Trail Talk – October 2018

Southern Oregon has become a destination for many mountain biking adventures. At least five areas within 25 miles of Jacksonville have trails dedicated to mountain biking while most hiking trails in the region are also open to two-wheel recreation. Jacksonville is no slouch in this regard with over 40 miles of city trails open to bikes.

Historically, the hills and canyons near town have pretty much always seen bikers. Those of us growing up in Jacksonville in the 60s and 70s rode our bikes pretty much anywhere we could get to. What is now the Zigler Trail was our access to Reservoir Road and our adventures in the Jacksonville Reservoir area. Certainly, our single speed, 26 inch Western Auto Newsboy Specials and Schwinn Sting-rays would seem out of place in today’s world of 18 to 21 speed carbon fiber frames and shock-absorbed rides, but the sheer delight of being out and about was plenty enough to propel us uphill and down.

With the resurgence of biking as a family-friendly activity, trails around town are again seeing more use. And of course, with opportunity comes responsibility. Unlike the high-speed, downhill, ‘bomber’ trails recently chronicled in Mail Tribune articles, our local trails are mainly multi-use, cross-country, and often technical. Steep canyons and fragile watershed ecosystems are not conducive to wide trails with banked corners. Granitic soils erode easily, so extensive braking and sliding are discouraged. New trails will be soft until a winter of rain helps pack them, so ride with caution.

Much care is taken by Public Works crews and volunteers to establish trails with the least impact to wild areas. This means trees are often close to trail edges, creating “choke points” to help folks maintain reasonable speeds. Trail design also incorporates sweeping “S” turns to funnel water away from the center-line of the trail to prevent gutters. Sometimes steps are added, along with water-bars, for this purpose.

Once trails are established, constant maintenance is required to remove obstacles and to rebuild broken-down areas of trail tread. Sometimes, re-routes are necessary to alleviate hazardous or highly-eroded areas. Where canyons are exceptionally steep and where trails run right next to waterways, biking is prohibited to protect the environment. Forest Park has over 30 miles of trail open to bikes; only 8 miles of trail are off-limits. In the past two years, we’ve seen another 6 miles of “Designated Bike Trails” opened, often paralleling “Hiker Only” trails. The Jacksonville Woodlands also has many trails where bikes are welcome, but again, some areas are closed.

Soon, new maps of our local trails will be published. Trails dedicated to biking will be delineated to avoid confusion. In Forest Park, new wooden signs, with a bike symbol, are being deployed on these designated trails. A Mountain Biking Information Kiosk has been erected in the old dam quarry parking area above P1. Connector trails have been constructed to access both sides of the park from this area. As our skilled riders learn new trail routes and disperse through the park, we can all have fun together.