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Mission8

The Witch's Castle

Walk Balch Creek in Portland's Forest Park to the mossy Witch's Castle ruin. Invent its story.

Follow the Lower Macleay Trail up Balch Creek into Forest Park until the trees open on a roofless stone ruin covered in moss: the Witch's Castle. Sit inside for a minute and each invent the story of who lived there, then compare. The photo to get: one of you framed in a stone window, ferns all around.

  • Date or adventure
  • 1-3 hours
  • Easy
  • Free
  • Outdoors
  • Daytime

Good with just you, friends, and family

Check before you go: weather and trail conditions

Lower Macleay Park trailhead (to the Witch's Castle), Forest Park, Portland2960 NW Upshur St, Portland, OR 97210
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Checked November 2026

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About this place

It's about a mile each way from the trailhead along Balch Creek, a gentle climb under big firs and maples.

The "castle" was actually built as a park restroom and ranger station around the 1950s. Storms damaged it, the park let it go, and the moss moved in. Students from nearby Lincoln High are said to have given it its nickname.

The real history is spookier than the name: Balch Creek is named for Danford Balch, who claimed this land in the 1850s and was the first person legally hanged in Oregon Territory, for shooting his son-in-law.

For a much shorter walk, start at the Upper Macleay parking lot on NW Cornell Road and take the Wildwood Trail down to the ruin. The Upshur Street lot at the main trailhead is small and fills up on weekends.

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