North Fork - Farewell Loop

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When summer comes to Central Oregon and the trails at the lower elevations have become dusty and loose, this ride is a perfect antidote. It's a gorgeous climb through the woods along the North Fork, followed by a somewhat challenging descent down Farewell.

Starting at Skyliner trailhead, ride the Tumalo Creek trail up to Tumalo Falls for a nice warm-up. Watch for oncoming bike traffic and hikers. From the parking lot at the falls, the North Fork trail climbs steeply at first, but soon becomes more moderate as it follows the gorgeous North Fork of Tumalo Creek. This section travels through some nice old growth forest and past numerous waterfalls.

About half way up, you'll cross the bridge over the creek and then continue climbing up to Happy Valley. Early in the summer, mosquitos can be an annoyance here. Take a right and head north onto the Metolius-Windigo trail and immediately cross another bridge over the creek. Climb to the intersection of the Metolius-Windigo trail and Road 370. Find the start of the Mrazek trail on the right and follow the tight and curvy trail until reaching the intersection with the top of the Farewell trail.

Turn right to head down the Farewell trail, the upper section twisting through the forest. The trail then crosses a rocky, open area, full of Indian Paintbrush and Lupine in early summer, with fantastic views. The bottom third of the Farewell descent has some challenging and loose sidehill and switchbacks, which takes some focus and control.

At the bottom, take a right on the road, cross the bridge, and find the Tumalo Creek trail on the left. Take this back to the trailhead, taking care on the high-speed romp not to run into any oncoming bikes or hikers.