Mountain Bike Oregon Day 3 and McKenzie River Trail
The crew in Oakridge Oregon have been putting on a Mountain Bike Festival for over 10 years. Their formula has been incredibly successful which is a testament to their dedication to the trails and to ensure you have a good time.
Check out the details at their Mountain Bike Oregeon Website. We were there in 2010 and were so impressed we had to go back, so we did this year. Each year they offer guided rides and a shuttle, new this year is that you should sign up for them. This is good and bad, but even if you didn’t sign up they will work to get you on the rides you want. Even if you don’t know the trails, don’t worry, they are all good! Also this year they had food carts instead of catering dinner, they also had regular shuttles into town so you could eat there. You could also ride into town pretty easily. Again the cost of the even included free beer!
We had a longer then expected drive to Oakridge since traffic around Portland was really bad. Seems the I-5 is becoming more congested, oh well. Just prepare for lots of traffic on this corridor.
Information for the rides in this area can be found at the MTB Project Website. I also found a great Oakridge map that can be used with the PDF Maps Android and Iphone App at Adventure Maps.
After our three days in Oakridge we spent two nights at Belknap hot springs and rode the McKenzie River trail. An Oregon classic with a technical lava section until you’re past the blue pool, then fast and flowy back to Belknap.
Day1 Ride – Lawler Hardesty || Day 2 Ride – Middle Fork || Day 3 Ride – Alpine || McKenzie River Trail
Day 3 Alpine Ride
In Oakridge we had this park all to ourselves. The town allows camping here for the festival. Its quite nice with the river right beside for after ride dip.
Alpine is a classic in Oakridge, sustained steep downhills through old growth forests and exposed side hills, you descend 5000ft on this ride. From this ride you can make it even longer by adding the additional loop of Tire Mt and Cloverpatch. Check the above links for details. We did a variation of this loop when we were here in 2010.
Our campsite
Beer Garden and Food Trucks
Mini Bike Entertainment
Loading up for Alpine
Fast and Flowy
End up in town near a store with BEER!
Track includes the shuttle and the Alpine Ride essentially paralleling the shuttle. The track heading off West is the ride we did in 2010. You can see the Tire Mt and Cloverpatch trails on this map.
McKenzie River Trail
The McKenzie River trail is a must do ride in Oregon. We stayed at Belknap hotsprings and shuttled to the top parking lot past Clear lake to start our 36km 5.5hr ride. The ride is long since you need to stop along the way to check out the water falls and blue pool. Also its a popular hike so you do need to be respectful of other users on the trail. At the intersection above Clear lake if you head left, as we did, its more technical, the right side is more buff.
Trailhead
Clear lake is very clear and blue and surrounded by Lava
Sahalie Falls
Koosah Falls
Techy Lava Trails
Blue Pool
Fast and flowy through the old growth
Obligatory beer break along the way
