Wildflower Season and Great Trail Conditions

Posted on July 5, 2017 by 44trails

It’s wildflower season up the 44 Trails mountain bike network.

Trails are in prime condition right now! Beat the heat in Hood River and head to the Mt. Hood National Forest for some of the best trail conditions of the season.

The wild flowers are peaking and trails are riding great. We’ve got the bulk of the trail system cleared of downed trees and its just lingering high elevation spots and more remote trail sections (Boulder/Forest Creek/Gunsight Butte) that still have snow and/or blowdown. Lookout, Cooks, Knebal, Eightmile, Fifteenmile, Surveyors, Dog River, Bottle Prairie, etc are all good to go.

44 Trails Conditions July 1 – High Elevation Status

Posted on July 1, 2017 by 44trails

Hey 44 Trail mountain bikers, despite the summer heat the past couple of weeks, high elevation trails remain blocked by snow and blowdown; and we’re not just talking the occasional snow patch. Gunsight Butte trail #685 still has 3-5 foot snow berms and lots of trees down on the trail. Where snow is melted, there is standing/running water. There are even trees still embedded into the snow. It looks like the ridge got hammered with broken tops over the winter.

Our recommendation is to stay on the lower elevation trails until snow has a chance to melt further and we’ve had a chance to clear trees. Most of the roads are clear but the Bennett Pass road is still blocked by snow.

Here’s the latest 44 trails conditions report as of Saturday July 1, 2017:

The Best Singletrack Mountain Biking on the Mt Hood National Forest

Gunsight Ridge Trail #685 – Closed by significant snow and downed trees. 3-5 foot snow berms – Estimate 2-3 weeks before clear.

Boulder Lake / Forest Creek zone – Less snow but not yet maintained or cleared of trees

Cooks Meadow trail #639 – Ridable with caution – a few downed trees – upper section has a few areas under construction but it’s open to ride – carry a hand saw and help cut out the lingering blowdown. Hope to have the few remaining trees cleared by July 4.
Lookout / #450 – Ridable with caution – 3-4 trees down and a few small snow patches – carry a hand saw and help cut out the lingering blowdown.

Latest 44 Trails Conditions Update June 26

Posted on June 27, 2017 by 44trails

Singletrack Mountain Biking Mt Hood National Forest – Our first trail work day is July 22 – more details soon! Sign up for our email list to be notified of work days, trail conditions, and to get a free digital map of the area!

Here’s the latest 44 trails conditions report as of Monday June 26, 2017:

The Best Singletrack Mountain Biking Mt Hood National Forest

Knebal Springs Trail #474 – Cleared and OPEN
Bottle Prairie Trail #455 – Cleared and OPEN
Eightmile Trail #496 – Cleared and OPEN
Oak Ridge Trail #688A – Cleared and OPEN
Super Connector – Cleared and OPEN
Dog River Trail # 675 – Cleared and OPEN
Surveyor’s Ridge Trail #688 – Cleared and OPEN
15 Mile / Cedar Creek loop trails #456/#457 – Clear and OPEN
Cooks Meadow trail #639 – Ridable with caution – a few downed trees – upper section has a few areas under construction but it’s open to ride – carry a hand saw and help cut out the lingering blowdown.
Lookout / #450 – Ridable with caution – 3-4 trees down and a few small snow patches – carry a hand saw and help cut out the lingering blowdown.

Extra Beta

– Cooks Meadow has a handfull of small trees and couple sections are still under construction but rideable with caution

– Lookout / 450 has four trees down and a few patches of snow – all rideable with caution.

If you plan to ride and have a handsaw – please cut back five feet either side of trail!

44 and 4410 roads are fully open – High country trails like Gunsight, Boulder, Forest Creek still have significant snow sections and unknown tree blowdown.

44 Trails Conditions Update – June 9

Posted on June 9, 2017 by 44trails

44 Trails Conditions Report – Surveyor’s, Fifteenmile, Eightmile, Knebal and more!
We’ve got more trails open in the 44 zone!

