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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Sammamish, WA
    Posts
    202

    Oakridge in May? Is this possible?

    I have been planning on doing a trip to Oakridge in late May this year. I have never ridden there and really want to. After some searching it seems like late May could be too early and the trails will be covered with snow. Do any locals have any insight to this? Seeing as Willamette only has a 30 in base this could be possible? Trails I am most interested in are Alpine and Bunchgrass. Seems like there are enough trails to spend a week or two riding.

    Anyone have ideas to trails that are lower in elevation in Oakridge and still offer similar riding?

    Thanks.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Aspen
    Posts
    9,421
    Quote Originally Posted by born2snowboard99 View Post
    I have been planning on doing a trip to Oakridge in late May this year. I have never ridden there and really want to. After some searching it seems like late May could be too early and the trails will be covered with snow. Do any locals have any insight to this? Seeing as Willamette only has a 30 in base this could be possible? Trails I am most interested in are Alpine and Bunchgrass. Seems like there are enough trails to spend a week or two riding.

    Anyone have ideas to trails that are lower in elevation in Oakridge and still offer similar riding?

    Thanks.
    Let me know... if Alpine is somehow rideable in early June, I will be stopping by. You definitely want to ride Middle Fork and hit up the North Umpqua Trail a little further south.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Posts
    2,835
    Quote Originally Posted by funkendrenchman View Post
    Let me know... if Alpine is somehow rideable in early June, I will be stopping by. You definitely want to ride Middle Fork and hit up the North Umpqua Trail a little further south.
    ^^^Yeah, let us know what you find out. I'll be in the area mid-June with the wife, a bunch of teenagers and a trailer full of bikes.

    Will also be posting to ask for recommendations for stuff anywhere near Bend (or between Bend and Northern Cali) that's fun not too challenging for the kids. Waht would be supercool would be some shuttles the wife and I could take turns driving while the kids bomb trails. Nothing too tough, we're all on hardtails.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Sammamish, WA
    Posts
    202
    Bump:

    Will be there this weekend. Still looking for Beta.

    Plan so far:

    Ride Alpine and North fork Middle fork.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    Tahoe City
    Posts
    722
    There's a link to local conditions here> http://www.oakridgebikeshop.com/
    Like I told my last wife, I never drive faster than I can see, besides it's all in the reflexes.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Sammamish, WA
    Posts
    202
    Rode Alpine 3x on Saturday and Larison Rock 2x on Sunday. It was a blast.

    About 10 miles of alpine is ride able but it was great! Not many people out there this weekend. Did see a few people training for the creampuff and the webcyclylery sprinter was out and about.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    SLC
    Posts
    2,898
    Bumping this thread - thinking about a trip to Oakridge/Bend/North Umpqua area the second week of May as it fits into GF's school calendar. Is that WAY too early? I saw that in 2017 Oregon Adventures started shuttling on May 6th.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Location
    People's Republic of OB
    Posts
    4,407
    Can't say for sure, but I did a trip there once the first week of June during what seemed to be a heavy snow year. The furthest part of Alpine had some snow but was mostly rideable, and there were some other trails above town that couldn't be ridden. Conditions were prime otherwise. Call the Mercantile in Oakridge, they should be able to advise you. At worst the lower stuff should be open. Not sure if downed trees would be an issue.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Posts
    660
    Bumping.

    Does anyone have any recent trail conditions beta?

    I will call the local shop as well.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    United States of Aburdistan
    Posts
    7,281
    I'll be there around June 6th snow or not. Anyone know what's up with Oregon Adventure Shuttles? First ride for them this season will be September.

    A quick look at Strava and it shows that people have been riding upper Alpine for the past 5 days, top speeds being 15mph instead of 20mph. Take that for what it's worth, but my guess on that info is that's fairly clear with snow patches or mud. And in a few weeks I hope it's ready to go.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Eugenio Oregón
    Posts
    8,382
    I missed the thread bump last month ... I now live about 30-60 minutes from the various Oakridge THs.

    We had a dry winter and things melted out really fast. Local crews were able to start trail work pretty early this year to clear various blowdown etc.
    I'd suggest calling Mountain Mercantile for specific trail beta. There are also multiple Oakridge threads on mtbr in the Oregon forum.

    Re: shuttles, I would call Oregon Adventures for details + reservations. Most small companies in Oregon just don't maintain their websites very well.
    Cog Wild runs shuttles out of Mountain Merc shop, and I think they now have online reservations. They will cancel shuttles if they don't get a rider minimum. I'm still deciding if a season pass with Cog Wild will be worth it (just not sure how much travel I'll be doing this summer).

    Anyways, for various reasons I haven't gotten out on any of the Oakridge trails this season yet but I've got a Subie w/ 3-bike carrier ... if anyone is coming into down and wants to self-shuttle Lawler/Hardesty/Lairison Rock, hit me up on PM! There's also some other local shuttle options around Cottage Grove (Crawfish trail).

    Anyone planning trips, I'd suggest coming sooner (June July) rather than later (August Sep) ... local authorities are a bit spooked about the fire season coming up. Last year things got REALLY bad in mid-august and the smoke didn't go away until late September. Early October is also a great time out here.

    Cheers and happy trails!
    _______________________________________________
    "Strapping myself to a sitski built with 30lb of metal and fibreglass then trying to water ski in it sounds like a stupid idea to me.

    I'll be there."
    ... Andy Campbell

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