BANKS, Ore. – Bike enthusiasts are invited to celebrate the Salmonberry Trail taking one step closer to completion on June 14 at 2 pm at the trail’s Manning Trailhead, near Banks. Improvements to the trailhead parking lot will be celebrated that day with a special ribbon-cutting ceremony and a free guided bike ride to L.L. Stub Stewart State Park and back.
The guided ride will be about 14 miles round trip and is open to families and riders of all abilities. It will be along a flat portion of the Banks-Vernonia State Trail, passing through rural farmland to the edge of L.L. Stub Stewart State Park and back again to the Manning Trailhead. Riders will pass over the Buxton trestle, a spectacular repurposed bridge that was once part of a working railroad.
Event organizers ask that riders please RSVP for the ride event online: bit.ly/June14Manning
Representatives from the Salmonberry Trail Foundation and Washington County Visitors Association will lead the ribbon-cutting ceremony. After riders return to the trailhead, everyone is invited to continue celebrations at Hop Cycle Brewing, a local brewery and eatery in Banks.
The Manning Trailhead marks the easternmost point of the proposed 84 contiguous miles of the Salmonberry Trail. Improvements to the parking lot include safety enhancements, tripling capacity to accommodate more than 30 vehicles and installing permanent restroom facilities. The trailhead also provides access to the Banks-Vernonia State Trail.
The completed Salmonberry rail-to-trail project will link Washington and Tillamook counties, providing Oregonians and visitors with an accessible, scenic way to enjoy non-motorized, outdoor recreation between the Portland Metro area and the Oregon Coast. The trail’s first western mile, in Tillamook, was completed May 4 this year.
Learn more about the Salmonberry Trail project online: https://www.salmonberrytrail.org/
Manning Trailhead improvements were made possible by a unique collaboration between the Tillamook Forest Heritage Trust, Salmonberry Trail Foundation, Washington County and the Washington County Visitors Association, Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD), Travel Oregon and the Tillamook Forest Heritage Trust.
View a map of the Manning Trailhead location here: https://goo.gl/maps/UV6XaPN3y8mSHMsf6
For more information about the event, contact Alana Kambury with the Salmonberry Trail Foundation at 541-326-9383 or Alana@salmonberrytrail.org.