MTB Tillamook State Forest: Roger's Camp Trail

Last week Nicole and I drove west through Hillsboro and Forest Grove to Tillamook State Forest for our first mountain bike ride in Oregon! From what it looks like on the map, there is probably more than 100 miles worth or trails within the state forest, a modest 45 minutes from our place.  After doing some research on the trails online, I decided on a loop called the Rogers Camp Trail.  From what I understood online it was about a 9 mile loop and goes by a trail head to a waterfall called University Falls.  We really enjoy hiking to waterfalls, so it seemed like the perfect trail.  Reviews said it was easy to moderate in difficulty and could be done in a couple of hours.  I was pretty stoked to get on some Oregon single track like I've seen in a lot of videos.

We found the trail head after some extensive searching.  There is a big parking area with a restroom and map where bikers as well as hikers and motorcycle/ATVers begin their respective trails.  As I failed to remember from an online review that I had read the night before, the actual trail head is conveniently located right behind the big map board where no one can see it unless they walk behind the board.  We found it eventually though.  I wish I had a picture of the trail head, it was probably a one and a half foot opening through the bushes into the dark forest.  We looked at each other and said, "well, here goes nothin'." 

We squeezed through the ferns and began our trek.  Right off the bat, it was the total opposite of riding in New Mexico.  It was a completely sunny day, but the trail was completely shaded by the tall trees.  The trail was a little wet, so no dust! Instead of maneuvering rocks, we were challenged by roots and mud slicks.  The trail was a bit overgrown, so we rode through branches and grass at some points, but it was a blast.  

The trail started with a steep ascent that was well worth the curvy downhill on the other side.  Nicole led on the way down dropping off roots and "bunny hopping" rocks, she did great! 

After the downhill, we came to a creek crossing (what would have been a river crossing in New Mexico) where there was a tree trunk made into a bridge with a guard rail on one side.

The next section was some roller coaster up and down fun and then started an ascent again.  We passed some other bikers and asked them how long it was till we reached the falls.  After learning that we were still quite a ways from the top and feeling like had already had a pretty tough ride, we decided to take one of the gravel roads that we crossed back to the Jeep.  All in all it was a great ride and we really want to do the whole trail and make it to the falls soon.  Tomorrow we are going to Mount Hood to check out some trails in the Sandy Ridge trail system! Check for an update soon!