Pacific Northwest - Banks to Vernonia trail

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lazlo
08-19-09, 04:34 PM
Anyone know the condition of the Banks to Vernonia trail? I heard there is a 3-4 mile section that is unpaved, but I'm curious as to the condition. My wife and I are considering joining a ride on our road tandem, but the leader recommends mtb and I'm wondering if that's really necessary.

KRhea
08-19-09, 06:38 PM
We lived less 2miles from the trail for years, rode our roads bikes as well as our road tandem the entire length of the trail with no problems. There is a short stretch of gravel but we never had any problems. Just ride in the tire tracks from the cars.
The only challenge "might" be if they're dump a fresh load of gravel on that stretch and it hasn't settled yet. That would mean it could deep/soft and a bit tricky to ride through. Otherwise go for it!

KRhea
hodadmike
08-19-09, 06:50 PM
We did it last year on touring bikes as a prep ride for a larger tour. Most of it was OK except for this washout and some gravel towards the South end.http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/9518/washout.th.jpg (http://img38.imageshack.us/i/washout.jpg/)

Greg_R
08-21-09, 12:15 PM
I was on it last week. There are a few road crossings on the southern end that have very loose gravel. It would be a 50ft walk if you didn't want to ride across. I did the trail on a LHT with 38mm road tires & zero problems. Be careful with the short bridges toward the south as well... some of those have a big lip/bump to get onto them (i.e. you don't want to hit it at 20+mph). Finally, be aware that families and kids slalom all over the trail... you can pick up a lot of speed heading south.
toolbear
08-30-09, 12:59 PM
Most of it is now paved and the Buxton Trestle is open. Really nice ride. Be sure to hit that part. Nice thing is the new Stub Stewart State Park about half way up. Camping. Also camping at Vernonia.

Can't see where a tandem would have trouble on most of the trail. The section from Stub Stewart south/downhill is a lot of fun (going down).

There is a steep detour and gravel bypass where a burned trestle crosses the highway at Tophill. Word is that the state will not replace the trestle and is working on how to do the crossing. (Hint: On the Centennial Tr. they have a stoplight which users activate to cross.)

Check out TrailLink's page for more data.

<http://www.traillink.com/ViewTrail.aspx?AcctID=6031256>