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Geographic region: Oregon Coast Range
Municipality/town: Buxton (unincorporated Washington County), Scappoose
Route configuration: out-and-back with a loop
Distance: 21.5 miles
Min/max elevation: 1,516’/2,158’
Total ascent: 1,949’
Max grade: 9.9% up/10.2% down
Surface: gravel/dirt roa
Bikes allowed: yes (mountain bike recommended)
Obstacles: 5 gates: At 1.3 miles from the start (0.8 miles up Buxton Lookout Rd), there is a gate with a Weyerhaeuser sign that indicates permits are required beyond that point. The remaining gates are not restricted and are at 7.2 miles, 10.2 miles, 14.5 miles, 16.8 miles, and 17.5 miles.
Best months: spring, summer, fall (higher areas may be covered in snow during the winter)
Permits: (see above) At 1.3 miles from the start (0.8 miles up Buxton Lookout Rd), there is a gate with a Weyerhaeuser sign that indicates permits are required beyond that point
Traffic: virtually none on the weekends; there may be some logging traffic during the weekdays and you might see a vehicle or two near Gunners Lakes as some people fish there
Feels safe to go alone (my personal comfort level): no. Consider bringing bear spray.
Driving distance from downtown Portland: 36 miles
[Click on buttons above to get route links on Gaia GPS or Ride with GPS]
To get to the start: From Hwy 26, head north on NW Fisher Rd toward Buxton, OR – go 0.7 mi. Continue straight on NW Bacona Rd – go 3.1 mi. Turn R to stay on NW Bacona Rd – go 2.4 mi. Park on the corner of NW Bacona Rd and Hoffman/Lawrence Rd.
Head east on NW Bacona Rd – go 0.5 mi
@0.5 mi: R on NW Buxton Lookout Rd – go 0.8 mi
@1.3 mi: continue straight/L on unnamed road (there will be a gate to cross) – go 0.4 mi
@1.7 mi: stay straight/L at Y – go 0.2 mi
@1.9 mi: L on unnamed road to get to peak of Buxton Lookout – go 400’. Climb up on stack of rocks at the end of the road to get the best view. Turn around and head back to rejoin Buxton Lookout Rd in 0.7 mi
@2.6 mi: continue straight on Buxton Lookout Rd – go 0.8 mi
@3.4 mi: R on NW Bacona Rd (which becomes Bacona CCC/Hershey/Bacona-Pisgah Home Rd) – go 6.8 mi
@10.2 mi: sharp L on unnamed road – go 1.0 mi
@11.2 mi: L on Gunners Lake Mainline – go 1.1 mi
@12.3 mi: L on Jeppeson Rd – go 0.1 mi
@12.4 mi: L to stay on Jeppeson Rd – go 3.5 mi
@14.7 mi: R at Y to stay on Jeppeson Rd
@15.8 mi: sharp L on Corral Mainline – go 1.6 mi
@16.8 mi: L at overgrown road with a gate to cross to stay on Corral Mainline (an unnamed road continues to the right here but it dead-ends)
@17.5 mi: R on Bacona CCC/Hershey (which becomes NW Bacona Rd) – go 4.1 mi
End @21.6 mi
This remote route winds through the Coast Range, partially through logging country in various stages of harvest and growth. It is the more recently harvested areas that will give you broader views of the beautiful Coast Range.
Early on in the route, it detours off NW Bacona Road onto NW Buxton Lookout Road to make a dogleg jaunt up to Buxton Lookout for some stunning views. After less 0.8 mile on NW Buxton Lookout Road, you will come to a gate that marks the entrance of Weyerhaeuser Logging Company property, with a sign indicating that a recreational permit is required. It is less than six-tenths of a mile from this gate to the top of Buxton Lookout. At the end of a short gravel road to the peak, there is a pile of boulders. A quick clamber up to the top this short stack of rock will bring you to a panoramic view of forest and valley.
