McDonald/Dunn Forest (Peavy & Chip Ross) Area

Description

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The McDonald-Dunn Forest area has a long history in its relationship to mountain biking, largely due to being conveniently located adjacent to the City of Corvallis. In reality, there are five separate land areas: McDonald Forest (South), Peavy Arboretum (North-East), Dunn Forest (North), Chip Ross (East). The McDonald Forest, Dunn Forest, and Peavy Arboretum are managed by OSU, while Chip Ross is managed by the City of Corvallis. There is also a sect of land owned and managed by Starker Forests, known as Alder Creek (West). Prior to 2023, there was an island of land operated by Starker Forests in the center of the McDonald Forest, which has since been transferred to OSU ownership. Due to the number of land managers and number of visitors to the area, the relationship between land managers and trail users has been an evolving process. Since its founding, Team Dirt has worked hard to serve as a single, unified organization to work with land managers on trail development and maintenance, and to also address areas of contention.

Past and present Team Dirt activities have been predominantly within OSU’s MacDonald Forest. It is important to understand the uniqueness of the trails within this research forest. The land is mandated and managed for several purposes that do not necessarily prioritize recreation. The Team Dirt community, as well as the broader community of forest users, should understand that the College of Forestry is not mandated to collaborate with the community regarding recreation. Our partnership in developing recreation on the forest is largely a good faith effort that thrives when the community provides positive attitudes and understanding. It is the College of Forestry, not Team Dirt, that makes the final decisions about what does and does not happen in the forest.

Official trails Mac Forest trails are primarily maintained by the combined effort of the mountain biking and trail running communities, coordinated via Team Dirt and OSU. Because of the multi-use focus, all trails are bidirectional. Certain trails are also open to equestrian users.

The first official purpose-built trail for mountain biking, No-Secret, was built by Team Dirt in 2017, and has been followed by the projects of Playtime and Login. These projects were scoped to provide a specific user experience, with a vision of continuity, connectivity, and seasonality. The primary goal was to maximize singletrack mileage connecting McCulloch Peak to the Oak Creek trailhead, creating new trails to connect to the existing trails near the trailhead (Extendo and Homestead trails).

There are numerous historical unauthorized trails within the MacDonald-Dunn Forests. While many of these are popular, in particular with more advanced riders, they were created (in some cases decades ago) outside of OSU’s Forest Management Plan. While authorized trails are considered during land management decisions, unauthorized trails are not and therefore subject to erasure due to harvest (or other) activities as defined by the land manager. The future of unauthorized trails will continue to be determined by the land manager, though Team Dirt continues to advocate for preservation of trails in the most effective way possible.

Because it is a working research forest, there are often active harvest or research operations in the MacDonald Forest. Many of these operations require road and/or trail closures to ensure the safety of both workers and recreational forest users. If and when you encounter signs indicating a closure, please respect the closure.

Getting There:

There are five main parking areas, depending upon your desired starting location. The Oak Creek Gate, is the main access point for the McDonald Forest and is often where build days are scheduled to meet. The Chip Ross Access Gate, is attached to the City of Corvallis. The Lewisburg Saddle, offers a convenient access to both McDonald Forest and Peavy Arboretum. The Soap Creek Gate, offers access to the northern part of the McDonald Forest. Finally, the Peavy Arboretum parking lot gives access to the seasonal arboretum.

Trails

Please help out fellow riders, by submitting a trail report when you discover a trail hazard. Also, general trail reports help too, since it keeps our records up to date. You can submit a trail report by clicking on the trail in the table below, logging into Trailforks (accounts are free), and creating a trail report.

Check out our progress on the Log In Trail