By Tom Jow — This June my friends and I revisited two riding areas from our vacation last year. The first was the Spence Mountain trail network of Klamath Falls, Oregon. We planned to camp near the Shoalwater Bay trailhead, adjacent to Eagle Ridge County Park, about forty-five minutes north of downtown. Spence Mountain has a good mix of trails for all levels, built and maintained by the Klamath Falls Trails Alliance. Our second destination is the mountain bike paradise of Oakridge.
Spence Mountain
Day 1
We departed late from Salt Lake Friday and camped just outside Winnemucca, Nevada. The next morning, after a delicious breakfast at The Griddle in Winnemucca, we head north up to the Oregon border. The landscape is vast, with rolling hills of sage green for as far as the eye can see. It is both desolate and beautiful at the same time. Heading west across southern Oregon is a mix of high plains, a river canyon, ranch land, and finally forest. It is early afternoon when we arrive at Spence Mountain. Just beyond the Shoalwater Bay trailhead our friends have set up camp at Eagle Ridge County Park. After a snack, it was time to hit the trails.
Across the road from camp, we started up the Shoalwater trail. This trail is an easy climb to its highest point where it joins three other trails. Because it was late in the day, we chose to ride up the two-way trail, Captain Jack (it is shown as downhill primary on Trailforks.com so use caution). Slightly steeper than Shoalwater, it was much nicer to ride up winding singletrack than a dusty old road. There are a couple of steep pitches and short rock gardens to keep it interesting for traveling both the up- or downhill. Two and a half miles later we reached another high point intersecting two downhill trails, the intermediate level Chinquapin, and the advanced level Nighthawk. Some of the group chose Chinquapin, with its fast, flowy turns, some intricate rock work, and small jumps. Two of us chose Nighthawk, what I would call a “tech” flow trail. It is steep and fast with jumps and berms like any flow trail. But it also has rock gardens and small rock drops built into the mix. In addition, the rough stuff starts out right away, as if to say, “if you don’t like this, you might not like the rest.”
Day 2
In the summer, morning comes early in Oregon. Not only because it is farther north than Utah, but being camped next to a wetland bay, the amount of birdsong was crazy. It was like the soundtrack of a nature show. After a hearty breakfast, we headed out for our first ride of the day. Heading up to the top of Shoalwater again, this time we cut left on the Modoc trail, traversing south through a forest of Douglas Fir and Ponderosa Pine. At the next junction, we head down the flowy Winema trail to the south shore of Spence Mountain. With a wide grassy beach and a bench looking out over the lake, this is a beautiful place for a snack. From there we ride the Queen of the Lake trail along the shore and then head up and inland on the brand-new Badger trail. For three miles and a little over four hundred vertical feet, Badger goes up and across this eastern part of the mountain to the Northstar trail where we rejoin the Shoalwater trail. With part of our group departing for home, we descend back to camp. After a leisurely, scenic three-hour tour of the east side we are all ready for a little lunch.
One of the best things about camping on a bike vacation is the lack of things to do besides eating, sleeping, and riding. So, after lunch and a nap, we head to the Shoalwater Bay trailhead. Just around the corner, we start up the Spence Peak trail. With a moderate climbing grade, the four miles to the North Ridge trail goes by quickly. The second of two advanced level downhill trails on the Shoalwater side, the North Ridge descends exactly that, the ridge. Similarly to the Nighthawk trail, North Ridge also has a tricky feature at the start. Beginning with a steep ten-foot rocky roll into a left turn, the trail just continues to get rougher from there. Winding back and forth across the ridge, and often straight down, the trail is littered with embedded wheel stopping rocks, rock gardens, jumps and small drops. One of the closing features of the trail is a field of large rocks with no apparent way through. There is one though, and as with much of this trail, being able to pick a line quickly is imperative to prevent oneself from being launched over the handlebars.
Day 3
This morning the birds are a little quiet. The wind was howling overnight and now it is trying to rain. We welcome the cooler temperatures, and some rain would tamp the dust down a bit. For better or worse the Klamath Falls area is more high desert than Oregon Cascades rainforest.
Today we rode straight to the top of Spence Peak. The upper section of the Spence Peak trail is a little steep, with short traverses and tight switchbacks. Once at the top there is a viewpoint from which we can see nearly all of Klamath Lake and the Klamath Valley. After a quick snack we head down the Upper Hooligan trail. Wrapping around the upper peak, Hooligan is a fast trail with small, loose rocks and dust intermixed with some small jumps on the side. At the next junction we cut right, and down a dusty looking Mazama trail. I commented to one of my friends about how I thought we would be on a climb. Wouldn’t you know it just then, we meet the Peak Tie trail, taking us up and into the woods. In just a couple minutes we rejoin the Spence Peak trail and climb back up for another lap on Nighthawk. This time, however, someone gets hung up on a rock and takes a tumble down a steep hillside. Fortunately, it’s just bumps and scratches and we have a long afternoon of eating, napping and reading for them to recover.
Day 4
With our next destination, Oakridge, Oregon, just a couple of hours away, we have time for one more ride at Spence. Conveniently on route is the Spence Mountain trailhead, the access to the South Ridge and Speed King trails. The South Ridge trail rises approximately 1,400 feet in four and a half miles from start to Spence Peak*. After climbing about three miles, we cut off onto the Speed King trail. The descent starts off steep onto a wide, fast flow trail with high berms and big jumps. The jumps are an interesting mix of table tops, rollable gaps, and not so rollable gaps.
