Government Camp Oregon / Skibowl Loop – Mountain Bike Trail Review

Review by Marcus Young
Pictures and Maps from skibowl.com

Mountain Biker at Skibowl in OregonYou’ll be spinning and grinning taking in the freewheeling fun of our unique Mountain Bike Park. With over 40 miles of Mt. Hood’s only lift-assisted, marked trails, there’s something fun for every level of mountain biker. From our family-friendly Scenic Fun Loop to our NORBA Mt. Bike Championship downhill race course with heart stopping downhills, big bank turns, and miles of world class single track. Mt. Hood’s premier Mountain Biking resort, has miles of endless smiles for you, right here in the Pacific Northwest.

Directions to Mt. Hood Skibowl

From US 26 East of Portland, park at Skibowl West. Ride to the East side of the parking lot and head out on the dirt road to your right.

Mt. Hood Skibowl Specs

  • Classification: Cross Country
  • Trail Difficulty: It has bumps (modest)
  • Trail Traffic: Hey dude! (low)

Mt. Hood Skibowl Trail Review

Skibowl Mountain Bike Trail MapThis ride links a series of trails at Mt. Hood Skibowl to the Cross Town trail in Government Camp Oregon. The riding at Skibowl is quite solitary, with very little trail use – and really no one other than bicycles will be encountered. Even then most of the bicycles will stick to the lift served terrain and avoid the more cross country oriented nature of this ride.

If you’re into using trail maps, and if Skibowl is open, you can find a trail map at the ticket office. You can also find it on their website at skibowl.com.

From the Skibowl West parking lot, head east and pick up the service road on the right at the end of the parking lot. At the first intersection, take the next service road to the left and look for the single track taking off to the right. You’ll be parallel to the main east / west service road for the resort, but the single track follows the natural terrain giving you a nice warm up on the whoop-tee-doos and gentle contoured terrain.

Skibowl Mountain Bike TrailAfter about two miles you’ll reach the East base area of Skibowl, passing one of the chair lifts. There will be an obvious trail slightly above you traversing a ski slop. Ride up to this trail, and continue heading east towards the series of lifts and buildings. Prior to reaching the East base area, you can pickup the trail. Look for it between the two most prominent ski hills. The main one at Skibowl Mountain and the smaller Multorpor mountain. The primary single track portion of this ride starts in the small valley between these two mountains.

You’ll ride amazing flowing lines and rolling hills through the trees for the next several miles. Look for root and rocks to air off of, and take advantage of the numerous fallen logs and stop and play on them for a while. There isn’t really any freeriding on this trail, and you’ll be hard pressed to find anything too severe to launch off of, but the logs add a little spice to a mostly cross country ride. Most have ramps up and over them, or log rides along the ridge. There are a lot of opportunities for a playing on this trail, so take your time and explore a little – even though the terrain really calls out for balls on speed. There are a couple of short steep technical climbs, but all can be easily cleared. Mostly it’s just a series of flowing turns and pumpable banks.

Skibowl Mountain Bike TrailWhen you reach the first intersection, stay to the left and climb up the loose steep hill. At the top you’re rewarded with a little respite of downhill.

When you reach the bottom of the trail, you can take a right and continue on to a longer ride (and the cross town trail), or if you take a left you’ll return to the Skibowl East base area. Take a right, because you know you want more dirt under your wheels. You’ll pick up a service road pretty quickly.

After a few minutes on the service road you’ll run into highway 26. This is the only road crossing, and the best part is that there are at least two bars in town that make for a nice mid-ride cocktail stop. The ride isn’t that long though, so I generally just opt to continue across the highway and into Government Camp. You’ll pass the Chevron station, and ride down the paved road a few hundred yards to the first cross street. Turn left towards Mount Hood and ride up the paved road another couple of hundred yards. You’ll quickly reach the cross town trail.

Unfortunately at the peak of the season you’ll find a multitude of different trail users on this section, but it’s a pretty wide trail with plenty of room to pass. It’s also always open to bikes, so other users are generally pretty cool. Still, remember to leave a good impression and stay in control and be polite to other users.

This portion of the ride is well graded and not too technical. You’ll be riding generally down hill, with the most daunting terrain feature being the sometimes slick wooden bridges that cross the creeks. Still, the trail has a really nice flow to it, and runs for a couple of miles down the hill back towards Government Camp and Skibowl West.

There are several cut offs, one to Enid Lake (where bikes are prohibited) and others than loop back to town. To continue on the main trail, follow the well marked signs to the Glacier View Snow Park – your easy point of return to Skibowl West (or your option to extend the ride down the Pioneer Bridle Trail which ends at Welches).

Once at the Glacier View Snow Park (which you’ll notice when you reach a paved forest service access road), take a left, cross back over highway 26, and return to your car. If you plan on riding the Pioneer Bridle Trail plan on a shuttle or a long ride back up the hill to Government Camp.

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