Powell Butte Nature Park

Best trails within Portland City limits. Very small area of multi use single track. Great views from the top of both Mt.Hood and Mt. Saint Helens. Great for quick morning or evening blasts ( late summer sunsets are incredible), particularly if your short on time. You can get 5-6 miles of riding and nearly 1000 ft of elevation in under an hour by sessioning the main bile friendly trails. It'd the perfect place to ease a beginner into mountain biking or to stress test a new build. Just watch out for other trail users when depending as the trails can get busy around midday and early afternoon , particularly in the summer.

Nothing too challenging, but fast and fun! Go early to avoid the crowds.

I'm new to mountain biking and I went here for the first time and had a blast! It was a great introduction and will for sure be heading back!

Really smooth trails, equal amounts of climbing and downhill sections because it is a butte after all. Keep your head up for pedestrians, but as someone said before they are respectful as long as you're not flying by them at top speed.

This place was full of good paced climbs and some fun here and there down hill. The people are respectable and as long as you share with them, they share with you. Agreed that you should hit it early in the morning to beat the rush. This place gets really full and popular around noon on the weekend. We only went once so far, but plan to go back.

I'm just getting back into mountain biking at 21 after not riding much since 12. Powell Butte had several trails that were quite fun and allowed me to build my skills without exiting a comfortable trail difficulty. While there really aren't too many miles of trails, they are all pretty fun and well maintained. The location is excellent too. I'll definitely be back.

Fun beginner trails that rewards every climb with a quick descent. Sad and unbelievable that Portland doesn't have more parks with trails. This is a multi use park with hikers, dogs, bird watchers and evidence of horseback riders. All I found were polite and respectful. There are gravel trails along the summit area where Mt. Hood & Mt. Saint Helens are visible on clear mornings. Several singletrack trails lead off of the Summit Trail. They are all similiar with speed control the only danger on the downhill trails. You can put multiple loops together. Each easy, quick downhill requires a 500' climb to start again at the summit. You can log 10 miles without too much retracking once you know the layout.
The main entrance is closed while a water storage reservoir is being built. I found parking off 136th Ave. and Holgate Blvd. My favorite spot was just down 136th Ave. on SE Center St. These areas are standard working class neighborhoods of the region. Not Beverly Hills, but far from a ghetto.
New trail name post (yellow painted metal) recently installed and trail map found at:
http://www.portlandoregon.gov/parks/finder. Search biking trails.

With life's time constraints and a life in a busy, urban setting, there are few spots where a quick mountain bike ride is possible. Powell Butte offers this. Very easy trails to ride. If you ride it hard with different configurations, you can get a pretty good workout. I wish they had some more technical stuff up there, but it is what it is. Horses and hikers with dogs (often off leash) use the trails too, so be wary.

Powell Butte is a good trail for those seeking to get a quick ride within city limits. Parking is best off of 148 Street. From the trail head you have two choices, gradual climb to the jeep trail along an easy double wide trail or up a series of steep but fun switchbacks to bypass the lower section. The trail proper is in a wooded area and single track bliss with packed but soft soil, perfect for going fast I recommend a bell to let hikers and runners know your coming. I like Powell Butte because of the climbs; it's a simple trail, a good trainer trail, excellent for keeping the legs in working order. You can complete the 6.67 miles in 45 minutes. The parking area is a bitch sketchy but I haven't seen glass on the gravel so right off the bat it's better than Little Cotton Wood Canyon in Salt Lake City. Rode the trail Saturday April 12, 2014 and found a small section of the lower trail washed out but a bypass was clearly marked and kept the fun rolling.

This park offers a variety of trails. Is a fun place to get some pedal time in

Boring, busy, and short. Trail is on a hill in the ghetto

Sometimes busy with hikers and bikers alike. This trail offers nice downhill and climb rides in close proximity to Portland and Gresham.