After the short detour to Buxton Lookout, you will return to NW Bacona Road and continue heading east. You will go through mostly forested areas with intermittent views of the Coast Range and its valleys. From about the 7.5-mile to the 9.5-mile point, the road gets rougher with bigger chunks of rocks, but still easily navigable if you take your time here.
At about the 10.2-mile mark, you will make a sharp left turn on an unmarked road with a gate. After a mile on this unnamed road, on the left you will see one of three small lakes named Gunners Lakes. At this point, you will turn left on Gunners Lakes Mainline, heading west for 1.1 miles while being able to see the other two small lakes along the way.
At the west end of the last of the placid Gunners Lakes, you will turn left on Jeppeson Road. The road winds through a mixture of beautiful coniferous and deciduous forest. It ends where it intersects with Corral Mainline Road. At 16.8 miles, you will need to take the overgrown road on the left with a gate to cross to stay on Corral Mainline Road. This last 1.7-mile section of Corral Mainline Road is very overgrown with grass, but it’s really not that hard to run and bike through, and it’s lovely. At the 17.5-mile point, you will rejoin NW Bacona Road, heading west to return to your starting point.
Geographic region: Oregon Coast Range
Municipality/town: Scappoose
Route configuration: loop
Distance: 20.1 miles
Min/max elevation: 195’/2,052’
Total ascent: 2,330’
Max grade: 12.4% up/11.3% down
Surface: ~9 miles gravel/dirt road (parts of Pisgah Home Rd has large, chunky rocks), ~8 miles gravel/dirt path, ~3 miles paved road
Bikes allowed: yes (mountain bike recommended)
Obstacles: none
Best months: spring, summer, fall (higher areas may be covered in snow during the winter)
Permits: none required
Traffic: mostly very light to no traffic on the weekends; there may be some logging traffic during the weekdays from NW Pisgah Home Rd through NW Pisgah Lookout Rd; also
light to moderate on the ½-mile section of Scappoose-Vernonia Hwy and light on Siercks Rd
Feel safe to go alone (my personal comfort level): no. Consider bringing bear spray.
Driving distance from downtown Portland: 28 miles
[Click on buttons above to get route links on Gaia GPS or Ride with GPS]
To get to the start: Locate Ruley Trailhead – Crown Zellerbach Trail. From Portland, head north on Hwy 30 to Scappoose. Turn L on Scappoose-Vernonia Hwy – go 6.6 mi. Turn L into the parking lot of the Ruley Trailhead of the Crown Zellerbach Trail.
Head east on Crown Zellerbach Tr (Crown Zellerbach Logging Rd) – go 3.7 mi
@3.7 mi: R on Deanne Dr – go 250’
@3.8 mi: L on Scappoose-Vernonia Hwy – go 0.5 mi
@4.3 mi: R on Siercks Rd – go 0.6 mi
@4.9 mi: L on Pisgah Home Rd – go 1.7 mi
@6.6 mi: R to stay on Pisgah Home Rd (which eventually becomes Bacona-Pisgah Home Rd) – go 5.4 mi
@8.6 mi: R at Y
@10.8 mi: R at 4-way intersection to stay on Pisgah Home Rd
@12.0 mi: R on Pisgah Lookout Rd – go 1.8 mi
@13.8 mi: R to stay on Pisgah Lookout Rd – go 1.9 mi
@15.7 mi: R on Crown Zellerbach Tr – go 4.4 mi
End @20.1 mi
The Crown Zellerbach Trail stretches from Scappoose to Vernonia, following the path of on old logging railroad. This route starts at the Ruley Trailhead and heads east for 4.4 miles of the trail, down a gentle grade largely through forests. It then takes a half-mile jaunt on the Scappoose-Vernonia Highway to connect with Siercks Road to head west back up into the hills of the Coast Range.
Miles 4.5 through 10 has some good climbing, especially after Sierks Road turns into Pisgah Home Road. After passing the intersection with Holaday Road, Pisgah Home Road becomes a gravel logging road. For a good two miles or more, the road becomes quite chunky. The views from up in this area, around the peak of the route, are fantastic and worth the bumpy ride. The first time we were in this area, however, it was so fogged in, we were lucky to see the rocks in front of us. It was still fun, though.
