The North Umpqua River is a recreational paradise with great mountain biking, fishing, whitewater and camping in a beautiful forested setting. The trail is mostly in classic Pacific Northwest temperate old growth rain forest. There is much more biodiversity here than in central and eastern Oregon. The river is crystal clear most of the year. The technical and physical difficulty of the mountain biking varies considerably even within popular sections. An intermediate biker in decent shape should be able to enjoy most of the trail. Even though it drops several thousand feet from one end to the other there are a lot of climbs. It is unlikely that this will become a big downhill mountain biking destination any time soon. The reason for the climbing is that, unlike some river trails that follow rivers closely, this one is in a steep v canyon. The many rock bluffs and steep hillsides necessitate routes that go up and around impassable areas. There are numerous precipitous sections on the trail that may make someone from Kansas a little nervous but generally the trail is pretty wide and safe.

The trail was featured in a 2009 issue of Bike Magazine as no less than the best mountain bike trail in the United States. Some of the editors may be a little biased because they live in Roseburg but assuming they have ridden all of the other famous trails in the US, that is quite a claim to fame. This is classic Pacific Northwest riding and well worth a long drive, even for only a couple of the bigger sections.  If big air is an essential criteria for a mountain bike ride, there are no man made terrain enhancements or many natural jumps, .

You need to be flexible when you come here as often some sections will be closed for one reason or another. There is a lot of stimulus money being spent in the valley. For example in the fall of 2010 the Jessie Wright section was closed due to nearby construction blasting and another short section by Lemolo Lake was closed due to recent controlled burning. The Calf segment, according to the Forrest Service brochure, is closed due to a 2002 fire.  But if you start the trail there is new signage and no mention of it being closed, only that it was previously burned. Calling the ranger station may or may not clear these issues up in advance. In a recent call to them they were wrong about which camp grounds were open or closed in the off season more than half the time.The bottom line is be prepared to change your plans.

The lower half of the trail weaves back and forth on both sides of the river and Highway 138. Although it is very beautiful with large trees you will hear and see the highway on a number of occasions. The upper half is much more remote, especially the Dread and Terror section. 

Dread and Terror The name of this section of trail really has nothing whatsoever to do with the trail itself. This section got it's name from the possibility of fighting fires in the white thorn brush that looks like it belongs in the Mojave Desert. It is prevalent on the ridge. You will not see a single specimen of this bush on the trail but, you will see lots of it choked oddly with ferns on the dirt road between the hot springs and Lemolo Lake.

This 13 mile section is a total gem. It follows the river more than the other sections and the river and forest is enchantingly beautiful, passing numerous falls and water features including the hundred foot Lemolo Falls. The riding while not super technical or fast is totally engaging the whole way. The last mile or two are a little wet and muddy with some tedious slippery rocks but, there are some really interesting water and other natural features to look at.

If you have a dog and it can handle the length of the trail it would love you for taking it on this one. There is access to water most of the way and a good part of the time it should be able to go faster than you allowing it to recharge a bit.

Although there is a well marked access trail about half way down you need to be prepared. It is a long walk out of here and the trail would likely be the only option. There is a water ditch used to generate power that you see on the other side occasionally but there are no cars on the maintenance road and it would be an equally long walk. Check that out in Google Earth. The valley is closed in, cool and damp so you also might take that into consideration in the event you ran into trouble and had to spend the night. Starting a fire might be difficult. Another big factor on the entire NURT is that it does not get all that much use, so do not count on some other rider or hiker happening along to save your bacon.  At the end of the trail there is the five star natural Umpqua Hot Springs. The Forest Service has done a nice job of creating pools that drain from one to the other. Clothing is optional and there are frequently lots of hippies from the valley.  Speaking of optional, how about a new more appropriate name for the section? Shred and Bare It? Any other suggestions?

By the way the Lemolo section, just above the Dread and Terror, is easy, with a good trail surface and in a forest with a surprising number of big trees for how accessible the terrain is. Usually if it is easy to get to it has been "harvested". The Lemolo section is a very pleasant ride. The start of the Lemolo Trail is  43.312064°   -122.118099°.  The end of Lemolo and the start of Dread and Terror is  43.329151°,  -122.202709°.

Hot Springs and Deer Leap Sections From the end of the Dread and Terror section to the start of Deer Leap the trail crosses the road and the river three times in 3.5 miles. At the hot springs you cross a foot bridge  (43.293800°,  -122.365410°) and continue down stream about a mile. At that point you cross the river on the road bridge and the trail starts again a short ways back up road 3401 on the opposite side of the road from the river  (43.287462°, -122.387338°). There is a sign there but it is back in the woods and easy to miss both the sign and the trail. From there head down stream on what is now the river left about three miles where you will cross the river again on a foot bridge near Toketee Lake Campground and the upper end of the lake. Take the campground road out to road 34 and turn left along the lake shore. The Deer Leap section of trail starts again on the right side of the road opposite the lake. (approximately 43.272705°, -122.410145° )

Unlike the relatively flat Hot Springs section the Deer Leap section has a lot of climbs and starts with one right off the bat to get around some big bluffs on the river. The Deer Leap section has more climbing than the Dread and Terror but also has some faster and smoother descents. There are still lots of big trees and some nice open south facing view points so this section while not quite as incredible as the Dread and Terror is still well worth doing. You will need to have some legs for some of the climbs. Also, it stays well away from the river the whole time. There are lots of barkless madrone trees scattered along the trail. Keep your eyes out for the ripped Arnold Schwarzenegger horizontal one.