Here’s the latest report as of Friday June 9, 2017

Knebal Springs Trail #474 – Cleared and OPEN – a few snow patches but ridable
Bottle Prairie Trail #455 – Cleared and OPEN – a few snow patches but ridable
Eightmile Trail #496 – Cleared and OPEN – a few snow patches but ridable
Oak Ridge Trail #688A – Cleared and OPEN
Super Connector – Cleared and OPEN
Dog River Trail # 675 – Cleared and OPEN
Surveyor’s Ridge Trail #688 – Cleared and OPEN
15 Mile / Cedar Creek loop trails #456/#457 – Clear and OPEN

Cooks Meadow trail #639 – BLOWDOWN likely – snow possible upper end
Lookout / #450 – CLOSED – SNOW / BLOWDOWN

The 44 Road is fully open but the 4410 and other spur roads in the area still have snow, especially above 4,500 feet. High country trails like Gunsight, Boulder, Forest Creek are still under significant snow.

Eightmile, Knebal and Fifteen mile campgrounds are also open!

44 Trails Conditions Report – Knebal and Eightmile OPEN

Posted on May 26, 2017 by 44trails

We’ve got more trails open in time for the long weekend!

Here’s the latest report as of Thursday May 25, 2017

15 Mile / Cedar Creek loop trails #456/#457 – CLOSED – SNOW / BLOWDOWN

Cooks Meadow trail #639 – CLOSED – SNOW / BLOWDOWN
Lookout / #450 – CLOSED – SNOW / BLOWDOWN

The 44 Road is fully open but the 4410 and other spur roads in the area still have snow, especially above 4,000 feet. High country trails like Gunsight, Boulder, Forest Creek are still under significant snow.

Enjoy the lower elevation riding – the dirt is in great shape but there are wet sections, even on Knebal and Eightmile – so please be mindful.

Eightmile and Knebal campgrounds are also open.

44 Trails Conditions Report – May 2017

Posted on May 21, 2017 by 44trails

Here’s the latest spring trail update for the 44 Trails mountain bike trail network.

The 44 road is snow free and open and lower elevation trails are opening up. There is still snow and blowdown on the trail system but there a few things opening up for access: Here’s what we know as of May 19:

Surveyor’s #688 is open and rideable

Dog River #675 is open and rideable

You will find blowdown and isolated snow patches on much of the remaining trail system. Trails on the east side are more apt to be snow free, but we have not had any large scale blowdown removal yet. If you head up and ride – we’d love to hear what you find to help prioritize our blowdown removal. 44 at 44trails dot org is the place to send trail reports.

Thanks!

15 Mile and Cooks Meadow Open!

Posted on June 9, 2016 by 44trails

Hey, where did the trail go?

The winter blowdown on the Mt Hood National Forest 44 Trails single track system was substantial this year, but we are making solid progress clearing the damage.

You can now add the 15 Mile / Cedar Creek (#456/#457) loop and Cooks Meadow (#639) to the open and ready to ride list!

That brings the 44 zone close to wide open. We still have work to do on upper 450 and High Prairie, but the following trails have been cleared in the past few weeks:

15 Mile / Cedar Creek loop trails #456/#457 – open
Cooks Meadow trail #639 – open
Dog River Trail # 675 – open
Surveyor’s Ridge Trail #688 – open
Knebal Springs Trail #474 – open
Bottle Prairie Trail #455- open
Eightmile Trail #496- open
Oak Ridge Trail #688A – open
Super Connector – open

The lower Cedar / 15 Mile area is still a little brushy, so throw some small loppers or hand snippers in your pack and spend a little time helping us brush out the overgrown spots if you head that way for a ride!

Remember, the 44 Trail System on the Mt Hood National Forest is a multi-use system and trails are open to hiker, horse and biker traffic. Please be respectful of all users! Also keep in mind that trees fall during every season and new trees may come down since we have cleared. There a places where uprooted trees and tree impacts have damaged the trail tread, so ride and hike with care.

Finally, if you enjoy the 44 Trail System on the Mt Hood National Forest, turn out for one of our 2016 trail work days to return some energy to the trails or donate to the 44 Trails so we can help cover costs of logout and trail repair materials!

