Sixty turtles! Nowhere else in the world can you expect to count so many western pond turtles as on a hike at Eugene’s Delta Ponds.
Once threatened with extinction, the long-necked, smooth-shelled reptiles are making a comeback in the rehabilitated gravel pits behind Valley River Center, thanks to years of efforts by the city and by volunteers.
A footbridge installed in 2024 allows you to turn your turtle-spotting walk into a 1.2-mile loop. You’re sure to see great blue herons and half a dozen kinds of ducks along the way. A slightly longer loop includes a section of the East Bank Path along the Willamette River. I’ll tell you about both of these easy hikes in a bit, but first let’s talk turtle.
A few years ago, biologists were alarmed to discover that the turtles in the Willamette Valley weren’t reproducing. None of the local turtles was less than 20 years old. What was going wrong?
As it turned out, lots of things were wrecking turtle habitat, and the area north of Valley River Center was a prime example. Originally, floods spread across pretty much everything between River Road and Coburg Road. That’s why the Delta Highway was given its name — because it crosses the delta where the Willamette and McKenzie rivers merge. Turtles loved the sloughs left by meandering river channels…