Banks-Vernonia Trail wins tourism industry award

Yes! I am going to be riding the entire thing over Memorial Day weekend and bringing my tourism dollars to the coast range foothills and the communities of Banks and Vernonia. 🙂

Is the whole thing paved now? Wasn’t there a gap in the middle that was dirt?

Cycle Wild road it a few weeks ago. There are a couple of dirt-road crossings where you will be on gravel for about 20-30 feet, but the path itself is entirely paved now.

It’s paved for the entire length. Where the old steep descents used to be at Tophill, there are new switchbacks. (still steep, but not AS steep) There are signs asking cyclists to walk bikes on those hills, and if you’re not an experiences rider, you’re best off following that advice – the switchbacks can be hazardous if wet or icy. As of a couple weeks ago, there was still the occasional bit of snow up there, but the trail is clear now.

If one were to desire to ride said trail would one find the easiest way to get there by traveling on max then bus to forest grove and riding north on Nehalem Highway? I know north plains will ticket if you don’t put foot down at stops since their podunk little town clerk stole 100’s of thousands for years(maybe over a million) of cash receipts from their ticket program. I’d like to get to the start of the trail as fresh as possible to speed through in case danger lurks(and what killer wouldn’t pick his spot to do his hobby on a lone trail with no help?)

Thanks all for the information. One more question: is the trail suitable for training rides (say, 16-20 mph range) on a road bike? I’m thinking primarily about width and how many walkers there are…

“…and offers people the ability to roll or walk the entire route without worrying about motor vehicles.”

Not quite accurate. There are a few places where the trail does intersect a motor vehicle road.

Pedal Bike Tours has shuttle service available- .50/mile per person with a $100 minimum each way (other destinations welcome). We can drop you at Vernonia for $22/person and pick you up at Banks for $11 or you can ride from Banks to the Max at Orenco Station (11 mi.). We did this for some Canadians earlier this year and they loved the trail.

Please keep in mind that this a muti purpose trail that is used a lot with horses as well as walkers, so keep that in mind when riding it on a bicycle. Safe speeds would be 15mph max. Startled horses can do a lot of harm to people. I will be riding this trail soon on my bicycle at safe speeds to enjoy the quiet and scenic wonders of nature and looking for any signs of the local cougar sightings and other wildlife.
Enjoy

If you’ve never seen a cyclist spook a horse, you haven’t ridden your bike around many horses.

RRR is correct.

I’ve ridden B-V up to the switchbacks & back on a few different occasions. Seen about 4 horses total, and maybe 20-30 hikers in that time (okay, so I was riding in January & it was cold out). Very easy to cruise at 20+ on this trail, so long as you go real slow when passing people & horses. Be especially careful going over the wooden bridges, since they don’t always mesh well with the trail, and at least one of them has a fairly significant little ramp going up to it.

I see horses on B-V almost every time. Be sure to use plenty of verbal warning signals when passing horses. Unless they have been around bicycles (unlikely) they don’t know what you are unless you make human noise. Bells are not good. And pass slowly….

Ditto on being careful on the wooden bridges. The little ones seem to have the worst transitions.

Are the posted mile markers accurate on the B-V Trail?