Welcome to Rasor Park Oak Savanna-Prairie
A unique and distinctive Greenway natural area
Rasor Park is a 10-acre city park natural area and special restoration site located on the banks of the Willamette River (River Mile 180), in Eugene's River Road neighborhood. There is access via the riverside bike path (West Bank path), and sidewalks or bus stops along RIver Road. There is limited on-street parking at the north end of the park along Stephens Drive (via Stults Ave.) Map.
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Rasor Park is a 10-acre city park and natural area on the Willamette Greenway (River Mile 180) in the River Road neighborhood of Eugene. The park is accessible via River Road or the West Bank bike path. There is some on-street parking along Stephens Drive at the north entry to the park, and there are nearby bus stops at Knoop and Park Ave. See map here.
Visit the Park
Amenities
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West Bank (multi-use) bike path.
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Bike path connector to River Road.
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Mowed walking paths through the tall grass meadows.
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Benches along the river path.
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Mowed "multi-use" area near River Road for low-impact recreation.
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Nature & climate refuge in the City, and a sanctuary for birds, butterflies, and other wildlife along the Greenway.
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Volunteer learning & landscape and habitat restoration opportunities.
Get Involved!
Friends of Rasor Park is an all-volunteer group working since the mid-1990s to restore oak savanna-prairie and quality wildlife habitat in Rasor Park. Our volunteers are out all year round, working on weeding, planting, watering baby milkweed, mowing, events, and more. Visit us on Facebook, join our mailing list for announcements of events and work parties, or come to a work party soon.
Oak Woodland
The north end of the park is graced by a remnant woodland with mature Oregon white oaks, Douglas-fir, big-leaf maple, Pacific madrone, and thickets of snowberry and wild rose. This woodland forms a majestic north entry to the park along the West Bank bike path, and provides food, shelter and nest sites for many birds and other wildlife species. The trees and shrubs and even some wildflowers here (trillium, fawn lily) are indigenous to the site. Oregon white oaks are an important keystone species of our heritage Willamette Valley landscapes.
Oak Savanna
The central part of the park was mapped by early pioneers as "oak openings" with "yellow pine." This is what we now call savanna—open grassland dotted with scattered Oregon white oaks and Valley ponderosa pines. Once widespread, this heritage Willamette Valley landscape is disappearing. In 1998-2001, volunteers planted oaks and pines as a first step in savanna restoration here. In addition, you will see indigenous Pacific madrones, snowberry and wild rose thickets, and some patches of (planted) native wildflowers in the central meadows.
Prairie Restoration
For the last 10 years, Friends of Rasor Park volunteers have worked with the City of Eugene to plant native Willamette Valley wildflowers and bunch grasses in various areas of the park. There are now patches of mule's ears sunflowers, lupine, camas, Oregon sunshine, checkermallow, tarweed, cinquefoil, self-heal, columbine, showy milkweed, native aster, colorful poppies, and much more. Our aim is to restore some of the rich diversity of wildflowers and grasses that were once here and that support native bees, butterflies, birds, and other wildlife.
Riparian Corridor
Mature cottonwoods, big-leaf maples, and Oregon ash line the Willamette River here. The riverbank has been artificially armored and river flows altered, creating some challenges for the riparian vegetation. City of Eugene and Friends of Rasor Park volunteers have planted native trees and shrubs on both sides of the bike path in an effort to restore a wider swath of riparian forest. The understory here includes Indian plum, Lewis' mock orange, ocean spray, snowberry, red-flowering currant, nootka rose, and more.
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Willamette
Greenway
The land that is now Rasor Park was procured by the City of Eugene in the 1970s as part of the (statewide) establishment of the Willamette Greenway. The Greenway is intended to protect the natural, scenic, and recreational qualities of the river corridor and protect water quality (and wildlife habitat) by creating and preserving a development setback and protective fringe of vegetation along the river banks.
Birds!
The park is a good place to see osprey, bald eagles, and herons along the river; Western tanagers, woodpeckers, and towhees in the woodland; cedar waxwings feasting on madrone berries, and swallows circling over the open meadows at dusk. Over 140 species of birds have been recorded in the park! Bluebirds have nested and fledged young here. See our Bird page for more info, and to learn how you can help us document and help birds here.
Events
ALL YEAR: Monthly work parties, planting events, school class visits, bird walks, and more.
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SPRING: Native Bee Survey
​ & City Nature Challenge BioBlitz
SUMMER: Monarch Butterfly Activities
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FALL: River Celebration including Native Plant & Seed Giveaway.
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CHECK our Facebook Page, Events Page and News & Info
Other Wildlife
Hundreds of species of butterflies, bees, dragonflies, beetles, crickets, and more live in the park for at least part of their life cycle. The park is also home to squirrels, voles, pocket mice, garter snakes, salamanders, alligator lizards, and more. In this era of unprecedented loss of insects, pollinators, and biodiversity generally, places like this are important refuges supporting sensitive species and a healthy ecosystem here along the Greenway and in the river itself.
Master Plan
A Master Plan for Rasor Park was completed by the City in October 2001. Hundreds of area residents participated in 3 design workshops. Goals established for the park are to restore oak savanna-prairie and wildlife habitat, and to provide low-impact, river-related recreation opportunities.
Kalapuya Lands
For thousands of years, indigenous Kalapuya people lived in this area and used fire and harvesting practices to promote the plants they harvested and depended on, such as camas, tarweed, acorns, and wapato. Willamette Valley savanna-prairies were a result of their environmental stewardship, but are now in decline. You can learn more about Kalapuya lifeways and stewardship of Valley landscapes by visiting the murals at Westmoreland Park in Eugene. Image credit: Susan Applegate.
Milkweed & Monarchs
We are in the midst of a multi-year effort, started in 2016, to re-introduce showy milkweed (and other native nectar plants) to Rasor Park to help improve breeding and migration habitat for Monarchs along the Willamette River Greenway and migration corridor. We have had amazing success—Monarchs are very rare in our parts now, but have visited and laid eggs in our milkweed patches. Learn more, including how you can help.
Natural History
The Willamette Valley landscape we know was formed 15,000 years ago by glacial floods at the end of the last ice age. For thousands of years, the Valley has been home to gorgeous oak savanna-prairies, and some trees, wildflowers, butterflies, and other species found nowhere else on the planet. Since 1850, urban development, agriculture and dams have dramatically changed Valley landscapes. Many species and populations of plants are disappearing, along with the birds, bees, and other wildlife that evolved here.