Planning an Oregon/Washington trip, need some input!

My friends and I are planning to go down to Bend in September, from Vancouver BC in Canada, to hit up CVT and get some tents. We'd like to go on some trails while we're down there. So far we've only penned in Crater lake, but we'd like to go through the 3 national forests (Umpqua, Williamette and Mt Hood.) We'll stop in Portland to resupply and do some shopping and go back through Washington from there.

Are these national forests linked via trails, or do we have to go on the highways? If there are trails going through them, are they stock friendly? We'll be going with a 2017 Pro, a 2017 off road and a 2017 Frontier Pro4x.

Open to suggestions...not just for Oregon but Washington as well!

edit: I'd totally be down for some tagalongs! Would be nice meeting some new people. A guide would be helpful

 

Sub'd for ideas. I'm new to the 4x4 scene, and depending on who you ask, new to Washington state. I, too, will head down to Bend to pick up a CVT tent, so looking forward to some camping on the way back. I will likely get my tent before you guys head down, so if you have a spot you want me to scout, let me know.

 

There are tons of spots in Washington, but the Naches trail would be a good one. It runs east off of the 70 road out of Greenwater. The last time I ran it was a few years ago, but I remember it being fairly easy. There is a cabin at Government Meadows that you can camp at. Plenty of other spots for camping as well considering it is on Forest Service land the whole way. There is also Rimrock down south, but haven't spent much time there so really can't comment on it, other then most of the trails are harder than Naches.

 

You guys can check tahuya orv over in Belfair Washington. It's one of the easiest orv trails here.

 

Be careful that you are going through Naches and not the Manastash Ridge trails. Lilly Pond and Tipover are some of the hardest trails I've been on.

Personally, I would consider taking the WABDR down through to the OBDR. The support is extensive, with forums (mostly motorcycle sites) and websites dedicated to conditions and support, including GPS tracks. However, there are still times where the path is not blatant and you may have to discover a way through, so paper maps and a compass are necessary. Plan accordingly before the trip and keep planning as you are on the trip.
In total, this would be the most complete trail system to get down there, rather than a couple days of fun followed by pavement.

 

thanks for the heads up. I'm going to have to find a Backroads Map Book equivalent for Washington and Oregon.

 

The equivalent would be a gazetteer. DeLorme makes the most popular one, though there are others. The REI in Bellingham carries them by state. They should have both Oregon and Washington in stock, figure about $20 each. The maps are a smaller scale and on bigger pages than the backroad books that you guys use north of the border, but the spiral binding and recreation info of yours is better.

 

hypothetically if I were to go from Crater lake all the way up to Canada, through those trails, how long would you say it would take? Going at a reasonable pace, not too fast but not too slow...just enough to enjoy the scenery, stop at some interesting spots, etc. I understand I'll have to get out of the trails to refuel and resupply as well..

 

I have both of these books. For the most part, they seem pretty good. They don't have all the little tiny forest roads you'd see on say... Caltopo... but it's pretty darn close. I recommend!

 

These are good to get you started, but what you really want is a Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM). It is the authoritative map that lists what roads exist and are available. By law, if the road you are on is not listed suitable for your vehicle, or is not listed at all on an MVUM, then it is illegal for you to be on it, even if there is a sign, asphalt, etc.
Do I have an MVUM for all the areas I go? No (I really only have one). MVUMs are so highly detailed that you would have stacks of them for wherever you went.
My suggestion is to research your route and discuss it with the US Forest Service department in that area. Most of the time they are helpful if you describe what you are driving and your intention, though sometimes they really don't understand what a 4x4 is beyond a Subaru Outback.

I unfortunately haven't traveled enough to say (it's on the list of to-dos). The websites I listed have excellent points of contact. According to the OOHVA site for the OBDR, it suggests trucks cover 100mi/day. @Greddy and some of the others in the Washington BS thread would be able to tell you about their journey through the WABDR if you need information on that.

 

5 to 6 days for the WADBR. But the ORBDR doesnt link up with the WA one so you would have to go way out of the way to get to it. It would be an excursion for sure. A few years back @northwesttaco @JDAM and I did the IdahoBDR from the Magruder trail to Pend Oreille in 4 days, that was a good trip.

 

I agree with @Chickenmunga naches and manastash ridge are some pretty tough trails. Expect some possible damage, and pin striping is everywhere.

 

I sorta agree about the MVUMs. Most of my MVUMs are from the first year they came out, 2010, and I'd argue that the detail is horrible. Their focus is primarily on the roads, with very little information on rivers, creeks, mountains, etc. Where I found them to be the biggest handicap is coming to an intersection that isn't shown on the MVUM, and there are a lot of them. Sometimes the proper path is obvious, sometimes not, especially early in the season when the trails are overgrown. Chances are that the intersection will be shown on the gazetteer, then it's just a matter of looking further down the map to see where you need to go. I wound up spending an evening with my gazetteers and the MVUMs for the areas that I spend a lot of time in and highlighted all of the roads that I was allowed to be on. Best of both worlds, but it's a lot of work for someone who's just passing through.

 

sounds like I'd probably need to allocate at least a week and a half if I wanted to hit up Oregon AND Washington in one go....might be biting off more than I can chew at this moment. few things popped up within the last few weeks and now I'm not even sure if I can even just go down to CVT to get the tent, let alone go off roading. But this is all great information..might even be worth just going for a weekend around Washington, if I have the opportunity.

 

That's funny, I always head north of the border when I have a few days It's not all that technical, but I like going up the west side of Harrison lake to Lillooet, then back down the west side of the Fraser with a side trip up Texas Creek and ferry ride at Lytton. Grass is always greener I guess

 

I might be doing a trip in July from harrison hot springs to sloquet hotsprings, then up to Pemberton and back down to Vancouver