This is a mountain bike destination! An appealing characteristic of this area is the multiple trails with several entry points on highways or logging roads. Each trail exit is usually close enough to connect to another trail on your bike, usually by riding on gravel roads. There are also several campgrounds that offer the potential of multi-day riding, preferably point to point with support crews.
Mountain bikers commonly refer to these trails as simply “awesome!” The Walla Walla has developed quite a reputation in the Northwest as a spot for great mountain biking, yet many locals haven’t even experienced the trails. Don’t let these trails evade you. Any mountain biker that travels within a couple hours of Walla Walla MUST come check these out. The trails are very, very long and so addicting that you might find yourself riding into one of the most epic MTB rides of a lifetime.
The trails are characterized by smooth singletrack, perfect for climbing hard and descending fast. Motorcross riders keep the trails mostly cleared of debris. Most descents are so smooth and predictable, you’ll wonder why you aren’t going faster. At times, you're so busy enjoying the trail that you don’t realize how beautiful the views passing you by. However, some of the views are so stunning you can’t ignore. A break in the trees can reveal surreal view of the massive river canyons.
Traditionally the Walla Walla area is very hot in the summer, but these trails offer surprising relief from the heat. The main advantage is that the steep canyon sidewalls block the sun, and most of the trails are under thick forests because they follow creek and river beds.
From La Grande, these trails can be accessed Mottet Springs or Target Meadows. The most common and less physically demanding place to start riding these trails is Harris Park, outside of Milton-Freewater, Oregon but this is a long drive from La Grande. If equipped with a really sturdy 4-wheel drive vehicle and a sense of adventure, the upper end can be accessed via Tiger Canyon.
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Try your hardest to avoid the magnificent views that occasionally open up in the descents, because a slight wheel deviation can have you plummeting over the edge. In fact, the views are so good that you might want to warn your party that you will be stopping to take a moment on the trail.
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The trailhead is a few miles down the road from Target Meadows Campground. The trail begins the only way it can, by switching back repeatedly on the canyon walls. You may want to start counting switchbacks so you can count up on the way back. Many of the switchbacks are tight and rocky, but the trail “straight” sections are safely rideable. However, riding back up them will be nearly impossible as the climb begins to get steep after leaving the stream.
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This somewhat obscure trail is surprisingly smooth and consistent for mountain biking. This trail is the ultimate out and back combination of climbing and descending. The trail meanders through slightly rolling terrain and then it treats you to alternating glimpses of parched Ponderosa side hill riding and tunnels of dense forest as it alternates from south and north sides of the ridge. Then you encounter a purely fast, fun, and challenging descent which will be equally the opposite when you come back.
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Indian Ridge is a 5 mile trail with 3.5 miles of misery sandwiching 1.5 miles of awesome ridge riding. The 1.5 miles is almost so good that you forget about the other crap riding, but not really. So, it's probably not worth the time to ride this trail unless your goal is simply to conquer or you bring some tools to improve it.
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The Sinks Trail is a secret gem hidden away in the backwoods of the Blue Mountains. It is named after the sunken ground that it skirts on the bottom end of the trail, which is a special area held sacred by the Native American tribes. When you visit and ride this trail, you will respect it too.
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This is the backbone trail that is the "Walla Walla" when it comes to mountain biking. Starting at the popular Harris Park outside Milton-Freewater, Oregon, the trail is well-used mostly wide-open and fast. It shares a road off and on up to some cabins before becoming strictly singletrack. The incline is rarely steep as it follows the Walla Walla River very closely most of the time. The farther away from Harris Park you travel, the more rocky and difficult the trail becomes. However, as you begin approaching Deduct Pond at the top it becomes much better.
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This is a fantastic, yet underused, loop through and around Spout Springs Ski Area that enjoys some rim riding over the Lookinglass drainage with views all the way into Idaho. About half of this ride is on singletrack, the other half on logging roads that have been closed to traffic, which are actually cross country ski trails in the winter. One problem is that this trail doesn't get much traffic, so there are areas you have to do some bushwhacking. The views up here are worth it though.
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The Umatilla Rim Trail is one of the more popular trails for mountain biking. It offers rolling terrain, without any difficult climbing. The trail on this map is just of the singletrack, shown one direction from the start near the highway (across from Andies Prairie) to the wilderness sign that declares "no bikes beyond this point." There are several opportunities to take gravel or the paved Summit Road back to the start if you want to make it a loop.
Provides 12 months of online access to all of the maps and trail information for the Walla Walla River area. Nearby towns include Pendleton, Walla Walla, La Grande, and Elgin. The Walla Walla is a fantastic mountain bike destination. This package features nearly 100 miles of mountain biking routes with elevation profiles, maps, data, photos, and descriptions. See a sample here.
$7.95
