Bike the Timothy Lake Trail
Clackamas County, Oregon
Details
Distance
15 miles
Route Type
Loop
Description
Added by David Schelske
Easy trail with beautiful scenery. 15 mile bike loop or 13 mile hike around the lake. Lots of camping. Great swimming spots during the ride. Boat launch for water activities.
Located about 2 hours outside of Portland, Timothy lake is a great home base to adventure from. It has many campgrounds, lots of lake access and great loop around the lake that is open to both hiking and Mt biking. While the hiking loop is 13 miles, the Mt. bike loop is 15 since you need to make a small detour around the PCT trail which is closed to Mt. bikes. Not to worry though, it offers some great riding in some very scenic forest and loops back to the main trail on the lake.
The trail is very well marked and easy to follow with good signs at all the intersections. Most all the riding is very easy, with little elevation gains and very few technical sections that could easily be walked if you choose to.
Note:
There is no cell service anywhere near the lake.
For some added fun, bring a bike lock and leave your bike at the intersection for little crater lake. Its a 1/2 mile walk in and a pretty cool place to check out. If you hop in for a swim, be prepared for the coldest water ever!!!
For more details on camping, check out this adventure.
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Reviews
I’ve done this every summer with my family. It never gets old especially on a nice sunny day for Timothy Lake
5.0
It's best as a summer/early fall ride as there tends to be snow even into May some years. If you are new to biking or taking someone who is there's a great out and back section of the trail that's about a 6 mile round trip and has very minimal elevation change. Camping here is very popular so reserve early or if you want somewhere close but a little quieter you can either bike/hike in to Meditation Point (about a mile and a half in) and camp in one of the 4-5 campsites for free there (there is also a pit toilet, though it's not the nicest), or drive 15 minutes back to Little Crater Lake Campground. It's a small loop but very few people camp there so it's a lot quieter. And the trail to the lake crosses a marshy field that's great for laying and watching the stars from! (Stay on the trail as it is a wetland!)
4.0
Leave No Trace
Always practice Leave No Trace ethics on your adventures and follow local regulations. Please explore responsibly!
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