Find the top rated cross country skiing trails in Salem, whether you're looking for an easy short cross country skiing trail or a long cross country skiing trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a cross country skiing trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
We stayed at Columbia River RV and rode from the RV Park to the first section of Marine Drive Trail - I saw that the I-205 joins directly there so we took it south. I saw that it went over the two bridges of the Columbia river so we gave that a try. Wow. It is a bike path in the middle of the bridge with northbound traffic whizzing by on one side and southbound on the other. The noise!! LOL The path is barricaded by a concrete wall on both sides and then a metal guard rail on top of that. So honestly felt safe enough. We did the first mile over the first bridge and then turned around. It was an experience to say the least. (We are both 79) Then we continued south on the trail for about 6 miles. I like this kind of trail - kind of urban-lots to look at. Some industrial/one section of beautiful older houses. We didn't get to any homeless but in the distance I could see a big tent setup. We have ridden lots of trails with homeless and never been bothered but I know it does bother some people. Sometimes we stop to talk with them and all have a sad story. I would definitely ride this again if in the area-we are from AZ just roaming in our small RV with ebikes on the back staying out of the AZ heat.
We started in Parking lot#3. Glad to have the traillink map-it was fun cruising around all the loops - so much better than a straight path. Every section was different. Beautiful scenery - saw a big eagle nest with Mama in it/a huge lilypad pond. We did 10miles but this could easily be at least a 20mile trail. Just go in reverse and mixup the loops. Totally enjoyable and I would use this all the time if I lived close to it.
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.
Nice connection between Kaiser Station and down by Home Depot. There’s a couple of cracks that you need to be careful of other than that. Great ride.
Wonderful ride in the park. Safe, green, quiet, and a bit scenic.
We camped at the county fairgrounds in Rickreall and rode into Monmouth to visit college haunts. An enjoyable day.
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
Came to do a long run. Couldn’t finish because the hills are so intense. But, it’s a beautiful trail and well maintained!
A sunny Saturday but only one other person on this trail full of historical markers about the Tigard/Tualatin area.
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!
We parked at B and 2nd and it was a bit tricky figuring out how to get on the right trail to Philomath but finally got to it. Worse part is there is now a much bigger area in the field under the overpass that has a lot of homeless camp. No one bothered us They have marked the few bumps in the asphalt with white paint which was helpful. Would not do again.
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