Ride the Oregon Timber Trail
The Oregon Timber Trail is 700 miles of trail and backcounty roads along Oregon’s mountain spine from California to the Columbia River Gorge. It runs south to north and travels through a variety of mountainous landscapes and small communities.
The Oregon Timber Trail is inspired by the Pacific Crest Trail and other long distance routes. What sets it apart is that it’s designed with mountain biking in mind - about 60 percent of the route is trail open to biking.
Some people ride the entire route in a few weeks and others take a month or more. Some just ride one section at a time and space out the journey over several years. The OTT corridor also includes rides that last only a weekend or a day.
We’ve organized our rider resources into four sections: Day Rides, Tier Loops, Long Distance, and Race/Tour the OTT.
Enjoy your journey and share the adventure with the #oregontimbertrail hashtag on Instagram.
Updates and Detours:
Avoid the 22 miles of trail along Winter Rim (mile 108.5 to 130.9). It is too brushy to bike. Instead, use the Winter Ridge Trail bypass.
Avoid the Red Lake and Lodgepole trails west of Olallie Lake (mile 559.3 to 566.8). The area burned harad recently and the trails have many logs across them and so are unrideable. Instead, use the Olallie Lake bypass.
5/10/2024. The higher elevation segments of the route are still under snow. It will likely be all melted by late June.
Day Rides
No time for bikepacking? You can always slice off a segment of the OTT and ride for a day. Check out the best 5-50 mile mountain bike rides in each tier.
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Long Distance
Ride the entire route or just a segment at a time. Here is the information you’ll need to pull off a long distance adventure on the Oregon Timber Trail.
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Tier Loops
Each of these loops take in a segment of the Oregon Timber Trail and add other pieces of trail and road to create a loop that is fitting for a long weekend ride.
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Race/Tour the OTT
Each year in early July riders line up at the start of the Oregon Timber Trail as a group and either race or tour the route. The choices in 2024 are either the 300 miles to Oakridge or the 700 miles to the end of the OTT at Hood River. Those rider who are racing complete the challenge under their own power with no outside support. Those who are touring have a more relaxed mode and can share food, water, and equipment.
Learn More ➜
The OTT at a Glance
“The small towns the route passes through, large amount of alpine singletrack and people of Oregon and Cascadia were truly special!”
The adventure begins near the California border, an hour drive from the isolated town of Lakeview. Within the first ten miles the route crests at 8,000 feet and then continues north and west through little-traveled basin and range country. The riding is rugged with vistas of Mt Shasta, the Three Sisters Mountains, and the expansive Fort Rock Basin. As the route climbs westward through volcanic debris from the massive Mount Mazama eruption of 8000 years ago, the landscape slowly begins to change. Lakes and streams start appearing, and then as you reach the crest of the Cascade Mountains at Summit Lake the forests shift dramatically from dry, tan open forests to green towering groves. You’ll follow the faint gurgling streams as they come together and merge into the Middle Fork of the Willamette River leading you to the mountain biking hub of Oakridge. Roughly halfway, and one of the two larger towns on the route, Oakridge is a great place to treat yourself to some cask ale at the 3 Legged Crane, a clean bed and shower at one of the lodges, or even a day of unloaded shuttles on some of the legendary trails in the area.
“Remoteness, views, and backcountry singletrack were the most rewarding part of my experience.”
Once well-fed and rested, you begin the ascent of Bunchgrass Ridge through terrain recently scarred by fire. Eventually you descend the slopes of Fuji Mountain, crossing the crest of the Cascades a second time, and enter the Deschutes Tier. These high cascade lakes and peaks are the work of relatively recent and dramatic volcanic activity that created a rocky, and sandy alpine environment. After coursing by Mount Bachelor and the Three Sisters you descend into the town of Sisters and cross over the mountains once again along the historic Santiam Wagon Road.
Say goodbye to open ponderosa forests as you enter the roller coaster of the Old Cascade Crest and Olallie Lakes area exploring lush ridges, pocket lakes and roaring streams all dominated by Mount Jefferson looming to the east. The trails are steep, narrow and demanding. As you continue north, Mount Hood steals your attention as Jefferson recedes behind you. The trails loop around lakes and old forests while slowly leading you up Gunsight Ridge, prepping you for your final descent along Surveyor’s Ridge and towards Hood River via Parkdale and the Post Canyon trail system. Dip your tires in the Columbia River, lay in the grass, and buy yourself a beer and burger—you just rode your mountain bike across the whole state.
