Regional mountain biking news roundup

Riding and working at Riverview property-1

Portland Parks is moving forward with trail planning
at River View Natural Area.

It’s a great sign of progress when there’s enough mountain biking news for a roundup. In Portland and in hills in almost every direction there are plans afoot to improve and expand off-road riding opportunities.

We are very fortunate around here to have some excellent and hard-working mountain bike advocacy groups. Those groups and their volunteers have been busy building trails and relationships with land managers that make it possible for all of us to have a great ride.

Below are a few updates on what they’ve been working on…

Progress and a milestone at Stub Stewart State Park
I rode my mountain bike at Stub Stewart for the first time last weekend. At just 31 miles from Portland, this is a one of the closest places in the region to ride good singletrack (if you don’t want to drive, it makes a great ride and/or you can MAX all the way to Hillsboro!). Currently Stub has over 15 miles of natural surface trails that are open to mountain biking. And after this weekend it’s going to get even better.

Advocacy groups and volunteers have been building bike-specific trails at the park for years and this weekend they expect to reach a major milestone. A work party is planned to put the finishing touches on the Linkpin trail that will connect two already built trail systems to its north and south. See the map below (Linkpin is in blue):

The new trail will add another 2.5 miles of singletrack made specifically with mountain biking in mind. The Northwest Trail Alliance is planning a big “golden spike” event on Saturday (4/6) to celebrate the trail’s completion. Meet at the park at 9:00 am to help dig the last few yards! More info at NW-Trail.org.

Update on the River View Natural Area
The City of Portland purchased the 146 acre River View property back in May 2012. As I’ve shared in the past, River View holds vast potential for off-road bicycling. Last week, Portland Parks & Recreation put out a request for proposals to begin the planning work for the property. I asked PP&R Project Manager Emily Roth for more info.

Roth said they are embarking on the River View Natural Area Habitat Management, Recreation & Trail Plan. As part of that effort, Parks “will be examining the location and uses of soft surface trails in the natural area.” While she didn’t promise anything in terms of mountain bike access, she did note that, “Mountain bike use will be part of the analysis and discussion by the technical and project advisory committees.” Those committee will have representation from people who are interested in mountain biking and Roth said they’ve already been contacted by the Northwest Trail Alliance. They will select the committee at the end of May. Stay tuned for more info on this exciting project.

Sandy Ridge Trail System in the running for major grant
The awesome Sandy Ridge Trail System is up for a major grant from Bell Helmets. Sandy Ridge was selected as one of 12 finalists nationwide back in February to be considered for $100,000 in grants. One component of the selection process is a public vote via Bell’s Facebook page.

Check out the new Sandy Ridge video below featuring North Portland resident and Bell-sponsored rider Matthew Slaven:

If selected, the NW Trail Alliance would work with the Bureau of Land Management to build a 2.2 mile trail with downhill-specific features. The trail would be a double black diamond route for advanced riders and it will be constructed using youth from the local community. Sandy Ridge currently trails a few percentage points behind a trail project in Michigan for the lead in public voting. Voting is open until April 12th and winners will be announced on April 19th. Get over there and vote!

I hope this is just the start of a regular mountain biking news roundup. If you have tips about other projects or trails in the works, drop me a line.

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Founder of BikePortland (in 2005). Father of three. North Portlander. Basketball lover. Car owner and driver. If you have questions or feedback about this site or my work, feel free to contact me at @jonathan_maus on Twitter, via email at maus.jonathan@gmail.com, or phone/text at 503-706-8804. Also, if you read and appreciate this site, please become a supporter.

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Nick
Nick
10 years ago

“it will be constructed using youth” – sounds brutal! Child labor is back! Sorry, this is an inane comment. I just found that wording unintentionally funny.

Barney
Barney
10 years ago

The NWTA is one local advocacy group for bicyclists that can really seem to get things done! I am a finacial supporter, you should be too! Good work guys and gals!

takeaspin22
takeaspin22
10 years ago

I have high hopes for the Riverview site. I hope the city understands that there are hundreds of volunteers available through NWTA to build trails and rehabilitate the park.

Also, great Sandy Ridge video!

Redhippie
Redhippie
10 years ago

Out of curiosity with Post Canyon and Black Rock, how many more double black diamond routes do we need at Sandy ridge. I’m not trying to be imflamatory here, but there are some pretty technical downhill runs there already. What is the distribution of riding trail type there already. I have ridden there maybe 10 times and take friends fairly often. I can ride most of it, but it seems like a lot of the trails are at the boundaries of their abilities. It seem like there should be more moderate cross country trails that help to introduce people to the sport. Right now there is only the lower loops and that is done in 15 min.

Nicholas
Nicholas
10 years ago
Reply to  Redhippie

Black Rock is over two hours away and Post Canyon is also quite the drive.

We all have troubles riding mountain bikes our first few times. Newbies should stick to places like Hagg Lake, Stub Steward, Knebal, etc until they get their bearings. Hide ‘n’ Seek isn’t all that challenging of a trail either, they are just going to have to take it slow. You must understand that.

f5
f5
10 years ago

Does anyone know how much SINGLETRACK is now open to bikes at Stubb?