Occasionally I like remind my family I’m not yet fully converted to a feral horsewoman, so instead of fitting in a conditioning ride after work on Friday, I spent the time hiking and grabbing a delicious dinner in Portland with them. However even when I’m not riding I’m thinking about riding, so here’s my collection of places I like to fit in endurance condition rides in the south PDX area. I know my friend Nikki has a great collection of horse camping and trails on her trail catalog, and NW Horse Trails (now passed along to another good friend, Sharalyn) has been around for years as a fairly comprehensive look at the same. There are a few caveats to my opinions: 

1. I try to bring Benny along on rides, whenever possible. Plenty of places have leash laws, and while I can and do “pony” him off Tarma, this gets tricky when I’m going for a speedier ride so I don’t go to state parks as often. 
2. Tarma is a brave and solid mare, unphased by pretty much everything (other than her Greatest Enemy, The Orange Tractor of Certain Mare Death). She’s not spooky or spinny, so things like bikes and clueless people aren’t really a turn off for us. 
3. I live and board Tarma in Canby, and I don’t love going more than an hour for a regular conditioning ride, so all these places are within an hours haul of my barn, with one exception. 

Here’s my list, from closest to Canby to farthest. If you ever want to ride or explore any of these places, just send me a message! I can even trailer pool if you aren’t too far away. 

• Port Blakely, Howard’s Mills block, Mulino: This is a section of privately owned timberlands which allows public access.. I haul here quite a bit for quick after work rides as it’s only 15 minutes away. The trailer parking is just on the side of the road, but there’s room for several rigs. A local endurance rider has done a ton of work creating and keeping trails open here, shoutout to Marion G! There’s a decent mix of single track and hard pack roads, with lots of elevation to work with, as well as good trot and canter sections. There’s a couple of slightly rough creek crossings (especially in the winter), so best for horses already good with water. I always ride with my clippers and saw, helping out with the endless work of keeping the blackberries and limbs trimmed. There’s no leash requirement here and I rarely run into folks, so Benny can come off leash. 
• Port Blakely, Olsen/Unger block, Beavercreek: Another PB property, this one out in Beavercreek and bigger than the Howard’s Mills block. It’s also flatter, but with a lot more hard pack roads, including an absolutely perfect section for a good long canter/hand gallop every time of year. Trailer parking is again on the side of the road, but I’ve never had to turn around due to lack of space. There’s also plenty of single tracks here, which tend to stay clearer a bit better. They did recently log my favorite trail here and put down the big, hoof-eating gravel, but folks have already made a small trail around it and the rest of the block is perfect footing. There’s also a creek crossing here, but I avoid it entirely during the winter as it gets incredibly muddy; there’s another section that gets flooded but it’s over a stonier part so it’s more solid through the winter. 

• McIver State Park, Estacada: This is truly a jewel for equestrians on the east side, and OET is super active and has a great relationship with park leadership. There’s a giant parking lot for trailers, a shelter, water, a round pen and a loop around the meadow with obstacles scattered along. I tend to go here a ton for winter conditioning as the footing is maintained year round, and we’re usually going slower in the winter so I don’t mind keeping Benny on leash for it. 
• Bob and Crystal Rilee Park, Wilsonville: This one is technically closer to the barn than McIver, but it’s a bit of a trickier haul up to the top of Parrott Mountain on sharp, winding roads so it takes just as long to get to. The views from the top are totally worth it though! There’s a big parking lot for trailers with a portapottie and some picnic tables. A local group spent a good bunch of effort bringing in hogs fuel for better winter footing for certain trails, as this used to close for horses seasonally. This is another on leash park, so I’ll usually do a walking loop with Benny, then drop him at the trailer to do a faster spin around. There’s a…bit of a dust up between hikers, horses and mountain bikers currently. Due to the terrain at this park and the fact that a good chunk of it is still an active farm, I personally don’t think this is a good place to be mixing horses and bikes. There has been a recent rule change and mountain bikes will be allowed shortly, so I’ll probably avoid this park while things settle down, and if they limit the trails horses can go on it’s not worth the fuel to haul to the top of the mountain. 

• Tryon Creek State Park: Another state park, it’s not quite as horse friendly as McIver, although the park rangers do an excellent job of saving horse trailer parking. I’ve been able to haul up on a busy summer Saturday where folks are overflowing parking everywhere, and still been able to park and ride. This is another spot with excellent footing, though I don’t usually take Benny on leash as the trails are a bit narrower than McIver, and folks aren’t as used to seeing horses about. However I love riding here; it’s a great reminder as to how cool horses are and how lucky I am to have Tarma. I take a pocket full of treats and allow time for folks to say hi and feed her and make much of her, especially kids. It’s a bit short on mileage as horses are restricted to certain trails, but I just do everything twice and thanks to the canyon it’s a decent workout. 
• Hardy Creek Trails, Molalla River Corridor: This is one of my favorite places to ride, mostly May-October when the single track trails are open to horses. This is BLM land, so voice control is allowed, and it’s so much fun to fly around the single tracks. There are a few creek crossings, and usually good puddles through the end of June or so for Benny to cool off in. There are two trail heads; one with a pit toilet and a stone mounting block, plus a pull out a bit farther upriver. The main trail here, Huckleberry, is open all winter and makes for an excellent hill climb year round, it’s about 13 miles round trip from the main trailhead to the outlook and back. Even with the twisty single tracks, it’s hard to get lost here; if you go too far uphill, you run into Rim trail and the fence to private property; head downhill and you eventually run into the Huckleberry trail. 
• Silver Falls State Park: This is just about a 50 minute haul, and I have to drive through Silverton, but it’s such a beautiful place to ride. There’s a giant trailer parking lot by the horse campground, and the trails here are so much fun. I also recently discovered there’s another trail head with a fire road that dumps directly onto Weyerhaeuser timber property; I’ll be buying a permit and riding there a lot this winter for the sheer mileage of logging roads available (and a new place to explore!) Benny has to be on leash in the park, but not on WH property. 

• Willamette Mission State Park: This is a great place to get some speed in, and an easy haul from the barn. It’s easier to keep Benny on a leash here as the trails are a bit wider, especially around the fields and orchards. Horse trailer parking is a large field, with water, portapotties and a few picnic tables around. There’s a place to ride the horses into a slough section of the Willamette, but it can get a tad low and slow in the later summer. It’s pretty flat here and can flood and get muddy in sections in the winter, so best for late spring though mid-fall riding. There’s also a horse campground here, but it’s too close to home for me to camp there. 
• McDonald Forest, Corvallis: I absolutely love riding here, it’s basically everything I love in a riding area: A huge mix of logging roads with beautiful footing and good grades, fun single tracks that are usually clear, and voice control is allowed for Benny. It’s a 90 minute or so haul from Canby though, so I don’t get down here as often as I would like. There’s a small, dedicated horse trailer parking lot that I’ve always been able to fit in, bikers are pretty good and the sight lines are good for the most part. I’ve heard it can get busy but I’m usually hauling down in the winter to enjoy the good footing and never found it too much. 

Local folks, what’s your place to get a trail ride in? Any that I missed?