Oregon Three Rivers
Overview
The Oregon Three Rivers route showcases three of the finest singletracks in Oregon:
Middle Fork Willamette Trail (~30 miles)
North Umpqua Trail (~80 miles)
Mackenzie River Trail (~30 miles)
It’s possible to link all three of these routes, without the aid of shuttles or support. It even includes an off-highway route that can be used to get into and out of Eugene, OR. A number of singletrack options are available both between the river trails and as side options.
Route details
This route currently holds the distinction of being the most rideable singletrack route on bikepacking.net. The nature of trails following a river is part of it (think gradual climbing/descending). Another is just the nature of trails in the Cascades — smooth and buff.
Bikepacking on any of these trails is highly recommended for people getting into bikepacking or those not wanting to do much hike-a-bike. Downed trees can be an issue, so be sure to check locally to see which trails have been logged out before you go. Also look out for two more Oregon obstacles: poison oak and mosquitoes.
Don’t let the easy rating fool you, though, even for experienced riders this is an awesome tour.
Take the big bus
Besides the off-highway route into Eugene another great option is the Lane Transportation District’s city bus that runs all the way out to the Mackenzie Ranger Station. For $1.50 it’ll take you some 50 miles to either start out your trip on singletrack, or end it with an easy ride back into town.
GPS Data
ORST Full Trip.gpxTrip Reports
Oregon Singletrack Tour CH1 (Willamette River)
Oregon Singletrack Tour CH2 (North Umpqua River)
Oregon Singletrack Tour CH3 (Mackenzie River)
Links
North Umpqua Trail – a great site from the BLM.
Willamette Mtn Mercantile – friendly bike shop and outfitter in Oakridge, OR (on the route).
I am unable to open this ORST Full Trip.gpx file. I am looking at trying out this ride this Summer and would love any and all info I can get my hands on, is there anyway to get access to this file? Thanks!
Daniel — the file downloads just fine for me. What software are you trying to open it with? Make sure you download the file full — it’s about 2.7 mb.
Thanks, I am on the same computer as before, I will try a different computer when i have a chance, thanks
I can’t open the full trip either, would really like to see it.
Scott, thanks for posting the trip. I did a solo trip of the Middle Fork of the Willamette/North Umpqua section August 4-7/2011. Snow had just melted up at Timpanogas Lake with the only occupants being thousands of mosquitoes so I also kept riding to get away from the lakes. Hot Springs and Jessie Wright sections of North Umpqua Trail were closed at the time. Wonderful route!
What is the recommended software to open the GPS file? I would love to ride some version of this route next month! Thanks
Hi Liz. Allow me to shamelessly recommend my own GPS software. It’s called TopoFusion and used to create a lot of the GPS files and maps here on bikepacking.net.
http://topofusion.com