Roaring River Ridge stands right on the edge of the Three Sisters Wilderness. The McBee trail wanders along the ridge, taking you through beautiful high elevation forest and alpine meadows. This area is for equestrians who have volunteered significant amounts of time maintaining the trails. Ride cautiously, keeping in mind a horse might be around any corner.
To find the McBee trail, follow the directions to Box Canyon Campground outlined in the Chucksney Mountain Trail. As with many rides, there are two basic route options. up and back on the trail, or up a logging road and down the trail. The climb up the trail is quite fun and not too difficult. A couple of short technical sections will challenge the best of riders, but they are short and easy to push.
From the campground cross Road 19 to the Box Canyon Fire Station. The trail begins on the south side of the station. In a short distance, the path joins an old rocky spur road for a few hundred feet. This brief section is difficult to ride, but fun to try. At 0.75 miles stands the McBee trailhead sign. Just past the sign, the trail enters a quiet ancient forest and climbs gently to the ridge.
The trail weaves along the ridge through a beautiful high elevation forest. A road crosses at 1.9 miles, followed shortly by a small stream with pools just large enough to cool off in. At 3.6 miles cross another road into a wonderful alpine meadow filled with wildflowers and butterflies. Continue to the 5 mile mark, where the trail intersects Crossing Way Trail. At this point, the wilderness boundary is 0.5 miles to the north and a quarter of a mile to the east. Crossing Way Trail was built and maintained by the Longears equestrian group and is signed at the bottom as off-limits to mountain bikes. Stash the bikes and hike into the Wilderness Area, or turn around and enjoy the outstanding descent back to the car.
If you prefer to ride the road up, ride north 0.3 miles on Road 19 from Box Canyon Campground to Road 1958. Climb 3 miles up the gravel road to Road 310, which is on the right and gated. The McBee trail sign is nailed to a tree to the right, 0.8 miles from the gate. If you wish, take the left onto the trail to ride up to the Crossing Way intersection and back. Otherwise, take a right onto the trail, going south along the ridge, and descend to the car.
Don't forget to soak your bones at Terwilliger (Cougar) Hot Springs on the way back! The large parking area for the springs is easy to find off Road 19 about halfway down Cougar Reservoir.
Dan Geiger
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