Top Trails of 2025
New (and old) trails for you to explore!
Where did I go, and what did I love?
Best of: Local Rip, Pucker Ride, eMTB Adventure, Flow, New Trail System, and Gravel Adventure Ride!
Last year I went for a full top 10 trails. This year, I am reflecting on my absolute favorite rides and trails of the year. Trails that, if given the opportunity, I’d return to in a heart beat.
A few things to note: This list is 100% my opinion. My kind of trail love is different than many. I love tech trails and I love to suffer. As a friend said recently, “Bekah loves a big dumb ride!” I’m happy as a clam pushing my bike uphill for hours if it gets me into a unique zone and rewards a jaw dropping descent. But I also love a well built playful flow trail and a good local rip. So read on, and let me know what you love and what you want to check out from my list!
Best Local Rip: A Side / B Side. Hood River, OR
Hood River is known for its fast flow jump trails. But the addition of A Side and B side the past two years offers a completely different flavor. Hand built, raw, edgy, off camber, steep. Every time I ride these trails I am challenged and end with a massive grin!
Best time to ride: Spring or Fall, and ideally when there is a little bit of moisture in the soil.
Recommended route. Distance 6.6 miles, 1,100’ of vert, but lots of options to extend! Difficulty: Oregon black.
Donate to our local trail stewards at HRATS for more!
Best Pucker Ride: Bring on The Weekend.
Whistler Valley, BC
This trail is work to access. There are a few different options, but no matter the approach, expect to sweat at least a liter of water and be cussing like a sailer until you reach the top. You’ll be rewarded with a phenomenal view before dropping in to steep rock shoots and engaging tech. What I call a classic “push up trail,” the tone for the ride is set early with rock slabs and roots that will keep you on your toes, and just enough flow to tell it was built for mountain bikers rather than hikers. I found a few of the double black options to be quite spicy, but given the chance I’d return and ride BOTW again in a heart beat!
Best time to ride: As soon as the snow has melted out! Typically June or July.
Recommended Route (although there are a handful of other options!) Distance: 11 miles. Vert: 2,400. Difficulty: Whistler black with double black options.
Donate to WORCA for more trails like this!
Best eMTB Adventure Ride: Bishop Ridge, Gifford Pinchot National Forest, WA
If you live in Oregon or Washington, the chances that you’ve looked at a map and seen the Gifford Pinchot National Forrest are high. The GP, or The Giff, as locals like to call it, is located in southern Washington and boasts an area of 1.32 million acres (5,300 km2). It extends along the western slopes of the Cascade Range and includes several high volcanoes including Mt. Adams and Mt. St Helens. From a recreation standpoint, the GP is hard to access. The roads are treacherous - I’ve been thwarted 3 times by landslides and forced to re-route, and the trails are primarily built by and designed for moto use. If you can get there, it’s worth it!
To me, it’s the perfect eMTB playground. But, the mindset you take when you go into the Giff will determine the outcome of your day. Do not expect to ride everything. There will always be some amount of hike-a-bike, yes, even with an ebike! Fill your pack with water, snacks, and a “I can do this” mindset, and you will be rewarded with an incredibly rich forest bathing experience! Depending on when you go you could be snacking on huckleberries or filling your pack with chanterelles, lobsters, or matsutake mushrooms for dinner! There are a number of equally hard and rewarding routes (over 1,400 miles of trail!) but let me tell you about Bishop Ridge, which was new to me as of Nov, 2025.
After a challenging climb, you will reach the saddle looking NW towards Mt. St Helens and intersecting with Yozoo trail. If you decide to continue on Bishop Ridge, you will traverse a bit more before (hopefully) being rewarded with an incredible view looking out over the Cispus river valley. Then hold onto your panties as you start to descend descend descend through chunky rock, swoopy moto turns, and forest where you’re pretty sure elves will pop out and give you a high five!
Recommended Route. Distance: 16 miles. Vert: 4,200.
Best time to go: Late summer to fall. Ideally there is some moisture in the soil. If you go mid summer it will be a total sand pit and the black flies can be gnarly! Difficulty: Oregon spicy black.
Donate to Transcascadia for more trails like this!
Best Flow Trail: Tiddlywinks. Bend, OR
I’m not sure how I got away with living in Oregon for 12 years and never riding Tiddlywinks! What a gem! It has a little bit of everything and I’m pretty sure could satisfy nearly every type of rider. It’s got fun flow with built up berms and table top jumps. It’s got a few rock gardens, but if rocks aren’t your friends there are ride around options. It’s also a nice descent where you actually feel like you’re riding downhill for awhile (where as most of Bend trails have a much more XC feel). You end up dropping a total of 1,400 feet of vert! Again, there are multiple ways to ride this trail. You could catch a shuttle with Cog Wild, or your buddy, or pedal it as a loop like I did (route below).
Recommended Route. Distance: 12 miles Vert: 1,400’. Difficulty: True Blue.
Best time to go: Early spring or Fall as soon as the snow has melted or after it’s just rained.
Donate to COTA for more trails like this!
Best New Trail System: Cascade Locks, OR
The planning for this gem of a new trail system started way back in 2006! After a number of meetings, hurdles, and partnerships, The Northwest Trail Alliance partnered with the Port of Cascade Locks to provide 9 (and growing) miles of new singletrack trail! The trails tie into the gorge 400 trail if you’re looking to add miles to those legs, or you can session the new skills area or stay on the EasyCLIMB side if you have young kids or newer riders.
The combination of fun and challenging techy rock features along with soils that hold up well in the wet make this a phenomenal new addition to the Columbia Gorge trail offerings.
Recommended Route: No bad option, but ride Perigrination East to West! Difficulty: Green to Black options.
When to go: As long as the trails are free of snow, you should be good to go!
Best Gravel Bike Adventure Ride in the Gorge: Wahtum Lake to Rainy Lake.
Even though I’m a mountain bike coach, I spend a good amount of time riding my gravel bike. I absolutely love it, and I enjoy applying MTB skills to a “gravel” scenario. Coach Annick calls this “underbiking.” The Wahtum to Rainy lake trail is one of those legal to bike trails that feels like it should be illegal. In fact, it almost is. You are literally riding directly along the Mark O Hatfield wilderness boundary! A few things to note: carry a water filter. There are multiple streams as you approach Wahtum lake that come right down to the road and are great for filtering water. Be prepared for brushy trail conditions, potentially a few downed trees, and be ready to handle a flat tire. This trail is remote and rough! There are a some rowdy, chunky, and rocky sections of trail. Once you reach Wahtum lake, you’ll face a few different options of how to connect up to Wahtum Lake Rd. I’ve done them all, and the one in my route is my fav. Also, don’t be fooled by the name “Wahtum Lake Rd.” Nothing about it feels like a road - it’s 100% trail!
Recommended Route. Distance: 51 miles Vert: 5,600’ Difficulty: HARD!
Best time to go: Summer!
The trail is maintained by the US Forest Service.
That’s it for the 2025 roundup! I’d love to hear from you: What did you love and what on my list do you want to try?