When We Like to Ride This

Spring when Fish Lake is full of water. Super cool!

Fall (i.e. October) when the colors explode.

Terrain & Riding

The West Cascade Mountains are characterized by steep, heavily forested slopes. At lower elevations, Douglas-fir and western hemlock are most common, while higher up, Pacific silver fir, mountain hemlock, and subalpine fir take over. At the highest points alpine meadows and rocky areas appear.

The terrain is largely volcanic in origin, with deep river valleys carved through the mountain ranges, often containing lakes and streams due to heavy precipitation in the region.

Leading out of the parking lot at Clear Lake, it is a STEEP opening pitch on pavement, 8% average gradient for 0.5 miles with bursts of 12%+.

Starting at mile 15.5, the (majority of the) remainder of the route is a mix between double-track and single-track. Thus, the first half of the ride is uphill, but not technically demanding. The second half of the ride is mostly downhill, but technically demanding. Note that the route does not ride fast.

The Start

Store (seasonal). Toilets. Parking Pass Required: Northwest Forest Pass, America the Beautiful Pass, or Day-Use Pass ($9 as of summer of 2024). Day-Use pass can be purchased on site.

If this Day-Use parking area is filled or you want to avoid the parking fee, use the Fish Lake Day Use Area parking lot detailed just below.

Designated dirt parking lot. Pit toilets. No fees.

For those coming from the Valley to do this ride, a more convenient start is at the Tombstone Pass sno-park. This gives a different feel to the route as the ride begins downhill and finishes with a longer, more demanding uphill, but still ends, with a scenic 1-mile of old growth forest riding.

Route Notes

1. Love Where You Ride!
   Maintaining the Old Santiam Wagon Road for biking is a challenging task. Each winter brings fresh fallen trees that need clearing. Consider joining a work party or supporting your local trails and recreation organization—these groups handle the hard work that keeps trails accessible. With government resources shrinking each year, your support is essential for preserving outdoor recreation like this. To learn more about how Dirty Freehub contributes to trail, road and recreation work, check out our efforts.

2. Share the trail. Around Clear Lake, especially on busy weekends, you should expect hikers along the trail.

3. Choosing the right bike and tires for a route like Tombstone can be one of the toughest decisions, due to the wide variety of terrain. The route includes everything from fast gravel roads to chunky, rutted double-track, and a mix of steep and flowy singletrack.

   Some riders will opt to be under-biked—choosing a lighter, faster setup that performs well on gravel, even if it means a rougher ride on technical sections. Others will prefer to be over-biked, favoring comfort and control on the rugged terrain at the expense of speed on the smoother gravel stretches.

   There’s no single “perfect” bike for this route. Our Director of Routes, KevinE, likes his Moots YBB with 20mm of rear suspension, 40mm of front suspension, and 50mm tires for this route. But the route is also doable on a rigid gravel bike with 45mm tires—or, if you prefer maximum control, a full mountain bike might be your best choice.

   Whatever you choose, ride what feels right for you—and enjoy the adventure!

Route Options

Hackleman Old Growth Hike
Not a ride option, but an after ride option. Add more about this.

Have you ridden this route? Got a question? Join the discussion!