Cummins Ridge Trail looks something like this, and like me you may well say to yourself. ” hey, this would be a great spot for a photo”, like, 25 times per minute, but in the end all you’ll have is a mediocre butt shot cause you were having too much fun railing to stop and break out a camera, and even if you do your friends won’t slow down long enough for a decent shot.
Closest Towns: Yachats(5min),Waldport(12 min),Newport (35 min),Corvallis(1.5 hr),Eugene (1.8 hr)
Ride Format: Loop.
Trail Style: Rugged trail Riding ( or alternate double-track).
Giggle Rating: ***
Riding :****
Scenery :***
Flow:***
Adventure: **
Technicality: Moderate to tricky (Blue-black).
Aerobic Difficulty: Moderate
Ideal Bike: Modern trail bike.
When Wet: Rides well despite some slippery root; is a favorite in the winter
Beta Spewage
Overview: Ahhh, the sea. Such a nice place to start a bike ride, and yet Oregon is damn near free of excellent riding options along the edge of the continent. One fine exception is the Cummins Creek Trail. The oceanside novelty alone might be enough to get TDM’s attention, but the Cummins Cr trail also happens to really not suck. In fact it is rad. The climb is nothing special; select between a brief ride on the highway followed by several miles climbing a gravel road, or a double track ascent with one particularly punchy bit near the top. In either case, once up top the celebration should commence, because you are set to roll several miles of steep, rooty, fun, all in a truly stunning old growth spruce forest. To summarize this summary, if you like rooty singletrack, big trees, and walks on the beach, then this is your rig. It is not long, and it has a few flaws, but Cummins is frequently overlooked despite having a lot to love.
Pros: There is good coffee and baked goods five minutes away in the town of Yachats, and oh yea, the riding on the descent is really fun if you like things moderately rough. The scenery is strong with this one, and the ocean air is a great bonus. Best of all? It rides well when wet!
Cons: It’s a short one, so pulling a few laps is the best option. The climbing is sort of mundane, with a really punchy bit if you take the trail option. There is a lot of potential in this area, but at this time this is about the only show in the area.
Need to Know: Most of the Trails in this area are not open to bikers, so please stay on the Cummins Creek Trail for the climb, and the Cummins Ridge trail for the descent. All of these trails are popular hiking destinations, so please monitor your speeds! The descending style is a bit like Mary’s peak…very NW. There once was an illegal upper trail that was even better than the existing stuff mentioned here. TDM does not know if this trail will ever be adopted, but dude…it was really good!
Other Rides in the area: Alsea Falls(***),Mary’s Peak.(****), The Mac(**)
Recommended Route Options
- The Cummins loop on the trails ~6.1 miles, 3000 feet gained (1-3 hours). The main loop. TDM likes to park at Neptune Beach and ride from there, but no matter what, this is a nice little ride if you happen to be in the area. Ride up Cummins Creek Trail 1382 to the top and a junction with the USFS RD 55, then descend back down the hill about a mile the the Cummins Loop Trail, which exits along a ridge to the right as you are riding downhill. TDM prefers to do one lap on this route, then do one lap of the route below to make things a bit more interesting an insure that there has been enough root tallying for one day.
- The Loop using the HWY and logging road ~ 11.3 miles, 3200 feet gained (1-3 hours). It is true that TDM would rather climb trail than roads, generally speaking, but he sort of likes this particular route, particularly as some variety on the way to the top if one is doing two or more laps. Park in Neptune State Park along the beach, then proceed North on HWY 101 about a mile to USFS RD 55, then climb this road about 3 miles to a parking lot at the TH on the right. Now cruise down the Cummins Cr trail until the Cummins loop trail exits to the right after about a mile of wide sigletrack.
Links, Maps & Media
USFS map of the area: http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5427017.pdf
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