Our mission is to provide exceptional park and recreation services that enhance the livability of our community and the lives of the people we serve.
One of the ways we can protect the natural qualities of our parks is to lessen our impact.
This keeps trampling to a minimum and reduces human disturbance of wildlife.
Litter shows disrespect and damages plant and wildlife habitat.
Each plant, animal, and rock has its value in nature. Please don't pick, catch, remove, or collect natural items.
Pets can disturb and harm wildlife—and sometimes other park visitors, too!
Bicycles are allowed only on designated paved paths.
• Unleashed dogs
• Hunting
• Firearms, fireworks, weapons.
• Alcohol
• Illegal drugs
• Glass containers
• Sound-amplifying devices
• Open fires
• Camping
• Motorized vehicles, except in designated parking areas
• Horseback riding
• Any activity which damages park property.
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Call 736-4104 for more information
Go to the map for DOWNTOWN AREA
This park has been adopted by American Veterans Post #16 and Auxilliary. Interpretive information has been provided by the East Alton Baker Park Citizen Planning Committee, Nearby Nature, David Wagner, Susan Applegate, and the Kommema Cultural Protection Association.
40 acres* Bike path
* Boat landing
* Fishing
* Jogging path
* Natural area
* Parking
* Picnic tables
* Playground
* Viewpoints
Park hours are from 6a to 10p, except for activities sanctioned by Willamalane Park and Recreation District.
The Eastgate Woodlands is a triangle of green along the Willamette River at the eastern-most end of the Whilamut Natural Area of Alton Baker Park, an urban greenway connecting the communities of Eugene and Springfield. Willamalane Park and Recreation District manages the Eastgate Woodlands as a natural area and recreational corridor. There are plentiful opportunities for walking, bicycling, jogging, boating, and nature appreciation.
Map of the Whilamut Natural Area and Talking Stones
Click here to find out about the Kalapuya people who called the Eastgate Woodlands area home. You can also learn about the Great Blue Heron colony that nests here from February to June.
The community of trees, shrubs, and flowers you see in
the Eastgate Woodlands is typical of riparian (riverside) forests in
the Willamette Valley. Take a stroll, or a ride, through the woodlands,
and discover the natural wonders around you.
There are two main trails in the Eastgate Woodlands. The Riverside Trail winds along the Willamette River’s edge through Willow, Red Alder, and Cottonwood trees. The Woodlands Trail travels through a shady forest canopy of tall Bigleaf Maple along the canoe canal.
Along both trails there is a rich understory of native shrubs, including Snowberry, Hazelnut, Osoberry, and our state flower, Oregon Grape. Western Sword Fern is also plentiful.
East Alton Baker Park is now called the Whilamut
Natural Area of Alton Baker Park. The Whilamut encompasses 237 acres
of publicly-owned open space, linking the neighboring cities of Springfield
and Eugene, Oregon. The park includes about three miles of frontage along
the north bank of the Willamette River. Eastgate Woodlands is Willamalane's
portion of the Whilamut Natural Area.
The Whilamut Natural Area honors the Kalapuya people and their language. The name, (pronounced "wheel-a-moot") was chosen in collaboration with the Komemma Cultural Protection Association of the Kalapuya Tribe. Whilamut means, "Where the river ripples and runs fast." The oral history of the Kalapuya people affirms: "We have always been here." Tribal members hunted, fished, and gathered camas bulbs on the land that is now the Whilamut Natural Area before being forced onto reservations outside their territory in the 1850s.
A traditional Kalapuya naming ceremony was held to commemorate the new name on September 7, 2002. This moving ceremony was attended by hundreds of Eugene and Springfield residents (shown in photo above).
Talking Stones Placed at sites throughout the Whilamut Natural Area of Alton Baker Park are 11 Talking Stones, each inscribed with a Kalapuya word and its English equivalent. For thousands of years, before Euro-American occupation, every object in the local landscape had a Kalapuya name. Today, only 140 words remain. Visit the Education Media Center to see a map of the Talking Stones or to request a brochure about the Talking Stones, call 736-4044.
The Whilamut Natural Area is a riverside retreat at the center of the Eugene-Springfield metropolitan area, where urban dwellers can experience a variety of native plant and wildlife habitats. The Whilamut Natural Area provides opportunities for educational and passive recreational activities that require or are greatly enhanced by the park's physical setting. In addition, the park acts as a connection between the Eugene and Springfield communities. The East Alton Baker Park Plan stipulates that the park will remain free of motorized vehicles.
In the preface to the park plan, members of the park's Citizen Planning Committee emphasize "We are here to serve this land, not the other way around. We recognize that the land has its own integrity, its own inherent design and organization, and we see ourselves as being here to learn from the land and let it shape us. It is time to learn how to live in harmony with the land—to see ourselves, as Aldo Leopold once said, 'as members rather than rulers of the land community'.
Unfortunately, the vigorous growth of English Ivy, an invasive, non-native
plant, threatens the health of the woodlands. It blankets the native vegetation,
cutting off light and air.
With the help of dedicated volunteers, restoration activities seek to bring the ivy under control, so that the natural wildflowers, shrubs, and trees can return to their rightful glory; but much work remains to be done.)
“Winter is the best time to pull ivy,” says Pat French, an AmeriCorps volunteer working with Willamalane at Eastgate Woodlands. Moist winter ground more easily releases the roots of the weed, French says. In addition, many native plants are dormant during winter, making it less likely that ivy removal would result in unfortunate trampling. Interested volunteers may call 736-4055 for more information.
For the Whilamut Natural Area of Alton
Baker ParkFormerly the East Alton Baker Park Citizen Planning Committee, the CPC, was formed by the direction of the people of Lane County, who passed the East Alton Baker Park Charter Amendment overwhelmingly in 1992. The CPC is a group of volunteers—ten from Eugene, five from Springfield—appointed by elected officials to oversee the implementation of the park master plan in conjunction with Willamalane Park and Recreation District and City of Eugene Parks and Open Space Division.
The CPC meets four times per year and is active in between meetings working on subcommittee projects. The committee's scope of work includes monitoring agency-initiated restoration and park-improvement activities, coordinating committee-sponsored volunteer projects, and promoting the Whilamut Natural Area to the community as a valuable open space asset.
All driving directions begin at A Street; at the bridge entering Springfield from Glenwood.
1: Head EAST on South A Street. Continue for 1 block
2: Turn LEFT onto Mill Street. Continue for .2 miles
3: Turn LEFT onto D Street. Continue for1 mile
4: Turn LEFT onto Aspen Street to the park
