Panther Creek Mountain Bike Park

1. Who is involved in this trail thing? 

Cycle Yamhill County is working with the Tillamook office of the Bureau of Land Management, with planning support from Travel Oregon and Visit McMinnville, to build and maintain the Panther Creek Trail Project.

2. What exactly is this trail thing? 

CYC proposes to build and maintain a network of 25 miles of walking and biking trails 8 miles west of Carlton, spread across 1400 acres of public land managed by the BLM alongside Von Rd and immediately adjacent to Weyerhaeuser timber land.

3. When do you think it will be complete? 

CYC hopes to get BLM approval by summer 2024. We will be looking for a contractor to help local trail users build the first phase of trails and staging areas by Spring 2025 for opening summer 2025.

4. What’s a staging area; is that a technical term? 

Staging areas are primitive welcome stations, wide areas adjacent to a road, where signs can direct users to particular parts of a trail network and where porta-potties can help with nature’s call.

5. Where do I go to learn more and help? 

CYC maintains a monthly newsletter, board minutes, and updated webpages at www.cycleyamhillcounty.com . If you’d like to help, email Casey@CaseyKulla.com.

6. I’m nervous; who do I contact to share my concerns?

CYC will host a series of public meetings to share the plan, gather comments for the BLM and provide substantive responses. In the meantime, send concerns to the “Contact” button on the CYC website: https://cycleyamhillcounty.com/contact .

7. Who is on this board you mention? 

CYC board includes Eric Ladouceur, Adam Stone, Natalie McPhillips, Gerry Hunter, Philip Higgins, Casey Kulla, Jeff Knapp, and Ron Baker.

1. Mountain bikes can be really hard on trails in winter; will bikes be excluded in winter?There will be some trails that CYC will discourage riding in winter. However, contemporary, sustainable trail design demonstrates that with the right drainage techniques, trails with particular soil types on Ball Bearing Hill can be ridden during rainy seasons (modeled on Silver Falls’ famed Catamount Trail). For all trails, it is CYC’s responsibility to limit soil erosion, especially into streams, rather than the user’s responsibility.

2.  Who will take care of these trails, staging areas, etc? While hiking and mountain bike trails are “use at your own risk and know your limits” recreational sites, CYC’s trail stewards will maintain the trails and parking areas. Potties will be serviced as needed (schedule based on seasonality and use). Trail crews will train with the Northwest Trail Alliance’s Sustainability Institute, complete the Forest Service chainsaw certification, and maintain wilderness first aid certification.

3. Will you charge fees to people for use of the trails? No. However, signs will include links to donating to CYC’s trail program for maintaining the trails.

4. Will you have races at this site? Any special events, including races, require permits and the approval of the BLM. The lack of parking areas on the mountain will keep any special events limited in size. However the Oregon middle and high school mountain biking league (oregonmtb.org) struggles to find race sites close to population centers and so kids may race here, if we obtain the proper permits and insurance.

5. From which direction will people get to the site? Will area gates interfere with traffic flow? Our website, TrailForks, and all directional and activity signs will direct users to Meadowlake Rd and left onto the western end of Panther Creek Rd, then right onto Von Rd. The primary staging area is about 1/4 mile up Von Rd. This is both the fastest and the easiest route, with the least amount of gravel driving and the fewest homes adjacent to the route. Drive time from downtown McMinnville is 20 minutes via this route, while travel time from downtown Carlton is 12 minutes. Gated forest roads in the area will not interfere with this flow of traffic.

6. Will these staging areas interfere with travel on Von Rd? All staging areas will be designed so that cars can pull in and out without impeding traffic on Von Rd. The trail corridors propose to cross Von Rd very few times, and the trails will be stop-signed to prevent bike-auto encounters.

7. What about wildfires? Is logging slash a fire risk? CYC’s operations manual will include fire weather contingency plans and we will close the trails during the highest fire danger. CYC trail stewards will be trained in initial response and carry tools and water with them in vehicles and on bikes. Fire tools and water will be cached on-site. Due to the recent logging, in some areas, logging debris remains on the land, but slash deteriorates quickly at the moist conditions on-site and will not be a significant factor by the time visitors are riding and walking the trails.

8. How many people do you anticipate visiting the trail network on any given day and annually? As we build out the three phases of the trails and staging areas, we anticipate more people visiting. Ball Bearing Hill is unique in having well-drained soils, a north-facing slope, and a relatively low elevation, which allows more riding in more times of year. While this will spread riders out over the course of a year, there will likely be a peak in mid- to late-summer as Oregon youth mountain bike teams practice mid-week. Very roughly, we plan for 10,000 visits in early phases of build-out, which when spread out over the year looks like 20-60 people on any one day or 5-15 cars on the mountain at any one time.

9. Why would the BLM want trails in their working forests? Why here? Though the BLM may be known for their timber production, as a federal agency, they are charged with managing our public land for multiple values, including recreation. Despite this recreation mandate, the Tillamook field office has very few developed recreational facilities and is eager for CYC’s assistance in building and maintaining this trail network for all visitors. The proximity to Carlton means this land matches BLM’s vision “Backyard to Backcountry” for building recreational facilities. The recent extensive timber sale means that this land is unlikely to be logged again for many years and the thinning creates ideal conditions for trail-building and riding.

10. I’ve heard about adaptive mountain biking and hiking; is that something we can do at the Panther Creek trail network? It is our goal to have trails that work for as many users as possible. We’ve consulted with Unpavement’s Jeremy McGhee on our trail plans. During construction, all trails will be assessed and rated using the Architectural Barriers Act standards and we will list all pertinent trail features (max slope and cross slope, length, obstructions, elevation change, points of rest) and an aMTB rating, so that users will be able to decide which trails are best for them. We’ve also planned a separate area for beginning riders and a short walking trail for those who are not ready to hike or ride.