Umatilla Rim Trail

Dogs Off-leash

E-Bikes Allowed

Features Views

The flow never stops on this trail. As the name implies, it stays on the rim of a canyon, which is also the wilderness boundary (but not in the wilderness!). The trail actually goes on farther, but as it is shown here it turns around at the wilderness sign at Buck Mountain, but it will be a long ride if you do it here and back.

There are hundreds of miles of singletrack in the La Grande area, and this is just one of the the many good ones.

This trail has grown in popularity recently, especially for horseback riders. On Saturdays you might run into some but overall trail use is very low because of the low population density. Motorbikes also use it, but not that often and they've improved the flow and they cut out trees for us. If you go on a weekday you probably won't see anyone. Plan on bringing a healthy helping of water and snacks as this is a long ride that is often exposed to the sun.

The ride basically goes like this: old growth forest flow, pop out on a ridge with a sweet view, wrap around to the treeless side of the ridge for a better view, repeat. Usually people start at Horseshoe Prairie trailhead or Andies Prairie Sno-Park (same entrance for both), and then they ride it to Nine Mile Ridge. From there, they double back to climb back up the trail or take the paved Summit Road back. But the trail up to Nine Mile Ridge is only about half of the fun!

If you're not riding the trail as the 36 mile out-and-back as shown or as the loop described above, you should consider parking a retrieval vehicle at the Lake Creek Trailhead. This option takes riders down through the final large descent (arguably the best one) and then connects with Lake Creek Trail #3079 for an easy 0.5 mile ride to your car. This option should be considered shuttle-assisted since it's still a cross-country ride with a good chunk of climbing along the way.

Other points of interest include a crashed WWII plane, and plenty of bear, cougar, and elk.

There are many other trails in this area, so check out other rides around La Grande.