Hello Everyone,

As the year draws to a close, we at Hood River Area Trail Stewards (HRATS) are reflecting on the amazing trail work accomplished this year. This work would not have been possible without all the support from incredible individuals like you who share the passion for our trails.

The dedication of our volunteers is a critical part of HRATS. We can’t express enough gratitude for the countless hours that volunteers contributed this year. When we ask, you all show up, which means everything to us! Your commitment is what helps grow the magic of our trails. Look for plenty of more opportunities in 2025.

Thanks to the generous support we received throughout 2024, HRATS was able to help facilitate many exciting trail projects. However, our work is far from over. To ensure 2025 will be another productive year for our trails, we need your continued support. Your contributions, no matter the size or type, have a meaningful impact on our ability to care for our trails.

There are many local trail projects currently in work that either require our leadership or assistance. With your continued support, HRATS will be focusing on these trail projects in 2025:

• Whoopdee:
  • The extensive Whoopdee expansion project is close to an end, thanks to the hard work of trail builder Joe Benedetti. We hope you enjoyed last spring’s preview. The final phase of the extension will finish a huge outside loop, which adds over seven miles of singletrack!
• Post Canyon:
  • Shadow: Hood River County (HRC) approved trail adopter Jeff Blackman’s plan to build this new intermediate/blue, hand-built style trail. This will be a downhill trail that starts at the top of El Dorado and crosses Riordan Rd just below FMX. HRC has applied for a grant that will connect Shadow to Remix and Splash and Giggle and give riders access to A-Side and B-Side without using moto trails from the top of El Dorado. The first 25% of Shadow is finished, and our goal is to organize significant work on this trail in the spring.
  • Blackout: HRC is funding and building this new expert/black trail that branches off from Shadow and runs to the right of X Chorus and FMX. HRC is bringing in rock to spice up the technical difficulty of the trail. Once the machine work is done, HRATS will ask for volunteers to help finish the trail. Blackout is considered a replacement for the decommissioned Blade Runner trail.
  • B-Side: The trail builder, Maurizio von Flotow, and his crew have started work on this new expert/black trail, which is the sequel to A-Side. B-Side will lead to the Spaghetti/Lower GP intersection. Expect B-Side to be a little more challenging than A-Side when it opens in late September 2025.
  • Phelps Creek: Progress continues on a new, non-wheeled trail exclusively for equestrians, runners, and hikers. The trail starts at Family Man and will eventually climb to the Binn’s Hill Staging Area. The trail project is being led by Cory Hoffman, and HRC has applied for a grant to help accelerate the trail building and infrastructure. HRATS believes this non-wheeled trail is a real need in Post Canyon.
  • Post Canyon Dr: HRC will start reimagining the trails this spring along the section of Post Canyon Dr that is below 7 Streams. This will keep people off the road and the trails away from the stream. Volunteers may be needed.
  • Cake Walk: Trail builder Douglas Johnson is working with the support of Bekah Rottenberg to add wood features (including some old-school skinnies!) to this area in Family Man. HRATS has funded phase one and hopes to finish this work in the spring. Cake Walk is our last project in the big Family Man rebuild.
  • Baby GP: The grant HRC has applied for aims to divide Baby GP into two parallel trails: one for climbing and one for descending. Both will be adaptive-qualified trails that make a small loop out of Family Man available to adaptive riders. The down section is expected to be fun, and the climb will be safer because riders will not have to worry about two-way traffic.
• Administrative projects:
  • Grant writing: HRATS will work with HRC and other partners to secure grant funding to offset the costs associated with trail building and to support improvements to our local recreational infrastructure.
  • Trail building process: HRC is working toward rewriting the Hood River County Recreational Trails Master Plan. The current plan is over 15 years old. This will take a few years to complete.

As we approach the year-end, we humbly ask you to consider donating to HRATS. Whether big or small, your financial contribution will directly impact our ability to carry out essential trail maintenance, complete the next phases of trail building at Post Canyon and Whoopdee, and expand our outreach through programming like Families at Family Man. If you ever have questions about our work, we’d love to chat with you.

Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to HRATS today by visiting our website

https://hrats.org/fundraising/donations/

Every dollar counts and goes directly to the trails!

Thank you for being an integral part of the HRATS community. Wishing you a happy holiday season and a fantastic year ahead!

Take Care,

Tim Mixon

President, Hood River Area Trail Stewards

Categories: Advocacy, video

Tags: Advocacy, bicycle, bike, Bike Park, Cross Country, Hood River, mountain bike, mountainbike, MTB, Northwest, Oregon, Pacific Northwest, pacific nw