Pisgah Home Road eventually smooths out a bit, meandering through more forest with intermittent openings from recently harvested lumber. At 12 miles, you will start to head north on Pisgah Lookout Road. As of summer 2024, the first part of this road is in a clear-cut area which offers views of Mt. Rainier, St. Helens, and Adams. Then it becomes a more primitive but easily navigable road with lush rainforest. At 13.8 miles, the road becomes wider and very smooth, heading north through thick forest, where, at 15.7 miles, you will turn right to rejoin the Crown Zellerbach Trail, From here you will coast on a mostly downhill stretch through forest to the finish.
Geographic region: Oregon Coast Range
Municipality/town: Scappoose, Vernonia
Route configuration: out-and-back
Distance: 25.4 miles
Min/max elevation: 625’/1,176’
Total ascent: 2,323’
Max grade: 11.5% up/11.5% down
Surface: gravel/dirt path
Bikes allowed: yes (gravel or mountain bike recommended)
Obstacles: none
Best months: any
Permits: none required
Traffic: very occasional hikers, runners, bikers
Feels safe to go alone (my personal comfort level): yes, though it gets pretty secluded in the far western section
Driving distance from downtown Portland: 28 miles
[Click on buttons above to get route links on Gaia GPS or Ride with GPS]
To get to the start: Locate Ruley Trailhead – Crown Zellerbach Trail. From Portland, head north on Hwy 30 to Scappoose. Turn L on Scappoose-Vernonia Hwy – go 6.6 mi. Turn L into the parking lot of the Ruley Trailhead of the Crown Zellerbach Trail.
Note: the trail has markers all along the way to keep you on track
Head west on Crown Zellerbach Tr/Crown Zellerbach Logging Rd – go 4.5 mi
@4.5 mi: continue on Crown Zellerbach Tr/Columbia Forest Rd – go 5.6 mi
@10.1 mi: cross the Scappoose-Vernonia Hwy and continue on Crown Zellerbach Tr/Pebble Creek Mainline – go 1.4 mi
@11.5 mi: R on Crown Zellerbach Tr/E Knott St (no road sign) – go 1.1 mi
@12.6 mi: turn around and head back on Crown Zellerbach Tr/E Knott St – go 1.1 mi
@13.8 mi: L on Crown Zellerbach Tr/Pebble Creek Mainline – go 1.4 mi
@15.2 mi: cross the Scappoose-Vernonia Hwy and continue on Crown Zellerbach Tr/Columbia Forest Rd – go 5.6 mi
@20.8 mi: continue on Crown Zellerbach Tr/Crown Zellerbach Logging Rd – go 4.5 mi
End @25.4 mi
The Crown Zellerbach Trail starts in Scappoose near the Muttnomah Channel and heads west on a path where there was once an old logging railroad, finishing in a neighborhood in Vernonia. Having done the entire 21.7-mile trail, I chose my favorite sections for this out-and-back route. This route does not include the roughly nine miles of the eastern section of the trail which goes through more populated neighborhoods and crosses through a busier section of Scappoose.
Starting at the Ruley Trailhead of the Crown-Zellerbach Trail, you will head west on the trail. The route starts with a gentle uphill climb as you make your way through coniferous and deciduous forests. The climb gets a bit steeper until you reach the first peak at roughly four-and-a-half miles. Then you will coast mostly downhill to about the 10-mile point. Here, you will cross the Scappoose-Vernonia Highway to continue along the trail on Pebble Creek Mainline, which is used as a logging road during the week. There are several logging roads branching off, but the route is marked with small CZ Trail signs to keep you on track. You’re in for a steep climb for about a mile, and then you dip back down to the end of the trail at about 12.6 miles. The last bit of the trail is rockier and rougher, although I am told there are plans to spruce it up some.
You will end at a gate at East Knott Street, and from there you turn around and return the way you came. There are not many open scenic views on this route, but this peaceful trek through the woods is lovely.
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