Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
Silver Siouxon Loop: Type 2 Fun Bikepacking (Video)
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The Silver Siouxon is a challenging 3-day singletrack loop right outside of Portland, Oregon. Chris Wilson decided to tackle this route over Labor Day weekend, just as the area reopened from fire restrictions. Find another of Chris’ excellent videos documenting the trip alongside photos and notes about the route conditions…
The Siouxon Creek area in Washington recently reopened after getting damaged by the Big Hollow Fire in 2020. Although he was a bit apprehensive about rough trail conditions, Chris Wilson decided to tackle the Silver Siouxon Loop for a second time during a three-day Labor Day weekend. Along the way, he would fish and capture a lot of excellent footage to make this video. Watch it below and scroll down for some route notes and a stunning photo gallery.
An excellent and challenging 3-day singletrack loop right out Portland’s backdoor. Silver Siouxon connects a handful of southwest Washington’s best MTB trails, remote backcountry riding, expansive views of cascade volcanoes, deep old growth forests, scree fields, and rugged ridge rambles. Full route guide here.
Route Notes
By Chris Wilson
This route has some serious challenges, including rough, chunky terrain, steep hike-a-bike sections, exposed ridge riding, and overgrown sections. But you are rewarded with incredible views and a majestic forest. Ultimately, the trail was overgrown and full of blowdowns after being closed from the fire. But it goes! I ended up breaking the route up as follows: Day 1: 13 miles; Day 2: 36 miles; Day 3: 27 miles.
The Bike
I wouldn’t even consider riding this route on a bike without front suspension or at least 2.5″ tires. Preferably, I would have both. I rode a Surly Karate Monkey with front suspension and 2.35″ tires, and I wished I had fatter tires on this one.
I would try to aim for going light and compact. With the blowdowns, all the extra stuff on your bike is going to be more weight you have to lift. Also, with the overgrowth, any crap you have dangling from your bike may get caught on branches.
Water
Day 1 is full of water. Absolutely filter water at the spring at the top of Silver Star! After that, you won’t have water until you hit Siouxon, and that area has some exposed sections. On your way to the top of Silverstar, there is a sign where Bluff Mountain Trail starts. If you keep going straight you will go to the top of Silver Star. Off to the right, there’s a trail that leads to the spring. I didn’t know this and took the road up and bushwacked down to the spring. Oops!
Other Route Notes
- If you do this when it is dewy or it has rained recently, you’re going to get soaked. There is so much overgrowth.
- The camping around Mile 15 is good minus the loud trucks that go by on the gravel road nearby. It woke me up a few times.
- There are lots of camping spots along Siouxon Creek.
- Overall, I probably encountered around 50-60 blowdowns on the Siouxon Creek Trail. Of those, only four or five of them were a real pain in the ass to get over. One of them I would even call a bit sketchy. The blowdown wiped out the trail and you have to go over a fairly big log.
About Chris Wilson
Chris Wilson was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest and is based out of Vancouver, Washington. He started backpacking, then moved to climbing, and after riding the White Rim Trail, got hooked on bikepacking. Find another of Chris’s videos documenting his trip in Montana here.
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