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The scenery was gorgeous! The rolling hill trail surface was in fair condition with minor root heaving and cracking . Work has started on the west side of the lake to correct these things. In several areas, the trail was covered with pine needles and twigs. There are many campgrounds all around the lake which have restrooms and water. There is a small store at the resort on the north end of the lake.
We started the bike ride at MP27 in Central Point at the newly-built Southern Oregon RV Park at the fairgrounds. We turned around at MP16.
Except for a couple of areas with root heaves which were marked with paint, the asphalt trail was in very good condition. The trail is relatively flat and runs along Bear Creek. This section of the trail is not particularly scenic and parts of the trail parallel I-5. At some points, the trail even runs underneath freeway overpasses. There are a couple of nice parks along the way – Hawthorne Park, Bear Creek Park and the very large US Cellular Sports Park. Most of the parks mentioned have water and restrooms.
The sad part of this section of the trail is the number of homeless and transient encampments on the trail. People are living under the underpasses and along the river. No one bothered us and I heard that the cities along the trail sweep through the area on a regular basis and cleanup all the garbage left behind and try to break up the encampments.
Overall, I would recommend this ride if you are in the area.
I have lived in the Tualatin / Tigard area for 40 years and have walked and biked portions of this trail but never knew it linked so easily for 10+ miles. Yesterday I rode it with two of my favorite people From Tualatin Community Park to Garden Home. Had a great visit and coffee at the Starbucks at the end of the trail. And the rode back. Wonderful Trip!
lovely loop for daytime running or walking. wouldn't recommend for evening or early morning due to some unlit areas under bridges and in alcoves.
Four of us rode this trail on a beautiful Sunday in August. We drove 415 S. Ivon Street to park and started the ride from. Where we parked, there were two tents pitched by outdoor living people. We got on the trail and immediately appreciated the good quality of the trail, the nice width, the number of people using the trail and how courteous trail users were. We had a good lunch at "Cartlandia" where we found a huge assortment of food carts. Perfect for cyclists who want to have lunch on the bike path. Past Cartlandia, near SE 101, we encountered several circumstance of people living outdoors by the trail. The first group was under a viaduct and the next group further on. There were obvious signs of camps, along the way. It was unfortunate but we continued along the path which has an abundance of blackberry bushes in all directions and other lush vegetation. It was delightful! We stopped at Gresham Park, rode into town for a snack and then rode back to where we started--32 miles round trip. We recommend it to bikers looking for an urban ride, away from cars. It's a wonderful bike path and flat the entire way. We saw people of all ages, great fun.
My wife and I rode this trail for the first time July 20 and 21, 2017 (a Thursday and Friday). Our plan was to ride Banks to Vernonia, stay overnight in Vernonia, and return the next day. On Thursday we drove from the Olympic Peninsula in Washington to Banks, arriving around noon. We were shocked to find that the State allows no overnight parking in the trail head parking lot. Besides that, the parking lot which holds about 30 vehicles (about half for compact cars) was full and there was only one compact space left which we could not use b/c we drive a minivan. We discovered a bicycle shop "Banks Bicycle Shop" 503-596-2433 adjacent to the trail head where we received some suggestions of where we could park from the very helpful staff which solved our problem. We have heard that the shop will actually come out on the trail to provide assistance. We also visited the Sheriffs office where we were told by the office staff that they thought we could park on the street for 48 hours without a problem. Our bikes are hybrids and we ride with a handlebar bag, trunk bag, and for an overnight ride, panniers. We noticed most of the bikes on the trail were road bikes with no gear at all, so their experience may be different than ours. The trail is black top all the way and scenery abounds. Yes, the trail has a number of root bumps, but most are well marked with paint stripes. Also, the beginning and ending of the bridges have significant bumps, but you just have to be aware of this. The first 4 or 5 miles are flat, or perhaps a very slight grade. However, the next 7 miles is a steady, unrelenting 5% grade and by the time we got to about the 12 mile point, we were very disappointed. About that time we met another biker who told us we were nearly at the top and we would soon begin the descent. Just before arriving in Vernonia there was a slight upgrade, but nothing much. We arrived at our B&B, "The Carpenter's House" and spent a very comfortable night. The next day we looked forward to "payback time". We rode the gentle incline to "Hilltop" and then had a magnificent ride back to Banks. Had we known the extent of the upgrade on the first day, it would have been easier because we would have known it would not extend all the way to Vernonia, but most of the reviews speak only of switchbacks and steep incline, which are very short and insignificant for us in comparison to the unrelenting upgrade for 7 miles. The bottom line is, it is a beautiful trail and a beautiful area and the answer to the question of whether we would do it again is "Yes!" because we would now be forearmed with knowledge of the trail layout.
While I love experiencing the various trails around the country, this is one of the best. You can just really ride (even fast) for a long time, versus having to stop for many street crossings. The scenery is very pretty, especially around the lake. It is well marked and easy to get to. The trail is maintained well, plenty wide for passing, and over-all a total joy! I rode it 2 days in a row before we moved on to our next adventure. Enjoy!
I rode this trail north from Pioneer Park - just past the park, after you cross the river, it is gravel, as noted before - coarse dark gravel that I think is brought in, as it is deeper to the edges. Anyway - I have a hybrid bike, so my tires are barely 1.5 inches or so as noted in the other review. Most of the trail was fine, but with my tires and gearing, there were hills I elected to walk up - and one that I chose to ride up, my back tire spun a lot in the sand/gravel. That said, I loved the trail and would do it again in a minute. Great views and well marked. I saw very few other cyclists or hikers on the trail.
On the next day, I was going to do the south end. We went to Farewell Bend park and could not find parking so parked in a side street. My husband brought up the parks and rec map of the trail, and it had several places on the west side of the river marked as no biking. The legend on the map just said unpaved, so it was confusing to say the least. Based on this and various other factors, I elected not to ride the south end, so I really don't know what the no biking areas are.
I've been walking the logging road for over 30 years. I've had many walks with my cats and dogs.
Over the last 10 years there's been some good and bad changes to the road.
The city of Canby bought the road then paved it. That was a good thing.
Now that it's paved the police can travel on it much faster now without braking the car there driving.
But worse than that is the bike riders. Yes bike riders!
They feel as if they own the road. I'm not talking about the mom and dad with kids bike riders. I'm talking about the ones that have the tight pants and Ricky rocket helmets.
They feel as if it's there road. They travel at speeds sometimes making them nothing but a blur. At those times
I've seen them yell at the moms and dad walkers with kids, "hey keep your kids under control ". To keep them out of the way. To this one. they actually hit and tried to run someone over. That reason was, " you were walking on the wrong side of the road". I didn't know there was a wrong side of the road because it started as a WALKING TRAIL not bike trail.
But other than the rude bike riders you will sometimes meet
You can meet some of the nicest people.
Nice dog people as well.
Great ride, lots of flowers and great smells Boring to down town Portland.
We just mountain biked this trail (in May) and it was really beautiful! It was a pretty hot day, so we didn't go as far as we would have liked because our water supply was running low. It's really hard to stay cool out there because there's absolutely no shade, so be prepared! We also stayed on the path and still managed to run into TWO rattlesnakes! Bring plenty of water, a snake bite kit, and know your stuff! The view of the river is breathtaking, as well as the abandoned buildings and minty green sagebrush! We're gonna go back as soon as it cools down.
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