Sandy Ridge – Northwest Trail Alliance

Sandy Ridge on Trailforks.com

Sandy Ridge is a gem of 15 miles of well-built and maintained trails on the way from Portland to Mt. Hood. Loops have riders climb the paved road (gated to cars) and descent on singletrack. Sandy holds up well in the rain and can be ridden year-round. There are trails for all skill levels from green for children, beginners, or those who prefer an easy ride; to double blacks for experts looking for technical descents or big jump lines.

COMING IN 2025! A long-awaited MTB skills area zone will be built in the Sandy Ridge parking lot. A skills area had been identified in parking lot master plan in the large, wooded area behind the restrooms. Last fall, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) contracted out an initial design for the project. An official letter of support was issued, and now it’s on to the funding! So far, NWTA has raised over $20,000 of the $40,000 goal to build out the skills zone – thanks to fundraising efforts by Fat Tire Farm and MTB Coach Robbie. With this current funding, we have begun initial flagging and clearing. Stay tuned for more updates!

Access

Parking in the Sandy Ridge main parking lot requires a parking pass. Passes can be purchased for single day use ($5) at a kiosk in the parking lot. Annual pass vouchers may be purchased at the kiosk, but must be redeemed for a pass following the instructions on the voucher . The passes can also be purchased on Recreation.gov via desktop or on the Recreation.gov mobile app.

History

In 1994 local citizens in Welches, Oregon volunteering with the Mt. Hood Corridor Community Planning Organization ( MHC-CPO) produced nearly 500 citizen letters, which persuaded the Bureau of Land Management to designate their timberlands in the Mt. Hood Corridor to be a Special Recreation Management Area.

In 1996 these same citizens also developed federal political support for a land exchange between the Longview Fiber Timber company and the BLM. This land exchange created a solid block of public land . These actions made the Sandy Ridge trail system possible. In 2006/ 2007 the BLM recreation manager Zach Jarrett began planning and developing the Sandy Ridge MTB trail system, which opened in 2009.

Construction began in 2009 and the system was opened in 2010. One of the first and still favorite trails to go in was Hide and Seek. Follow the leader and Flow Motion were opened in 2013. Johnny Royal was added in 2019.