Find the top rated walking trails in Cathlamet, whether you're looking for an easy short walking trail or a long walking trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a walking trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
As the description indicates, this trail is only partially paved, a lot of it has large, loose gravel adding significant time and effort to the pedaling. Additionally, the hill climbs are much steeper than any rail-trail; I'd guess only about half was actually a former rail line. We started in Scappoose and went all the way to Vernonia Lake, ending at the same place as the Banks-Vernonia trail but much more tired! However, the trail has the same beautiful scenery as can be expected in this part of the country--just plan for a longer, more arduous ride!
Day #1 We started at the Pisgah Trailhead Parking and rode north. I think a lot of this was asphalt at some point but most of it has deteriorated to hard pack dirt and small gravel. There are short sections where the asphalt returns. Its about 5 miles to the Ruley Trailhead-we rode another 3 and then turned around. It was gorgeous. Huge tree canopy the whole way. Lots of ferns/heavy moss on trees and we saw a deer on the bike path.
Day#2 - parked at the same place and rode south. The terrain is much more open and as you go south the pavement returns. It's only about 4.5 miles to the end of the trail so we rode Dike Road for several miles. No traffic and at one point you can ride to the top of the dike and see the moored boats and floating houses.
We are just roaming around in our small RV with the ebikes on the back - staying out of the heat of AZ-so I'm glad we got to do this trail and we love all trails pretty much but I wouldn't go out of my way to do it again.
My wife and I were concerned about the reviews that we read about this trail regarding the pavement being in poor shape.
We rode from Banks to the State Park (cannot remember the name of it). The state park is about 10 miles into the trail from Banks.
Most of the trail was in decent shape. There are roots that have elevated the pavement to make bumps, but they are mostly avoidable.
There is one section where the trail is in really rough shape. It was even bumpy on a mountain bike. But still very rideable.
We did see several people on thin tired road bikes. So it does not scare everyone away.
I personally would not ride it on a road bike.
From mile 5 to 10 it is a steady up hill grade. We were able to average 6 mph on this section without a lot of effort.
Coming back was very fast. I hit 21 mph at one point.
Overall it was an enjoyable ride. I would ride this trail again if I was in this area again.
This well maintained path from nowhere to nowhere seemed like a commuters pathway. It is not scenic and follows the high voltage power lines mostly. A couple of parks along the way and two LARGE homeless camps.
Overall this is a very nice but in need of better maintenance. I echo those that would love a new surface, but fully understand the challenge of finding funding. I rode the Vernonia to Stubb Steward state park section the other day. While some efforts have been made to improve the bridge approaches several still need additional work. And efforts to demarcate other trail hazards (dips, root bumps etc) should be repainted to highlight them for safety’s sake. Due to the shade/sun nature of the trail for much of its length old eyes don’t adjust as quickly as the once did and the faded paint warning are not as affective as they were when first new installed
A perfect autumn day on a wonderful trail. Beautiful paved, 15 mile round-trip trail. It had a small homeless camp in a small cluster, but nothing scary. Felt completely safe, and the rest of the trail was spotlessly clean and well maintained by the City of Vancouver. Old growth forest, ferns and so much more!! Don’t miss this ride - it was wonderful.!!
Thanks to your mapping it was easy to follow! Only on the road a bit! Beautiful views and a gentle ride. Loved it!
The views, the path, the length - hands down our favourite between cannon beach and long beach. It is a must do again!
So enjoyed this ride until I made a critical cycling error and got my tire stuck in a rail while turning and had quite the crash. Loved the views of this ride beautiful sights, lovely stores and eateries along the path.
Some of the complaints about the trail from earlier in the year seem to have been resolved. There are new approaches to some of the bridges and attempts made to partially fill the worst of the cracking in the pavement. Bumps and dips are well-marked, so often avoidable if you're paying attention. So thanks to whoever is doing this good work! A tree across the path on our way to Vernonia was - surprisingly - completely cleared by the time we biked back, so someone is paying attention! Great ride!
Rode this trail from one end to the other and back on Mountain Bikes and had no issues at all. Some of the previous reviews make it sound dangerous on bikes but I did not find that to be true at all. Maybe they've improved the boardwalk sections since those reviews but yes there are small gaps between some boards but none are wide enough to cause issues for bikes. Yes you need to be careful of the rail crossings and do stay away from the rails themselves as they have gaps. That said, using common sense this is a super fun trail. Don't let the negative reviews deter you!
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