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Cultus Lake Loop Trail

Trail Snapshot:

Length
11.4 miles
Elevation.
1014' ↑
Difficulty
Forecast
Rating
Three trees down on the north side of the Cultus Lake, one is 4ft DBH, very hard to get over. Also 2 down along little Cultus Lake.

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Trail Description

 E-bikes NOT allowed on Cultus Lake Loop


Like most of the Cascade Lakes area trails, the Cultus Lake Loop trail has a “high-country” feeling with thickly forested single-track and amazing views of Cultus, Deer, and Little Cultus Lakes.

With only a few short climbs and no real technical sections, this is a great trail for novice riders. Early fall and late summer are the best times to ride the loop since winter brings lots of deadfall, and early summer often means hoards of mosquitos.

It’s commonly ridden from the Cultus Lake Resort counter clockwise and there is one ‘boring’ road segment (NF-4630) to complete the loop — or, you can make a u-turn at Little Cultus Lake and ride it as a longer out-and-back.

Cultus is also a popular jumping off point to ride the Charlton Lake Trail which connects to Clover Meadow and Waldo Lake.

Keep an eye out for hikers and horses on the Cultus Lake Loop — it’s popular with both.

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    Recent Reports

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    1. Martha Betz says:

      Ooops, are all the trees now cleared on the entire Cultus Lake Loop? Especially in the north?
      Thanks!

      1. Molly Wilson says:

        There are still a few down. One giant one.

    2. Don Leet says:

      We just cleared the remaining trees near Little Cultus.

      1. Martha Betz says:

        Ooops, are all the trees now cleared on the entire Cultus Lake Loop? Especially in the north?
        Thanks!

    3. Jim Burton says:

      Still a lot of down trees on the trail. I counted 16 today. The dirt is good in the shade but sandy & loose in the sun. The mosquitoes were only bad in the areas where there was water.

    4. David Welton says:

      Still a fair number of trees down. Mosquitoes weren’t too bad, but I didn’t stop much to count…

    5. Jason Caron says:

      Mosquitos are out in full force.

    6. BendTrails says:

      Trail cleared of trees by usfs crew. Thanks Joe Welke.

    7. Ryan Pedersen says:

      Cleared 4 trees today. Would’ve only been 2 if I hadn’t missed my turn. Getting a little over grown on the Little Cultus side.

    8. Ryan Pedersen says:

      Cleared 3 legitimate blow downs and about 10 logs that some idiot thought belonged in the middle of the trail.

    9. Stephanie Beutler says:

      Lots of thick dust for most of the ride, some nice dirt down by Little Cultus and Deer Lake. Mosquitoes were a non issue yesterday!

    10. Bruce Bradshaw says:

      Somewhat dusty and a few sandy spots. Only noticed mosquitoes near Deer Lake.

    11. Gabriel Amadeus says:

      Cleared the Cultus Lake loop of blowdown with the Oregon Timber Trail Alliance on 6/8/2018.

    12. Eric Kutter says:

      Not bad by Little Cultus but lots of snow around Cultus itself, up to 4″. All barely rideable CW but almost certainly not CCW. A few trees down as well.

    13. Erik Santner says:

      Rode 8/8/17, conditions were good. Did an out and back from Deer Lake TH to Cultus Capmgrond. A few trees down on Many Lakes (MW). Good warm-up ride before Waldo the next day!

    14. Scott Sichler says:

      No down trees blocking the trail although I some how missed the Deer Lake part. Some sandy spots. The first part is beat up from horse hooves and there was a ton of horse dung on the trail.

    15. Dustin Balderach says:

      As of October 9th this loop is riding great. Sand is all compact and riding fast. The recent precip helped a bunch. One blowdown just at the trail start near Little Cultus and another blowdown on the northwest corner of Cultus. Fun ride with more descending than climbing (thats how it feels!). The 4 miles of rode at the start goes pretty quick.

    16. Erik Santner says:

      Did an out and back on this from Deer Lake TH. Only a couple fresh down trees. Planned on riding Charlon/Lemish loop…but ended up that not cleared too far yet. This trail is fun and seemed to have little use the day i rode it. Dusty in sections….but a great option from Little Cultus!

    17. Kellie Jacobson says:

      Rode this trail over the weekend – really fun! I’m a novice rider from the Valley and all my trails have massive roots, divots, twists, turns, and poison oak! :p It was a treat to jam on this seemingly flat and smooth trail.

      I got lost in the boat camp area around mile 5 and ended up taking a forest road back to Little Cultus which meant I missed the amazing section of MetWin and the Deer Lake Trail. Instead I rode a hot, rocky road which my dog did not care for. It also made the washboard gravel road (3 miles) and pavement (1 mile) a misery fest.

      However, redemption occured the next day when I rode it backwards from Little Cultus to where I went off trail. Now I know the way to go :) In the future I would U-Turn from Little Cultus. The gravel/road section was really rough and hot, and busy with cars. Since I ride with my dog it made it a bit stressful!

      Anyway, fast and fun, only 1 tree I had to get off for about 1 mile from the Deer Lake TH. A really great beginner’s ride and just what I was looking for.

    18. Randy McGill says:

      Trail is generally clear of deadfall but dusty in areas.

    19. Derek Manwill says:

      At least 70 trees down around the loop. 30-40 need a large chainsaw.

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