Here’s a few before and after shots of a couple 15 Mile / Cedar sections cleared today.

Hood River Mountain Bike Trails – 44 Trails Conditions Report

Posted on May 27, 2016 by 44trails

Hood River Mountain Bike trails

Attention 44 riders, we’ve been busy clearing spring blowdown on Hood River’s finest single track. Here’s the latest update on what trails have been cleared and are ready to ride in the 44 zone for Memorial Day weekend:

44 Trails Conditions

Dog River Trail # 675 – open
Surveyor’s Ridge Trail #688 – open
Knebal Springs Trail #474 – open
Bottle Prairie Trail #455- open
Eightmile Trail #496- open
Oak Ridge Trail #688A – open
Super Connector – open

Fifteenmile Trail #456 – Clear
Cooks Meadow Trail #639 -Clear

Higher elevation trails including upper 450, Boulder Lakes area and Bonnie Meadows have not been cleared of blowdown and are still too wet to ride. Please refrain from riding upper elevation areas that are still wet. Riding wet trails degrades the tread and fuels the argument for those who oppose mountain bike use.

Please respect the multi-use aspect of all trails in the 44 Zone and be prepared for new downed trees and changing conditions. There’s still some trail damage on open trails where downed trees have torn up the existing tread or uprooted trees have blown out the tread, so be alert for hazards. In other words, respect your fellow users and use your head! Have fun out there this weekend.

Hood River mountain bike trail conditions

Spring 2016 Trail Update

Posted on May 15, 2016 by 44trails

Spring has come early this year and the high country snow around the 44 zone is rapidly melting away! The 44 road is fully open, but some of the spurs – including the 4410 road to High Prairie – are still blocked by snow.

As usual, winter has left us with a mess of blowdown on the trails. We are working on getting things cleared out, albeit slowly.

Here’s what’s currently been cleared:

Surveyor’s Ridge north of the two track (Shellrock Mountain)
Knebal from 8-Mile trailhead north to Super Connector
Dog River (full)

We hope to have Knebal/Super Connector/Dakine Trail trail clear to the Knebal parking area this week (May 15-20) and, hopefully, 15-Mile, remaining Surveyor’s and more by Memorial Day weekend.

Of course, new trees could come down and there’s always a little more brush leaning in on the trails this time of year until they fully spring back from being buried all winter.

FYI, attempting to ride uncleared trails will yield varying success. Depending on the degree of blowdown, you might get an open mile or two only to find yourself faced with an extensive stretch of climbing and bike carrying. So, if you head up to explore, be ready for an adventure. The spring brushout of blowdown is a chainsaw intensive project that requires being certified by the USFS, so we have a select crew of certified sawyers making their way through the network as time allows. If you are up exploring and hear saw work, please approach slowly!

We should have a new trail conditions update by May 20. In the meantime, the lower elevation trails around the Hood River Valley are in fine form. Happy riding.

Mark your calendars for the following events:
July 9 – second annual TRAILGATE event – ride 44 zone, eat, drink and music –
details soon – read about last year’s event

July 23 – Cooks Meadow Extension Trail work – read about Cooks Meadow Extension
Aug 20 – Cooks Meadow Extension Trail work – read about Cooks Meadow Extension
Sept 24 – Surveyor’s/Super Connect connector – more details on this project in June
Oct 8 – Surveyor’s/Super Connect connector – more details on this project in June

44 Trails Conditions Report Nov 2015

Posted on November 6, 2015 by 44trails

Attention 44 riders! There is a lot of new blowdown on the 44 trail system thanks to last weekend’s storms.

The rain did great things for the trail tread, but you should be prepared for lots of downed trees.

Even the new Cooks Meadow extension project, which was cleared just two weeks ago, was full of blowdown on Sunday.

It gives you a taste of what it’s like in the spring before we get up and start clearing! If the weather stays mild this winter, we’ll do what we can to do some clearing.

44 Trails conditions report November 2015

44 Trails Association

Keep Single Track Single

Category Archives: Trail Conditions