The Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District's Rock Creek Regional Trail saw roughly 150,000 visits in 2013, according to data from the district.

That makes the trail, which branches off of N.W. 185th near Bethany Lake Park, the most used out of areas the district monitors.

Thanks to electronic counters, the district is able to gauge what parks and trails are heavily used, which officials say helps with both short and long term planning.

Bruce Barbarasch , THPRD superintendent of natural resources and trails management, said the district started using electronic counters six years ago.

The district has 16 counters, hidden out of plain sight, near the entrance to parks or trails. Roughly twice the size of smart phone, the battery powered units emit an invisible, silent beam. The counters tally each time the beam is tripped, Barbarasch said.

The electronic counters cost about $600 each, Barbarasch said.

The map below shows the approximate location of monitored trails and parks and the estimated number of uses during 2013. Figures are rounded to the nearest 5,000.

Although the counters are fairly accurate, the usage figures are still estimates, Barbarasch said. The district pulls data from the counters every few months.

Generally, the district has noticed an overall increase in trail usage over the past few years, Barbarasch said. That could be due to trail expansions, which make the district's trails more of a network.

According to THPRD spokesperson Bob Wayt, $15 million out of the district's $100 million bond was dedicated just to trail expansions. In January 2012, the district finished a segment of the Fanno Creek Regional Trail and added 1.5 miles of trail to the Westside Regional Trail in November 2013. This spring, the district expanded its Waterhouse Trail.

Changes in usage could also be due to traffic or safety updates. THPRD saw a 30 percent increase in usage after installing a pedestrian traffic light at the Waterhouse Trail, Barbarasch said.

Here is a ranking of the most popular parks and trails out of the district's 16 monitored locations. Figures are from 2013 and are rounded to the closest 5,000.

Rock Creek Regional Trail- 150,000 Fanno Creek Regional Trail at S.W. 92 Commonwealth Lake- 115,000 Fanno Creek Regional Trail at S.W. Hall Boulevard- 100,000 Tualatin Hills Nature Park- 95,000 Fanno Creek Regional Trail at S.W. Scholls Ferry Road- 80,000 Westside Regional Trail at S.W. Village Lane- 80,000 Tualatin Hills Nature Park Interpretive Center- 70,000 Cooper Mountain Nature Park Parking lot- 65,000 Hazledale Park- 50,000 Waterhouse Trail at S.W. Walker Road, heading north- 45,000 Fanno Creek Trail at S.W. Allen Boulevard- 45,000 Cooper Mountain Nature Park- 40,000 Waterhouse Trail at S.W. Walker Road, heading south- 40,000 Hyland Woods Natural Area- 30,000 Westside Regional Trail at Murrayhill- 20,000

The data can also speak to trail usage during different seasons. With the Rock Regional Creek Trail, the district saw about 8,000 users in the winter, compared to from 15,000 to 17,000 in the summer, Barbarasch said. Peak months bring in 11,000 users for the Fanno Creek Regional Trail, compared to 7,000 in quieter months.

The data THPRD gathers helps the district serve constituents as best as it can, Barbarasch said. For example, it helps guide what level of staffing is needed for particular parks or trails or what areas might be worth more investment. The data also helps the district advocate for funding by being able to display how popular an area is.

"It helps us be effective managers," he said "It's a great snapshot of the broader usage pattern."

--Laura Frazier | Facebook and Twitter