Riding in Oakridge keeps getting better. It’s a virtuous cycle: it started with a handful of amazing routes. Word spread, and riders started coming for the fun. That led to even more good routes, and more riders coming… which leads to even more good routes.
This daily double puts together two treats – Larison Rock, one of the original items on the Oakridge riding menu, and Dead Mountain, a newer offering, for a day you won’t soon forget.
The premise: Catch one shuttle in the morning to get a taste and a feel for the local terrain, then catch another shuttle in the afternoon to revel in the kind of unsurpassed downhill riding that makes Oakridge justifiably famous. You can ride back into town from the bottom of either trail, maybe for some lunch in between, and by the end of the day you’ll have enjoyed a combined 6,000 feet of descent.
Dead Mountain is an accessible appetizer – not buried deep in the backcountry, making it easier to get to; and a bit of a sampler plate to get you pumped for the next course. From the shuttle dropoff, you can either drop in right away, or tack on a little earn-it-to-ride-it by heading up a quarter-mile of doubletrack road to the summit, where you’ll find the official start of the Upper Dead Mountain Trail. From there you loop back down on singletrack to the shuttle point.
The upper part of Dead Mountain trail will get you in a flow state, with a combo of speed-building rollers you can pump but also healthy doses of sidehill to keep your brain engaged. Down lower, you’ll encounter more pure-speed, straighter sections; let it all hang out as you play forest slalom amid the giant green sentinel trees. But exercise some caution, too, lest you overcook a sharp corner; don’t forget that your brakes are there for a very good reason.
By the time you roll out on Salmon Creek Road at the bottom of this trail, you should be energized, adrenalized and geeked enough to immediately want more. You can easily make that happen by continuing downhill on the Salmon Creek Trail, enjoying a more mellow trip back to town alongside the picturesque creek.
At this point, you’ll want to just keep riding. Plan ahead and schedule yourself a spot on the nearby Larison Rock shuttle to keep the fun coming.
Larison Rock is a distinctive basalt formation that rises up 1,400 feet above the Middle Fork of the Willamette River just outside Oakridge. A paved road leads to the top, making it a natural shuttle ride option.
But only for those who have some skills and are not faint of heart. Your ride down Dead Mountain had some challenges, but this is a different level. The ride down is more exposed than the morning trip, and it’ll put your senses on alert. The first time you ride it, pack away your ego and pick your way down. The trail drains really well, but that doesn’t mean it won’t have some slippery roots and rocks in your path. Stay calm, forget the scenery, and hone your handling skills.
Oh, and if it’s your first time, you also should head UP the trail from the dropoff; stay left and work up to an awe-inspiring vista.
When you finish Larison, you’re likely to be even more adrenalized than you were at the bottom of the Dead Mountain; might be a good time for a cool-off in the swimming hole at Greenwaters Park. It’s easy to access from here; just take a right at the doubletrack (NF Road 5852), then take the left toward the park. From the park you can take surface streets to downtown in just a few minutes.
Riding Season
Spring through fall.
