Portland Area Thread : good drives & other recommendations

Hello fellow PDX-ers. Thought I would start a thread for those of us in the area. A few starter topics for discussion:
-where do you go in the portland area for light off-roading? By that i mean: not climbing over 3-foot boulders, but more fun than the all the gravel road neighborhoods in SE PDX.
-local accessory shop recommendations / stay-aways?
-fun local drive recommendations?

Cheers.

 

La Dee Flats, Olallie Lake, Clackamas River past Ripplebrook, Browns Camp, Lolo Pass Rd, Badger Lake, the area between Hwy 26 and Hwy 6.

 

Thanks @thedriza .

-What part of Lolo Pass? Right where it starts off of 26 in zig zag or do you need to work a while past that to get to the good part?

-And where between 26 and 6, are you referring to Hayward area or Timber Rd?

cheers mate

 

Lolo pass will take you all the way to Hood River and if you want to explore the Vista Trail on Mt Hood that's your road. On Lolo Pass at the beginning most of the side roads to the West are gated because you are on the Eastern boundary of the Bull Run Reservoir which is our water supply.

Travel down the road a bit and you will criss cross the Pacific Crest Trail and high power transmission lines. In Oregon the high power transmission line is will always have a utility road nearby for maintenance. Sometimes these roads get a little gnarly.

For the area between Hwy 26 and Hwy 6 I would start on Google maps satellite mode and look for clear cuts on a bluff and rock quarrys. Nothing really technical but just fun to go and explore. A lot of the roads are gated because of Timber sales but that's part of the fun trying to navigate around obstacles.

 

And if you're willing to drive a little bit to get view of Mt Jefferson this my secret spot.

44°44'41.8"N 121°54'59.1"W
Https://goo.gl/maps/CK5XSwvazXqgFUUV7

https://youtu.be/Tz1P-tp0LbU

 

You could go to Silver Star Mtn in Battleground Wa. Overall pretty relaxed but there is lots of exploring to be done!

 

Oh hell yeah! My dad has a drone, I think we found our next explore trip. Thanks.

 

Thanks @Schallec . Are you talking about the roads on this map?

https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MEDIA/stelprdb5160926.pdf

 

browns camp has miles of trails to explore and is a shorter drive to get to from the pdx area. Just waiting for some more snow to melt before I head back up there again.

And I took a drive up to the silver star trailhead a few weeks back. fun little 4x4 road that leads up the mountain.
https://www.alltrails.com/explore/trail/us/washington/silver-star-and-eds-trail-loop

 

Yes. What I'll usually do is go to sunset camp ground the address is 40806 NE Sunset Falls Rd Yacolt, WA 98675United States then follow road NFD road 41 to the top.

 

badass. thanks for the recommendation.

 

Reviving this a little. Any specific area out past ripplebrook? Is that an area you can just go and explorer without worrying about crossing onto private land?
I tried going to goat mountain and kept finding private roads.

 

Also, what about the Molalla River Rec area? i've heard that's fun but i dont know if it's just nice paved road or any actual off road.

 

The drive out to Olallie Lake is nice, but yes going past Ripplebrook is worth it. Just turn up a road that isn't gated and go explore.

Try this spot for a great view of Mt Jefferson
44°44'41.8"N 121°54'59.1"W
Https://goo.gl/maps/QENwij5prXMqkEni6

 

High Rock
45°09'33.8"N 121°53'29.1"W
Https://goo.gl/maps/g3wAkJJ1vgQWVhDc7

 

Great! Thank you

 

Posted this in off road forum also so apologies for double post but for those on this thread that are beginner off-roaders like me & in Portland area, know that Molalla River rec area is totally easy and fun. You have to go to the South end of the area at least that I could find but great mix of gravel roads , dirt roads and 4x4. Some of the secondary roads are closed but still enough to have lots of options choose your own adventure. Here is my route , this is only the gravel/dirt stuff, doesn't include the pavement route in. You could start at either side.




Location of upper left end point is




Some great views, it's a good way to start.

 

Ill be road tripping from Portland to Sunriver next weekend and I was planning on taking hwy 224 to 22 down there, through ripplebrook and Detroit. What would be some good stops along the way I should check out? or some good logging road to check out?

 

Olallie Lake and Olallie Meadow

 

Also the Santiam OHV area.