Middle Fork Trail

None of the reviews or descriptions mention that you have to pay $7 if you park in the Sand Prarie Campground just to use the trail, which is kind of a bummer but like that for a lot of recreation areas in Oakridge. The trail is a nice, somewhat flat stretch of singletrack with some small rock and rooted sections, downhill slopes, and small climbs. It is surrounded by beautiful scenery on all sides, and at about the mid-way point, opens up to the river. A great ride all-around.

Maybe one of the most fun trails I have ever ridden. I'm not a big, downhill bomber nor a huge fan of grinding up endless hills, so this trail offers all the in-between. Rolling single track along the upper stretches of the beautiful Middle Fork of the Willamette River. Roots and rocks here and there; a few steep pitches, but lots and lots of wonderful scenery and solitude. The trail is a total of about 40 miles one way all together--about 20 or so miles in the lower section (less steep and technical). You can make a serious day of it on this trail. Lots of campgrounds up there.

I rode a section of this trail from Sand Prairie Campground to around milepost 22 last weekend. The weather was great and the trail was in excellent condition considering we just came out of one of the wettest Marches in recorded history. There was literally only one muddy spot and a couple of higher-than-usual water crossings.
The first 5 miles or so of this trail are a lark—ideal for beginning riders, but still a lot of fun for others. The scenery here is beautiful. After that, it became progressively more challenging with some steep and/or more technical sections. Nothing too crazy though.
Although the trail leaves the woods in two places along this section, the route is very well-marked, and soon returns to singletrack. This was my first time riding this trail, but will certainly not be my last. I’m eager to ride the upper, more challenging portions that are currently under several feet of snow.
This seems like a great place to do a weekend trip—one day up, camp at the lake, one day down. Get a Wilderness Pass permit or be prepared to park away from established trailheads to avoid a fine. The permit is good in three states and is good for a year. There is also a daily option.

As far as I know this is actually called the Middle Fork Trail. I enjoyed riding thru this old growth, green forest as any other oregon trail. Willamette Mtn Mercantile suggested this ride. I strayed from the trail at the bridge by Butcherknife Creek and continued on the road. I climed up the Logging road 2129 for about 3 or so miles to 435. This was a start of a fast descent back down to the road. Wish it was longer, but you can climb up even higher to get a few more miles of downhill in. I was pretty spent at this time. Back down to the river by campers flat campground and rode back. I think a total of about 15 miles for this ride. I would definately do again, be advised you will probably be the only one on this trail.

Follow the prior review for directions to lower trail head.

If you start the ride from the bottom at Sand Prairie Campground, at approximately 12 miles up, at Chuckle Springs, there is hike-a-bike sections and it gets fairly steep. Prior to that it is sweet rolling singletrack with a few steep bursts. I have been told to ride the entire trail, it is best to ride in one direction from Timpanagos to Sand Prairie Campground (Epic in all proportions/quality of trail).

Definately stop by Willamette Mountain Mercantile in Oakridge and a great, easy to follow map is by Tread Maps.

* Review edited 3/19/2009

Although this trail is relatively flat most of this area is fairly steep terrain, I advise stopping by the bike shop in town and picking up a good topo map and get the local scoop on any trails you are interested in. There are literally hundreds of miles of trail here and a thousand miles of forest service type roads – get a map and enjoy!

* Review edited 7/16/2007