Portland BMX Trails

BMX is a kind of stunt bike riding and is considered an extreme sport. Most BMX bikes have 20-inch wheels and are between 20 and 22 inches long. There are several BMX disciplines: street, park, vert, trails, dirt and flatland. In Portland, Oregon, BMX riders can find a variety of these kinds of environments so they can ride in their preferred discipline, from skate parks to streets, as well as dirt trails.

  1. Skate Parks

    • Flatland BMXers can ride and practice their stunts at the Epic Indoor Skatepark. This all-indoor park accommodates skateboarders and BMX riders alike. It is open in the fall and winter months, when other outdoor skate parks are closed due to inclement weather. BMX enthusiasts can also show their stuff at the Ed Benedict Park, located at SE 100th Avenue and Powell Boulevard in Portland, which offers 18,000 square feet of outdoor street skating, including rails, stairs, ledges and banks.

    Street Riding

    • The Springwater Corridor, which runs from McLoughlin Boulevard through Gresham, Oregon's fourth-largest city located immediately outside of Portland, is a paved trail used by bikers. Since the trail is paved, BMX bike riders can practice bunnyhops and wheelies as well as take in the scenery. Mount Tabor Park, located in the neighborhood of Mount Tabor, has gravel and paved paths as well as rails on which BMX riders can ride and grind.

    Dirt Trails

    • Over a decade ago, BMX bikers built their own haven of trails behind the Grotto, the nickname for The National Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother. Located in the woods, the trail incorporates dirt paths and jumps that BMXers can ride on. The Forest Park, located just outside the city, provides miles of trails that mountain bikers and BMX bikers alike can utilize for jumping and trick riding.

    History of BMX in Portland

    • Portland's liberal background makes it a haven for alternative cultures of all sorts, from grunge music to extreme sports like BMX. Burnside Park was constructed in 1990, as the BMX movement was dawning. At first, the local skateboarding community was less than welcoming of the BMX riders, but eventually the two groups, skateboarders and BMXers, learned to coexist.