2015 McKenzie River Fortyfive

Date: Sunday, September 13, 2015
Time: 7:00a start
Start Location: Paradise Campground
Distance: 45 miles
Starting/Min/Max Elevation: 1500’/3100′
Elevation gain/loss: 3,800′
Estimated Ride Time: 5-8 hours
Max Riders: 75
Cost: FREE
Registration: CLOSED

Here’s a sweet preview of what you can expect…

Overview: The McKenzie River Fortyfive takes you up and back the entire length of the awesome McKenzie River Trail – rated the #1 trail in Oregon by the MTB Project and is considered one of the top 10 rides in the entire country.

The McKenzie River Trail has over 20 miles of flowy singletrack, ideally located among old growth forest, waterfalls,mosses, ferns and brilliant blue pools of water.  Of course, it wouldn’t be the perfect trail without the sharp volcanic rock technical sections.

It is considered a full day ride as a shuttle in one direction, but of course we’re going to ride the full thing in both directions.  We’re starting early to avoid conflicts with shuttle riders and hikers at Tamolitch/Blue Pool.

Route: The event starts at Paradise Campground and heads up the entire length of the McKenzie River trail to Clear Lake.  At the south end of Clear Lake, the route turns to the left to take Clear Lake trail around the west side of the lake.  At the north end of the lake, the route turns right to take the McKenzie River Trail around the east side of the lake and then continues back down the entire length of the trail to Paradise Campground.

Maps: Ride With GPS link – you can view elevation profile, switch between different map views, and export a GPX file.

Cue Sheet: 0.0 Start at Paradise Campground. 20.0 turn left to go on the west side of Clear Lake.  22.0 turn right across bridge to continue on MRT on the east side of Clear Lake. 25.0 continue straight on MRT. 45.0 Finish at Paradise Campground.

Water on the Course: You are next to the McKenzie River almost the entire course.  There is also water available at Clear Lake Resort at mile 21.  You should carry some form of water purification or filtration if you plan on drinking water from the river.

Directions to the Start: Paradise Campground is off Hwy 126 about 53 miles east of Eugene, and 50 miles west of Sisters.

Camping: Camping is available at Paradise Campground on a first-come, first-served basis on this weekend.  Our experience is that there are generally spaces available this time of year.