Photography Session Location Feature: Cooper Mountain Nature Park
Cooper Mountain Nature Park is a lovely outdoor area in Beaverton, that is a great place to explore with your family. It’s lovely for family photos, particularly in the fall, and has gorgeous light in the evening.
I’m going to highlight a few important things that are important to know about having your photo session at Cooper Mountain Nature Park:
Some Moderate Walking Required
Cooper Mountain Nature Park is a lovely area but it is BIG, with over 230 acres of land that highlight many different types of forests typical of Oregon, including a prairie, conifer forest, and oak woodlands. There is also a beautiful view of the Tualatin River Valley and vista’s to the Chehalem Mountains. To explore the different areas, and get a large amount of variety in your gallery, there will be some walking required, but the trail is quite well maintained. The total hike is 3.5 miles but we don’t need to do all of the hiking to get amazing variety in your photos.
No Pets Allowed
Due to the nature conservation aspect of this park, they do not allow dogs in the area. So, if you are hoping to have your pooch in your family photos, we’ll need to discuss an alternate location (don’t worry, the Portland Metro area is full of amazing spots for family photos).
Must Stay On The Marked Path
One important note regarding Cooper Mountain Nature Park is that it is also a nature preserve, so pedestrians must stay on marked paths, and can’t adventure off into the forest on their own. This has yet to be an issue for me, but if you have little ones who REALLY love to explore, and would be frustrated by needing to stay on the path, then this may not be a great location option.
There are public restrooms located by the parking lot
This is just an fyi, but important to know if you need to drive a distance to arrive at this location...nothing worse than not being able to find a restroom!
Ample Parking
There is plenty of parking available in a well maintained and well lit public parking area. I’ve always felt quite safe in this location.
Very Early Morning, or, Late Afternoon/Early Evening is Prime Photo Session Time
Because of the open valley view, which is so lovely, this location is ideal either just after sunrise, or in the hour to 90 minutes before sunset…unless it’s an overcast day. This will ensure that the light isn’t too harsh when we’re at the valley overlook area, which is a highlight of the nature park.
