Memaloose: Into the Wild

Most of Portland's doorstep gravel lives west of the Willamette River, but this loop heads the other way, east of town and into the wild. Memaloose is the antidote to the urban-forest rides: more remote, more committing, and primarily immersed in the rugged nature around Mt. Hood. It is the route to reach for when you want the city to disappear entirely and the landscape to take over. This route is one of Abe Alkhamees's picks from his Portland gravel guide, the lone east-side pick among his west-side classics.

The beauty of Memaloose is that you can get to it under your own power. The Springwater corridor, a car-free path that runs from downtown out toward Boring and the foothills of Mt. Hood National Forest, makes it easy to roll to the start without loading a bike onto a car. From there the loop climbs into forest country, with a serious amount of elevation stacked into the day and long stretches of gravel and forest road, around two thirds of the route, far from any help.

This is a route to respect. Services are minimal to nonexistent depending on the season, so plan as though you are heading into the wild, because you are. Carry plenty of water, food, spares, and tools, and check conditions before you go, since the higher ground holds weather and closures later into the year. Wider tyres, low gearing, and a conservative pace will all pay off against the relentless climbing, and there is no easy bail-out once the forest road takes over.

Summer to early fall is the window, when the surfaces are driest and the daylight runs long enough for a big day out. Before then, snow and seasonal closures can linger on the higher ground, so it pays to confirm the route is open rather than discover a gate the hard way. Pace the climbing, ration your food and water, and treat the whole loop as a backcountry effort rather than a city ride with a view.

Time it right and Memaloose rewards the effort with the kind of deep quiet you cannot find on the west-side loops, the city traded entirely for the wild country beneath Mt. Hood. The reachable start is part of the appeal: roll out from your front door on the Springwater corridor through Boring and into the foothills, and you can string the whole thing together without ever touching a car. It is a fitting bookend to a guide built around riding from home.