If you have never been there, Hood River is a Shangri-La kind of place with abundant fruit orchards and the extremely scenic snow-covered Mount Hood almost always in the background. It is similar to Bend in that it sits in the transition zone between the wet west-side and the arid east-side of Oregon. The biggest difference is that it is much lower in elevation.
Another difference is that there are some rides in the area that are very good but "secret" because they are on private land. The land owners in most cases do not want to see any maps or written descriptions of their trails but allow them just the same. One of those trails called the Whoop-De-Do Trail was five star and very close to town but is now closed due to logging. If it opens back up, you will have to ask around to get directions.
Hood River County is a little unique in that it owns and manages a fair amount of timberland. There is a trail close to town on this land in Post Canyon that has to be ridden to be believed. Post Canyon is only about three or four miles from town on relatively flat pavement. The road ride would make a good warm up because the ride climbs pretty steeply after the first mile if you are not doing a shuttle.
Other than that, the majority of riding, and there is lots of it, is up on Surveyors Ridge on National Forest land. Bend and Central Oregon get the nod for having the bulk of their trials closer to town requiring less driving or riding to get to the trails generally. The majority of the cross country trails up on Surveyors Ridge are at least a 30 mile drive from town. If you are camping up there you could ride different trials every day for a few days without having to drive very far at all.
At one time there used to be a trail suitable for mountain biking along the East Fork of Hood River but due to the extreme weather events of the last few years much of it has been washed out or is too sandy to ride. (No connection to global climate change is hereby expressed or implied.)
There is a fair amount of riding on the Washington state side but to keep the size of the site manageable it is not going to be covered. The local bike shops have maps showing all the rides on both sides of the river except for the private ones. One of the better rides on the Washington side that is relatively close is the Syncline Trail but other than early spring this trial has abundant poison oak.
Speaking of Bike Shops the two in downtown Hood River, Mountain View and Discovery are about as good as you will find anywhere with good mechanics and a full line of mountain and road bikes. They have a bigger selection of downhill and free ride bikes than you will find in Bend. There is also a new repair shop in the heights by the name of Dirty Fingers (next to a gourmet coffee shop before the one ways converge). There is one other bike shop in the heights that sells lower end family bikes and BMX bikes called Four Seasons.
