Morrow Co. OHV vs. Winom Frazier vs...

[MtnBoy]

Looking to ride two days in NW Oregon. Which place is best for two days of riding mid October, considering we really like singletrack. I understand that can be hard to come by, but just so you know where I'm coming from. I'm seeing Morrow County OHV, Winom Frazier OHV, and Blue Mtns OHV. Which is best and why, in your view? Do they each have enough miles of trails to keep us going for two days? Thanks in advance.

[llamaface]

winom frazier has very few miles of singletrack, but many miles of pretty fun quad trails. unfortunately, it is possible to go MUCH faster than is safe in many spots, resulting in me riding out with a compound femur fracture, standing on 1 foot, on someone else's bike, last time I was there.

I think it's a great place for riding with mixed skills group, as long as you are very careful of head-ons, because there's nothing hard, but lots that is fun.

[MtnBoy]

Thanks LlamaFace. Anyone else ride these areas?

[jim-in-so-ore]

I rode Morrow County 2 weeks ago. There is only 1 single threack trail in the whole park. Lots of loose rock and 3 to 5 inch dust in places and then hard pack around the next corner..Strange place!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I rode Winnom-Frazier about 4 years ago and loved it too! All but one steep loose rocky uphill with a switchback about 1/3 of the way to the top. We rode there all day and never rode the same trail twice. I think that goes for both OHV systems. I've never ridden Blue Mountain so I can't comment on it.

Jim

[firffighter]

I have ridden Morrow about a 6-7 times. There is more than 1 single track trail, but technically the map only shows 2 black marked single track trails. Many of the trails that are not specifically listed as single track but are dirt bike trails where a quad would stuggle.

There are a wide variety of trails there from easy quad or side-by-side stuff to steep and technical dirt bike terrain. There is quite a bit of rock, but it makes is fun and more challenging IMO.

It is a large OHV and most of the stuff close by the camping/staging is fairly easy. The newly aquired land and trails (1G-8G, I believe) are fun flowing terrain with lots of twist, turns and sharp uphill/downhill sections.

They run the Monkeybutt harescramble there each spring and it is a great event and they lay out an awesome course that is 30+mile loops.

This time of year is quite dusty and has some silt built up, but everywhere east is the same until there is a good rainfall over there.

Morrow has great camping facilities with very friendly people and great service, but lacks showers if needed. You can drive 6 miles down the road to the next campground though for an inexpensive shower.

I've never ridden the other 2 because Morrow always got better reviews.

BTW, there wil be lots of hunters camping at Morrow this time of year, but they are not allowed to hunt on the OHV. The local sheriff does a good job of patrolling the OHV during hunting season to ensure no one goes on the property to hunt, so you dont have to worry about that. Also, this time of year you will have most of the 200+ miles of trail to yourself!

Have fun!

[TommyB 754]

Morrow county has very little singletrack, lots of quad trails, not worth the drive IMO.

The facilities are nice though.

[KAS]

Morrow County has some fun trails, even though most of it is quadable (but there is more than one singletrack section), but they nickel & dime you at every turn.....they even charge like $3 for a trail map.

Never been to Winom-Frazier. It sounds like its a bigger area than Morrow Co.

[silverdog]

if you are looking for single track stay away from Morrow County OHV......

pretty much a joke if your riding a bike.........

[firffighter]

I'm not sure why folks dont like Morrow. It is a pretty fun place to ride if you enjoy some faster riding and it has a good selection of difficult to easy trails. I think most folks dont like the rocky terrain if you are used to places like China hat or EFR. I think if offers a nice variety though and you can put together a nice 50 mile run easy and hit some fun trails. You have to do some exploring though and staying close to the staging area wont offer you much in terms of variety or difficulty. I think a lot of people just stay by the staging area and miss out on some of the better riding Morrow has to offer.

Like I mentioned, the Monkeybutt offers a great course over there and I think it challenges our good riders in the series.

True, it has very little "single-track", but there is very little of that anywhere east of the mts. In fact, there is very little of it in the Northwestern Oregon for that matter. If you were looking for traditional singletrack, then WA has a better offering.

It also offers some very beautiful views as well and the weather is usually spectacular over there this time of year.

Hmm, maybe time for another trip over there.

Just my .02

[TommyB 754]

I'm not sure why folks dont like Morrow. It is a pretty fun place to ride if you enjoy some faster riding and it has a good selection of difficult to easy trails. I think most folks dont like the rocky terrain if you are used to places like China hat or EFR. I think if offers a nice variety though and you can put together a nice 50 mile run easy and hit some fun trails. You have to do some exploring though and staying close to the staging area wont offer you much in terms of variety or difficulty. I think a lot of people just stay by the staging area and miss out on some of the better riding Morrow has to offer.

Like I mentioned, the Monkeybutt offers a great course over there and I think it challenges our good riders in the series.

True, it has very little "single-track", but there is very little of that anywhere east of the mts. In fact, there is very little of it in the Northwestern Oregon for that matter. If you were looking for traditional singletrack, then WA has a better offering.

It also offers some very beautiful views as well and the weather is usually spectacular over there this time of year.

Hmm, maybe time for another trip over there.

Just my .02

I'm sorry but I riding a bike and quad trails just isn't what riding a motorcycle is about for me.

I've raced the Monkey Butt many times and the Fall Classic when it was there, if I wasn't a points racer I wouldn't race out their.

I'm sorry to hear that you think Northwestern Oregon doesn't have any singletrack. Singletrack is all I ride and I ride throughout the state.

To each his own.

[trailwhale]

winom frazier has very few miles of singletrack, but many miles of pretty fun quad trails. unfortunately, it is possible to go MUCH faster than is safe in many spots, resulting in me riding out with a compound femur fracture, standing on 1 foot, on someone else's bike, last time I was there.

I think it's a great place for riding with mixed skills group, as long as you are very careful of head-ons, because there's nothing hard, but lots that is fun.

I agree with this fully. It is a fun place to ride but not very challenging or much singletrack mileage. I prefer the Winom side over Frasier because it seems to be less crowded overall with fewer quads.

[humpness]

any ride reports. morrows website says some trails are open

[jacckfish]

any ride reports. morrows website says some trails are open

I just sent them an E-mail this week and here is there response. I haven't riden there yet either, But I plan on taking my 10 yr old this year. and since I hunt up in that area I am going to do some scouting this year and buy a bear tag. Not that that matters to anyone

Thank you for inquiring about the Morrow County OHV Park.

At this time we only have a small portion of our trail system open due to weather/trail conditions. Our camping area remains seasonally closed until May 14, 2010, unless the Public Works Director opens sooner.

As far as what we offer when we are open we have 4 different camping areas that one can enjoy. Rule of thumb enjoy and be happy just be mindful of others in area. Our camping areas are spaced out but if we are at max capacity there are others within area.

If you have any other comment or questions please feel free to contact us.

Kirsti Cason

Administrative Assistant

Morrow County Public Works

P.O. Box 428

Lexington, Oregon 97839

Phone: 541-989-9500

Reservations Direct: 541-989-8214

e-mail: mcparks@co.morrow.or.us

[humpness]

man if i had a spring bear i would hope it would be for mt emily. horseshoe, squaw creek etc. i live in pendleton so its not a big deal to just check out the area. once turkey season starts i will be hammering that out.