Recommend any beginner trails within an hour or so of Portland?

Submitted Tue, 07/06/2010 - 9:12am by eporter123

So I just got back from a long trip to Idaho with my girlfriend.  We brought the bikes. 

 I did my best to take her on some easy, beginner MTB trails, but it ended up in classic form.  The "easy" trails in the book ended up having some decent pucker factors.  Ledges, steep slopes, cliffs, waist deep snowmelt stream crossings, etc.  There were almost a couple tears. 

SO... I'm looking for some nice, easy trails to boost the confidence and build some skills.  She's doing great, she just needs to go on a ride without so many hazards.

Laps on Laura's Loop at Sandy ridge?

Thanks

‹ Did you lose a wheel? Lost Garmin 500 ›

I would suggest powell

by evanb - 2010-07-06 11:33

I would suggest powell butte. Went there yesterday with my wife, it was her first time on her 29er and it was really mellow.

Souixan creek

by Dennis Its a Lo... - 2010-07-06 13:19

Never can remember how to spell it.

It's beautiful and pretty mellow.  A couple spots but you can see them coming up. 

 

Dennis Veatch 

hagg lake, lacamas lake park

by hamster - 2010-07-07 14:10

suggest the two above. then maybe even just doing springwater trail too get gears down and etc.

Thanks on the info. 

by eporter123 - 2010-07-09 07:10

Thanks on the info. 

 We were up at Hagg lake last night swimming and picnicking.  Good spot to beat the heat.  We will go back with the bikes for riding, swimming, and BBQ.

I completely blanked on Powell Butte.  I guess that's 'cause I've ridden most of those trails on my touring bike and don't think of them as that hard.  BUT, they'd be perfect for a beginner.

I've heard of Siouxon Creek before.  Perhaps we'll work up to that one.

Lacamas lake, from the mtbr site:

 http://trails.mtbr.com/cat/united-states-trails/trails-washington/trail/PRD_170902_4586crx.aspx

 "

18 reviews

 2.61 of 5"

Many different paths to choose. From a
beginner flat path through the woods to a extreme roller coaster.
Beautiful scenery all around with lakes, trees, and waterfalls

."

 

 

The mtbr trails resource looks pretty good too...

Banks / Vernonia Linear Trail

by 98special - 2010-07-16 11:36

Banks / Vernonia Linear Trail

Second for Lacamas

by Ryan_K - 2010-07-16 16:11

I second Hamster's recommendation for Lacamas!  This is an awesome place to take beginners.  It is close by Portland and has a little something to offer riders of many abilities.  Super fun and a go to when I am taking beginners out locally.

Also, try out the Triple C Trail in the Tillamook State Forest.  This trail was finished last year in May as the result of several years of volunteer trail work parties.  It is located out of the Reheer's Camp Trailhead and it billed as a true beginner trail.  Give it a spin and let me know what you think!  It is super fun in my opinion and somewhere around 3 miles in length.  You can do laps if you are feeling good or want more mileage.  And, you can certainly tie it into the Gales Creek Trail (currently open from Reheer's Camp to Bell Camp Road, but very steep in spots) and eventually the Step Creek Trail (which there is a new trail construction work party on tomorrow).

These trails in the fall

by Grant-Meadows - 2010-08-28 06:20

 

 

I plan to be in Portland in late October - are these trails washed out by then?

L.L. Stub Stewart State Park

by Joe Rykowski - 2010-08-30 12:03

...has over 14 miles of shared-use trails.  Majority of which are natural surface trails.

The "Stub Mountain Bike Area" is now officially open to the public.  Next month there will be a comment period about the new trails (feedback by beginners especially useful - watch for link to questionaire on nw-trail.org).

The mountain biking zone currently has a wide path thru center of area for beginners with an intermediate level single track winding its way through the trees and surfing the contours as much as possible along the corridor.  There's optional lines with short "advanced" single track (steeper/more challenging) connected to intermediate single track.   The single track is considered intermediate for the reasons you've pointed out - there's some exposure with some steeper downhill sections (the pucker factor) as well as some roots and rougher stuff (not hard for intermediate but could be challenging for beginners just getting comfortable with the fact that they aren't "riding the bike" (as road riders do) so much as "riding the TRAIL while piloting a bike".

Trail signage is in place, so you shouldn't get (too) lost - it's essentially an out-and-back with a short viewpoint loop.  

For a beginner ride, in the park, would recommend parking at Hilltop Day Use area and heading over on Hooktender Horseshoe (some climbing but very short) and heading north on Hares Canyon (which is essentially a narrow fire road)... you'll see the access to mountain biking area on your right (very obvious with kiosk and wooden fence).  It's bikes only after that point for 1.5 mile out-and-back.    Ride will be about 4 miles total from hilltop and back (and even though you parked at "hilltop" there's actually more downhill direction on the way BACK! which is as it should be...).

An alternative for longer (more intermediate level) ride is to start from Banks-Vernonia trailhead at Buxton and ride along B-V into the Stub State Park... taking Hares Canyon trail all the way north until reaching the Stub Moutain Bike Area.  It'd be about 10 mile ride in all (majority of which is downhill on the way back).