Maplewood is a small neighborhood, located in the Southwest area of Portland, Oregon, and is surrounded by three other southwest Portland neighborhoods: Hayhurst to the north, Multnomah to the east, and Ashcreek directly south. The neighborhood boundaries are defined by SW Vermont Street, SW 45th Avenue, and SW Multnomah Boulevard. The western boundary of Maplewood is the Washington County line.

Maplewood's topography is hilly with two tributaries of Fanno Creek: Vermont Creek and Woods Creek. Vermont Creek runs east to west in the northern portion of the neighborhood and Woods Creek runs east to west in the southwestern portion of the neighborhood.

The land bordered by SW Multnomah Blvd., SW Canby, SW 51st, and SW Custer is constrained by the steep slopes, flooded areas, and wetlands of Woods Creek. In the creek corridors there are numerous underground springs. There are no through streets which pass over the creek drainages so there are few north to south connections from most of Maplewood's streets to Multnomah Blvd. Likewise, there are only two ways to travel east to west and exit the neighborhood: Vermont Street and Maplewood Road.