Alsea Falls Construction
The Sandy Ridge Trail System in Oregon is one of the most innovative mountain bike trail systems on public land. Located about 45 minutes east of Portland, the trails are managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and have been designed and built by Trail Solutions, with help from AntFarm and the Northwest Trail Alliance, an IMBA chapter. The trails are optimized for mountain biking (equestrian use is prohibited) and feature a mix of machine- and hand-built features, with options for all abilities.
The 17 miles of grin-inducing trails include Follow the Leader, a double-black diamond trail 1.65 miles in length, featuring 350 feet of vertical descent and several challenging rock lines. Flow Motion is a 0.75-mile intermediate trail with tacky soil and more than a dozen berms. Trail Solutions has a maintenance contract with the area to keep everything in prime condition.
Sandy Ridge Trail System, Oregon | 2013 from IMBA on Vimeo.
The Sandy Ridge trails were built after a 2006 Wilderness expansion near Portland closed 125 miles of trails to mountain bikers on U.S. Forest Service land. Following that, the BLM worked with other agencies to figure out what role they could play in the area, and building bike-specific trails was high on the list of desired projects.
“During the development process, we got a lot of feedback from the riding community that people wanted opportunities for more advanced, technical singletrack,” said Zach Jarrett, an Outdoor Recreation Planner with the BLM. “I think the new trails are a perfect addition to the system. Sandy Ridge is a valid mountain bike destination for people outside of the region.”
