Off-road Cycling

A rider enjoys new trails at Newell Creek Canyon Nature Park in Oregon City. (Photo: Metro) It’s time to celebrate. Our regional planning agency, Metro, opens two new nature parks this month and both of them include off-road cycling trails! The parks are Newell Creek Canyon Nature Park, just 15 miles south of Portland in Oregon City, and Chehalem Ridge Nature Park, which is 28 miles west of Portland and just 8 miles south of Forest Grove.

The future of Forest Park is in our hands. (Photos by J. Maus/BikePortland) This post was written by Daniel Greenstadt. Daniel last appeared on BikePortland for his testimony in favor of funding the off-road cycling plan at City Council in 2015. He’s a Portland-based hiker, bicycle rider, Girl Scout leader, and occasional equestrian trail user who also serves on the Board of Directors of the Concordia Neighborhood Association.

Portland has the space, resources, and volunteers to create a network of “pump tracks” like this one in Ventura Park that was built in 2012. All that’s missing is political will. The Portland Parks & Recreation Bureau had severe budget problems long before a viral pandemic dominated the news. Last year rising personnel costs and flat program revenues forced the agency into bruising cuts to staff levels and operations. One year later and COVID-19 has squandered any chance to right the ship.