Not exactly known as a mountain bike destination (yet), the southern region of the Wallowa Mountains near Halfway offers a good selection of mingletrack that is worth the trip. Too much of the singletrack in the Wallowa Mountains is guarded by anti-bike wilderness rules, but the Halfway advantage is that the boundary was drawn several miles north of many of the trails, so the benefit is some good legal riding. Right now the trails won't classify as "epic," but definitely "adventuresome" with some fantastic scenery and a wilderness feel.
Because no one is biking these trails, the singletrack needs some more action. Trailwork is definitely taking place, but mainly in the form of cutting and clearing downed trees. What is needed is more traffic on the trails, and that is where you come in.
Several trails are around Fish Lake, which offers good camping options and a host of recreation activities for the whole family. There are even several boulders and rock features near the lake that should be good for some hucking and slickrock style riding. The main road up to Fish Lake warns against passenger cars and RVs, but the road has been improved greatly so you can ignore that sign. Twin Lakes offers another more primitive campground not far from Fish Lake. There are several other camp spots along the road.
United States
44° 52' 37.9956" N, 117° 6' 34.1784" W
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Are you up for an adventure on a secret trail? For some reason, the Buck Crossing Trail has been abandoned, as the trailhead signpost on the road is knocked down with the sign missing. The beginning of the singletrack has no indicator a trail is there, but when you're on it you'll be convinced that, in fact, a trail is there...at least most of the time. Because it isn't used, it is grown in occasionally and disappears at times, but there is plenty of evidence that humans and cows know it exists.
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Gnarly, gnarly downhill! The Cornucopia Trail is for real DH riders because it is technical and angled at steep, steeper, and steepest. You get to traverse across the south face of Cornucopia Peak and then turn and plummet more-or-less straight down the mountain. There is plenty of loose rock and obstacles along the way, as the trail offers a mix of singletrack and abandoned mining roads as you drop down to the community of Cornucopia.
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East Fork Pine Creek is a trail used by cows and cowboys that meanders through a burn near East Lakes Reservoir. This is featured as a downhill because the old mining road from Cornucopia is very steep and very rocky, so if you consider climbing the trail you will be pushing your bike for a ways before you can even consider pedaling. The mining road isn't that fun coming down either. Nevertheless, there is a singletrack trail for most of it and it can be biked. Some downed trees and erosion problems create some obstacles on the trail.
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A gradual 10.5 mile downhill along Lake Fork Creek, starting at Fish Lake high in the Wallowas. The Lake Fork Trail will challenge your mountain bike skills. The final 3 miles offer particularly superb trail riding. Because of the current trail conditions, it is recommended as a one-way downhill with a drop off at the Lake Fork West Trailhead by Fish Lake and a pickup at Lake Fork East Trailhead or nearby Lake Fork Campground. There are several creek crossing and many rocky sections to navigate.
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As I enjoyed my first couple pedal strokes on the Martin Bridge Trail, I began having visions of our own Eastern Oregon version of the McKenzie River Trail, but by the third stroke my hopes were dashed in a jungle of overgrowth. Even though I pressed on, there was nothing rideable and eventually I abandoned my bike because it was impossible to pull through vegetation.
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Take a gravel road climb up to Russel Mountain Lookout and then a fun singletrack descent back to the Deadman Trailhead. This is an easier version of some of the trails featured in the Russel Mountain to Twin Lakes guide.
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You will get a wilderness feel on your mountain bike on this interesting loop north of Halfway. This loop takes you up to Russel Mountain Lookout, which is an unmanned tower with a view of the Eagle Cap Wilderness to the north. Unfortunately it was boarded and closed by the Forest Service for the 2012 season. Then, the route travels down the ridge to Twin Lakes.
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Climb an ATV trail through a burn up most of Sugarloaf Mountain to near the wilderness boundary and then drop back down to the trailhead on some singletrack on the Deadman Trail. This is a fun little loop that puts you within a few hundred feet of the Sugarloaf Mountain summit if you want to drop your bike and hoof it up to the top.
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Attention trail crews: Please, pretty please, give some love to the Gold King Trail. It is such an awesomely sweet downhill singletrack that I completely forgave the blowdown and thousands of sticks I had to go around and over. On the map it looks like a painful descent with impossible switchbacks, but this is not at all the case. While there are several switchbacks and turns on the trail, they are mostly all built perfectly for a bike. The trail is downright sick for a ride down to the location where Clint Eastwood broke into romantic melody in Paint Your Wagon.
