You Can Now Mountain Bike from Washington to California on Oregon’s Largest Bike Trail

Thank God it's still summer.

Our inaugural Three Sisters Three Rivers adventure. 300 miles, 8 days, criss-crossing the cascades on mostly singletrack. www.limberlost.co
By Sophia June

Move over PCT—you can now traverse the entire state on a 668-mile single-track mountain bike trail.

The Oregon Timber Trail is now the state's largest bike trail, starting in Hood River and extends to the mines of Modoc County, Calif, a nearly 700-mile route designed to take 20-30 days.

Work has been underway for the last year and a half. The trail was supposed to open in April, but is officially open now. So far, just two bikers have completed the trip. If you're interested in learning more about the trail, join the riders' Facebook group. You can view the official route here and download the super dense and informative guide here, which breaks down each tier of the trip in astounding detail.

"We have the Pacific Crest Trail, which is amazing and aspirational," Harry Dalgaard, one of the leaders behind the project at Travel Oregon, told WW back in February. "But we realize there's a significant dearth of long-distance mountain-biking opportunities in Oregon."

Not anymore.

The trail runs south to north, beginning outside Lakeview, Oregon, through a variety of trails that are divided into four tiers. Along the route are Ponderosa pine forests, salt lakes, Cascadian rain forest, mountains ranges and cinder cones. 91 percent of the route is unpaved, and 51 percent is singletrack.

“Our inaugural Three Sisters Three Rivers adventure. 300 miles, 8 days, criss-crossing the cascades on mostly singletrack.” www.limberlost.co
“Our inaugural Three Sisters Three Rivers adventure. 300 miles, 8 days, criss-crossing the cascades on mostly singletrack.” www.limberlost.co
“Four days of trail clearing, camping and riding on the stunning Winter Rim.”

If 700 miles doesn't seem doable, the trail officials suggest you spread the ride out by riding one tier at a time. The trail begins with the 190-plus-mile Fremont Tier, followed by the 140-mile Willamette Tier, the 110-mile Deschutes Tier and the Hood Tier, which goes through Breitenbush Hot Springs and lasts more than 200 miles.

"If you're doing the whole trail, you'd need to be an expert with experienced backpacking," Dalgaard says. "But to do the Deschutes tier, you could be a relatively novice backpacker. If you wanted to cut your teeth, it's a great place to explore and have a good time."

Related: 

The Nestucca River Road is the Most Beautiful and Safest Way to Bike From Portland to the Coast

This Abandoned Railroad Could Become an Epic Trail From Portland's 'Burbs to the Sea

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