Jessie Wright This one picks up right across the road from the end of the Deer Leap and you can't miss it. It was closed so no report on that yet. See the forest service brochure for a profile and additional information.

Marsters This one picks up on the river left side after crossing the bridge from the Jessie Wright section  (43.289289° -122.568935°) and is relatively easy except for a few short climbs. There are still lots of big trees but the surface is rather ruff with angular rocks much of the way. At the vary start there is a famous salmon spawning river bed with an interesting kiosk worth stopping for. The next section called Calf starts left up the road about a hundred yards from where the Marsters trail ends.

 

If you are contemplating a major mountain biking road trip you could make a very scenic driving loop by riding the North Umpqua River Trail then heading on up to Bend for all the action up there including the Deschutes River Trail. On the way to Bend from the NURT you would be passing right by Crater Lake. Although there are no mountain biking trails in the national parks (cars and snowmobiles? - of course!),  there is a paved road that goes around the rim that is a popular road ride. After leaving Bend, assuming you are headed to the Williamette Valley you could ride the McKenzie River Trail. If you are into river trails In between the three trails listed above is the Middle Fork of the Willamette Trail near Oakridge. This is not a bad trail and pretty in the fall with the leaves on the trail. But most of the trail is in a fairly active broad stream channel with cobble stones, etc., and not near the amount of big western Oregon trees as the three above. There is a paved (?) back road (34) from the NURT to the Middle Fork. So you could take that and then drive the Aufderheide National Scenic Byway over to the McKenzie on your way to Bend. If you have the time that would be a heck of a road trip. Off the Aufderheide there are two old growth hikes in wilderness that would be a shame to miss. Those are Black Canyon and French Pete Creek. There is a hot springs near Cougar Reservoir on this road before you get to the McKenzie as well.

If you are a kayaker both the North Umpqua and the McKenzie River are excellent class III whitewater runs with plenty of play spots.  The North Umpqua is a little seasonal in that regard, however, so later in the summer it is not normally run for excitement. The North Umpqua is also a well known fishing destination. Near the confluence of Steamboat Creek (also good kayaking) there is a high end destination fishing resort complete with a gear shop that sells PataGucci fishing wear and a gourmet restaurant. They do allow bikers and kayakers although there may be a smell code. In the fall it is not uncommon to find edible wild mushrooms littering much of the length of the trail. (You need to be able to ID those yourself.) Speaking of fall litter it is also not uncommon to see huge dead salmon in the river.  There are a fair amount of deciduous trees in the valley so that color change is another added bonus to a fall trip.

Logistics There are a couple of places to get gas in the valley but they are little mom and pop places that may or may not have gas. One is the Dry Creek store by Horseshoe Bend Campground and the other is the Lemolo Lake Lodge. It is advised that you top off your gas in Roseburg or Chemult because with shuttles and camping you may burn up some gas if you are there for more than a day. The Lemolo Lake Lodge will run shuttles for $50 and they also have some bike repair items like tubes with presta valves.  Mention your tea party affiliation to the fair and balanced tycoon who owns the place and you may get a discount on the shuttle. At the bottom of the Dread and Terror section is the popular Umpqua Hot Springs and you may be able to pay someone to give you a lift. Dope might work for much of the clientele.

From the Calf section down most of the access is off of highway 138. From there up it's various roads, some paved, and some not. An Umpqua National Forest Service Map is a very necessary thing to have in addition to the brochure they put out listed below. The likely dirt roads are in good shape. In the fall there are swarms of earnest hunters driving around but you will not see them on the trail. You might be able to get a lift from them if they are not stalking their prey by driving around stealthily in their trucks.

Rumor has it that there is a guide service that charges $500 a person for bike trips on the NURT. Need a guide?  

Groceries The same places listed above for gas have some groceries, as well as the store at Diamond Lake Lodge but the selection is about what you would find at a gas station mini-mart. So you probably need to bring your own organic kale and free-range tofu.

Camping  Although it is not too near any major metropolitan areas or minor metropolitan areas for that matter, it is no secret and on busy holiday weekends the popular strategically located campgrounds will likely be full. If you open the USGS map set below you will see how many there are all up and down the river, so if the popular ones are full there are plenty of others. Some of the out of the way ones are actually surprisingly nice with pavilions, etc. There are also many excellent "primitive" camping opportunities but you never know how trashed they might be. Speaking of camping, the trail has been written up as a bike-packing destination. If you are so inclined you could carry camping gear with you on your bike, however, there are lots of campgrounds and easy highway access all along the trial, so that would not be necessary unless you just want some out of the ordinary adventure. Some of the sections like Dread and Terror definitely have a wilderness feel and you could camp on the trail and feel like you were really getting away from civilization. In the spring and fall camping right on the river can be cold and damp. Camping up away from the river especially on south facing hillsides is likely to be much warmer.

Most of the major campgrounds with hosts have free brochures with maps developed in part by the  BLM and the Forest Service. The BLM has an excellent website with interactive maps similar to the most excellent brochure. You can also download the entire above mentioned brochure! (It will print ok in portrait 8.5 x 11 - shrunk to fit the page)

(This page is a work in progress. If you have any comments about the trail please pass them along.)