Bear Creek (Oregon)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (May 2007)

Bear Creek is a name given to several creeks in Oregon. The most notable Bear Creek is a tributary of the Rogue River in Jackson County, Oregon, United States. The creek passes through the population centers of Ashland, Talent, Phoenix, Medford, and Central Point, respectively.

Contents 1 Route 2 Bear Creek Greenway 3 Bear Creek Park 4 Trivia 5 External links 6 References

[edit] Route

Bear Creek begins in Ashland, Oregon, USA, at 42.192787° N 122.651078° W, just north of Emigrant Lake. From there it basically follows Interstate 5 for about 30 miles until it joins up with the Rogue River at 42.432158° N 122.968732° W, approximately 5 miles east of Gold Hill, Oregon.

[edit] Bear Creek Greenway

The Bear Creek Greenway is a biking/hiking path that, when complete, will extend from Central Point to Ashland. The greenway is divided into two lanes for bi-directional traffic, and is inaccessible to motor vehicles (except for county maintenance).

The concept of an exclusive bicycle-only path in the Medford-area actually goes back to 1899, when bicycles were increasing in popularity. However, construction on the greenway did not actually start until 1973.^[1]

Presently the greenway consists of two segments. The north segment is 6 miles long and follows Interstate 5 from exit 33 to exit 27. The south segment runs from a mile south of the exit 27 to about a mile north of the exit 14. ^[2]

The two segments will be joined once the South Medford Interchange Project is complete. ^[3]

[edit] Bear Creek Park

At nearly 100 acres, this south Medford park is the 2nd largest in the city (Prescott Park is the largest at 1,740-acres). ^[4]. Bear Creek Park is bordered on the west by the Bear Creek and, likewise, the Bear Creek Greenway. On the park grounds are four tennis courts, a skate park, a dog park, an amphitheater, a large playground, a BMX track, and a community garden. ^[5]

[edit] Trivia

The umbrella company of Harry and David and Jackson & Perkins, the Harry and David Operations Corp., was formerly named "Bear Creek Corporation". It is located in Medford, and was named for the creek.

[edit] External links

• Map of the Bear Creek Watershed

[edit] References