treating" 5-8pm on Halloween using a free PBOT Block Party permit. We create a public Google map designed for sharing with neighbors via text message. It would be awesome to expand the network of road closures for 2025. Does your street in the park area want to join this? Email us and learn more and view the below guide to planning a car free trick or treating event on any street in Portland
Archives Received
We are excited to have received all the archives from this Friend group extending back to it's founding in 2008. Our goal is to digitize and share information of interest on our website. Stay tuned for gems from that treasure trove.
Garage Sale Day July 20
There are going to be a lot of individually hosted garage sales in the park area--currently 97 sales through out Multnomah Neighborhood on Sunday, July 20 for Garage Sale Day. Check out digital and printable event maps to plan your participation at the website. Yes you can still register a sale! (Note: sales registered after July 9 will appear on the digital event map only)
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June Updates at Spring Garden Park
Meet our staff!
Annual Block Party June 28
PGE Park Champion Lori Willis
Volunteer Updates
June Family Picnics
Pumpkins & Parkway
Splashpad Opening
Movie in the Park July 25
Meet Nick & Heike
Meet Nick and Heike, the friendly Portland Parks & Recreation staff who care for Spring Garden Park (SGP). Heike is the horticulturalist overseeing our park and 12 others on the west side. She leads our ongoing stewardship events (along with PP&R westside outreach coordinator Kayla Miles) and handles plant/landscaping decisions for most of SGP topics. Heike works Mon-Fri and can be seen often in SGP, but not daily.
Nick is the new park tech working daily Tuesday-Saturday at SGP unlocking the restroom in the morning, picking litter, managing irrigation and its repair, locking the restroom at night and conducting other daily operations. On Sundays or Mondays during Nick's days off you may see Erica or Michael doing this work. Nick also works in nearby Burlingame Park, "A" Park, Holly Farm Park and Marshall Park. Say hello to them! Their work makes all the difference for our treasured outdoor space.
Annual Neighbor Block Party
June 28
Friends and Family of the Spring Garden Park community please join neighbors at the 4th annual block party Sat June 28 @ 3:30-8:30 in the closed section of Spring Garden Street between SW 30th and 35th Ave. Bring your own chairs, drinks, and a dish to share! Want to help? Click here to RSVP your food and see what's needed (link no longer active)
PGE Park Champion
Lori Willis Award NomineeMay 21 at the Portland Parks Foundation (PPF) Spring Friends & Allies Summit event we honored Lori Willis, nominee for the PGE Parks Champion Award. Lori was the former Friends of Spring Garden Park chair 2008-2018 who organized neighbors and community events through out the development process of the park. She is celebrated for her vision, advocacy, and years of dedication to SGP and for establishing a tradition of inclusive social connection. This event provided an opportunity for former and current Friends leaders to meet in person for the first time, and pass the mantel!
Get involved!
Volunteer UpdatesAt our last stewardship event May 14 several yards of mulch were spread in the beds at the NW corner of the park. Trail surface was also improved near the adjacent fenced off daylit portion of Tryon Creek, in preparation for the May 18 Sunday Parkway event. A two year old park-goer with his dad spontaneously joined the fun shoveling with our group!
Stewardship June 11 & 25, 9-11am
Join stewardship events 9-11am on Wednesdays June 11 & June 25th. Amid the changing budget environment, your volunteerism at our ongoing stewardship events is especially impactful. These events are lead by Multnomah NA with Portland Parks & Recreation.
We host inclusive, accessible volunteer events for individuals with all skills and abilities. To request an accommodation or for inquiries about accessibility, please contact Kayla Miles at kayla.miles@portlandoregon.gov, 503-278-9001
Join a Family Picnic
Mon Jun 9 & Wed Jun 18Our next Family Picnic is Monday evening June 9 at 5-7pm. These events are free and open to the public, no RSVP needed. The first one May 20 was a blast, hope to see you there!
Planting Pumpkins
At Heike's suggestion for something extra fun we've planted about a dozen pumpkin starts in the NE corner of the park near the stormwater facility. Seeds from these starts came from Martin, a former friend and PP&R employee who planted pumpkins near the community garden at Gabriel Park last season. Martin passed away this last year and these seeds came from last year's Gabriel Park pumpkins. We are happy to continue the tradition of trying for a small pumpkin patch that young park goers will especially enjoy.
2025 Sunday Parkways Was A Blast on May 18!
Let's cross our fingers for another SW Sunday Parkway on this same route for the 4th year in a row in 2026. Routes are announced Spring 2026 and are repeated at each location for either 3 or 4 years.
Splashpad Opens Any Day!
Get ready for summer fun! It will be operating by Sat., June 14 through Labor Day
Summer Free For All Event
Fri July 25, 7:30PM Movie in the Park!Save the date! Featuring pre-show live music, visit from a fire truck at the top of the park and a sweet treat from Kona Ice! Pre show entertainment by Otto Lange. Movie screens at dusk, roughly 8:40pm.