There were some open sections I could really let it fly, and there were more than a couple jumps that caught me off guard and almost threw me for a loop, quite literally. A good reminder that it is always a good idea to ride with caution the first time on a trail. The second sector of Speed King continues the fast flow with slightly smaller, more predictable jumps. Sector three was even more tame, with features built just right for beginners. It was after entering this last section that I recognized the genius of this trail; a high entry for experts, a middle entry for intermediates, and an early entry for beginners. Brilliant!
It’s a two-and-a-half-hour drive to Oakridge from Klamath Falls. Before departing we stop at Rodeos Pizza and Saladeria to refuel. Oh! Pizza is so good!
Oakridge
Day 5
Our second destination for the week lies just inside the eastern edge of the Cascade Range, the little town of Oakridge. Designated an IMBA Gold level ride center in 2015, Oakridge has trails covering nearly four hundred miles.* What Oakridge is really known for are some really epic downhill rides serviced by local shuttle companies. Today we have reservations with Cog Wild Mountain Bike Tours to shuttle us for the Hardesty-Lawlor double (they conveniently pickup in the same place).
This being my second time here, I wait with anticipation for the trail ahead. During the approximately forty-minute drive up to Hardesty, our shuttle driver fills us in on the trail conditions. While we were in Klamath Falls, Oakridge received a pretty good dunking over the weekend. As a result, it will be “real Pacific Northwest” conditions with a mix of wet, grippy loam, slick rocks and roots, and some greasy mud thrown in for good measure.
Despite clear blue skies at the pickup, we get dropped off in the clouds. As we continue up the dirt road, and then onto singletrack, we begin to leave the clouds behind. The trail flattens out and around the next corner we are treated to a clear view of the western Cascades. We begin descending and just as quickly we are back in the clouds, a dark, damp foggy mist. For the next five miles we descend into dense forest. Traversing back and forth down a ridgeline the trail is fast, with some long sightlines. Technically the trail is not too difficult with no cliff exposure (steep hillsides though) and only a few sections of loose rock. What I found a little unnerving though are the large trees on the downhill side of a narrow trail while traveling at a fast pace.
After another forty-minute shuttle up, our second run of the day was the Lawlor trail. After the drop off, we pedal up for about a mile. The descent starts off fun and fast. Keep an eye out for the junction for the Patterson Mountain Lookout trail. Stop here. It’s easy to fly past the turn for Lawlor, and then lose your friends behind you.
As we get further into the trail, it’s different from our earlier ride. While the Hardesty trail feels like it’s all about speed, Lawlor has more variety. The trail twists and turns more, today, the muddy puddles slick and slippery. More than one time somebody gets loose and goes off into the trees. About halfway down there is a short, steep climb with one impossible switchback. Behind it are three more very difficult ones. Just beyond this lung buster we are rewarded by a lookout to Patterson Mountain.
As we continue down, the trees seem to get thicker, the trail a little twistier. Soon we come to a series of tight, nearly impossible downhill switchbacks. They are so tight! Between these turns are traverses with steep hillsides below. Not a place to fall off the side. As we get to the bottom, the trail finishes off with some new school berms and jumps. Just ten more minutes pedaling on a dirt road, and we are back at the car for some well-deserved cold beverages.
Day 6
For our last day in Oakridge, we chose the Alpine trail. If there was only time for one trail, this might be the one. With over four-thousand feet of descending and one-thousand feet of pedaling across thirteen miles* this trail has it all. There is up, there is down, there are amazing views… and then there is the trail. Tacky soil, fast straights and fast turns; a downhill mountain bikers dream.
After a forty-five-minute shuttle, we enter the trail at Kate’s Cut In. The trail gently ascends through tall trees. Shortly, after crossing a mountain meadow, the downhill begins. Lively, twisting and turning trail that requires us to be always looking ahead. Being one more day after the rain, the trail surface is perfect with lots of traction and only a little mud. We travel down, a little up, and then more down; crossing a road here, crossing a road there. Down again, up again, down again.
About halfway down the Lower Alpine section we cross over to the west side of the ridge. Here, the trail surface is rough with long stretches of small rocks. The sight lines are long. I dare myself to see how far I can ride wialpthout the brakes. It’s not far because the trail is so fast. Also, the trail cut is a wall on one side and a steep drop on the other. Best not to fall here. Luckily soon, it’s back to the relative safety of fast, twisting, turning, loamy trail around large trees. And then just like that, we are back to the parking lot. Now to find a cold drink and a swimming hole.
The next day, we begin the eleven-hour drive back to Salt Lake. It is a long way, but it was worth it. The trails at Spence Mountain were spectacular. It was particularly nice that there are trails for riders of every level. The trails are also well organized with loops that make sense. I really liked the fork of Nighthawk and Chinquapin, where some riders can use the fast, flow trail and others can use the steeper, rockier one. Being camped at the lakeshore of Eagle Ridge County Park (albeit a little buggy) was beautiful. The bird watching and bird song was otherworldly. Riding from and back to camp is so luxurious.
Our experience in Oakridge was also incredible. Three epic downhill trail rides. The Blue Pool campground, with its large, ice-cold swimming hole was luxurious in its own way. Dunking in ice-cold water after a long day on the bike is so refreshing. If traveling, camping, and riding mountain bikes is your idea of a good time, I highly recommend these two areas.
(* Sources: Klamath Falls Trail Alliance; Trailforks.com; IMBA.com; Greater Oakridge Trail Stewards)
For more information:
Trails:
Shuttles:
Camping:
Got a bike question? Email Tom at [email protected]
