Just south of Tillamook, Oregon, the Tillamook Off-Road Trail Alliance (TORTA) is building the area’s first public trail system in Pacific City. Previously, mountain bikers in the area traveled at least an hour or more to reach any sort of trail system, with many heading to Drift Creek in the Tillamook State Forest.
Since 2024, TORTA has added seven trails totaling 3-4 miles at Buzzard Butte. And now, the trail organization hopes to bring that mile count closer to six or seven, with big names in the bike industry lending a hand.
What’s happening at Buzzard Butte?
If new trails in Tillamook sound familiar, well, that’s because they are. We reported on this project almost two years ago, before any shovels actually hit the dirt.
Back then, the project was close to getting the green light. They also didn’t officially have a name for the trail system, and were referring to it as the “Sand Lake Trails” in the meantime.
Shortly after, the trail system was officially dubbed the “Buzzard Butte Trail Network,” named after the butte on which it is built in Oregon’s coastal mountains.
And then the building started. Throughout the remainder of 2024 and through 2025, TORTA added six trails to Buzzard Butte. “The central zone we’ve been working on is called the Whalen Knob. That’s where the majority of our build has been happening,” Rob Baker, TORTA Secretary, told us.
Well, make that seven trails, as Barker also told us they added a multi-use climbing trail. With descending in mind, four of the six are in the “flow trail” category. They are directional, downhill-only mountain bike trails.
First is the beginner-friendly green trail appropriately named “Greenhorn.” Greenhorn drops nearly 100ft in just over a quarter of a mile. It offers rollers and berms, and a general fast flow, making it a great starting point for the trail systems.
Baker said the beauty of the design at Whalen Knob is that one trail clearly progresses into another. Once a rider feels confident on Greenhorn, they can easily progress up to a blue flow trail called “Dorsal.” Here, he gives a lot of credit to the trail builders, Bros and Hoes Landscaping.
Dorsal is a good step up from Greenhorn, with smaller tables and higher speeds. It is roughly the same distance but drops nearly 100ft more in elevation. When riders are comfortable on Dorsal, they can step things up to a trail called “Full Share.” Full Share, while still a blue, leans closer to a black—steeper lips, longer tables, and even higher speeds.
Once riders feel confident on Full Share, they might be interested in Sea Donkey. Notice the word “confident” is used. Baker explained that Sea Donkey, the black-diamond jump trail, is likely the one people are familiar with on social media. This is the trail that professional riders like Carson Storch are seen flipping and boosting huge on.
Technically, there are no gaps; however, the jumps are big. And, as Baker put it, it “wouldn’t be comfortable” to come up short on some of the features.
What he is trying to say is that Sea Donkey is a proper jump line. It’s only about a quarter of a mile and drops 100 feet, but the jumps are big.
Along with the machine-built flow trails, TORTA also added two hand-built trails that lean toward the techier side. Slammin’ Salmon and Rock Fish are rated blue and black, respectively, with the latter certainly stepping things up. Slammin’ Salmon is a good introduction to the techy and rooty riding of the coastal mountains, but with a touch of flow mixed in. It doesn’t descend as quickly as the black diamond trail, and is nearly twice as long.
Rock Fish is a proper rough and rooty tech trail. While Baker told us that everything is rollable, it has some steep chutes and a few natural features—those rolling should roll with confidence.
With these short, punchy, lapable, and impressive trails at Whalen Knob complete, TORTA is essentially done with phase one of the Buzzard Butte project. However, there is still much more to build and new zones to expand to.
Even more trails in the works at Buzzard Butte
There is no shortage of professional riders lending a hand out at Buzzard Butte. The trails mentioned above have been stamped by the likes of Carson Storch, Ryan Rodriguez, Cam McCaul, Dusty Wygle, and others.
Now, TORTA expects to open new trails this year, with a few being sculpted once again by the pros.
First is a trail built by Christian Rigal. Baker explained the trail cuts through densely forested sections. The trail will easily be rated black, with “well-sculpted jumps,” rhythm sections, and gap jumps using old logs and stumps.
Another trail is one that Storch and others have been working on recently. And, according to Baker, it is pretty gnarly. “I walked it the other day with one of our board members,” he said. “This one might be like a double black. It’s steep.”
Storch is pointing this new tech trail downhill, with basins and catch berms to help regulate speed. The coastal mountains don’t have a ton of rock, but they make up for it with lots of roots, logs, stumps, and general rough terrain.
Baker said that as this trail exits the steep, techy area, it enters a lightly forested section with features mixed in. Rather than the big sculpted tabletop jumps on the flow trails, these features will likely be more of “a naturalist jump section” with gaps. They are also considering ride-arounds for some of the features.
A third trail going in is a ridgeline trail. At over a mile long, this will be one of the longer trails in the area, following a ridge and going through a series of steep sections. Baker said it is situated above Whalen Knob, provides phenomenal views, and will give access to Storch’s trail and new zones.
Funded by a $150,000 Travel Oregon grant, the fourth trail TORTA will open is another jump line that is adaptive-friendly. TORTA hired Dovetail Trail Consulting to help plan the trail, which is roughly a mile long. In addition to accommodating adaptive bikes, Baker said the trail offers many options, with features that can be ridden in multiple ways.
“You could hit it four or five times and never hit the same features in the same order,” he said. “Once the ground settles and everything is compacted in, it’s going to be really fast, too. It’s going to be really fun.”
Along with funding the adaptive trail and the consulting from Dovetrail, the Travel Oregon grant is also funding some ADA parking spots.
And lastly, the most recent trail planning is thanks in part to a recently awarded $60,000 grant from the Shimano Trail Born Fund. These funds are helping create a new zone dubbed “Ellis Mountain,” which the TORTA crew is particularly excited about.
The terrain is loose and steep and, as Baker put it, will likely be real “rake and ride stuff.” The Shimano grant will definitely cover one tech trail in the area, measuring over half a mile long, but TORTA hopes to stretch the money and build two trails.
The long-term vision is massive
Buzzard Butte Trail Network has a ton of potential. TORTA’s website says the system could stretch up to “35 miles of trail to meet all levels of mountain bike experience.” One trail might even head south into Pacific City.
But TORTA anticipates the entire project will cost nearly $2,000,000 to build. And while that is a big number, the small trail organization on the Oregon Coast is doing some big things and drawing a lot of attention.
Many of these new additions are anticipated to open throughout 2026.
Know about a new trail project we should cover? Whether you’re breaking ground on the next must-ride destination or putting the finishing touches on a neighborhood flow trail, we want to hear about it. Drop us a line at [email protected] with high-quality photos of your build, plus details like trail mileage, location, difficulty, and what makes it special. We’re always on the hunt for the next great trail story, and there’s a good chance your project could be featured in an upcoming article.
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