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Metolius-Windigo (99 Upper) Trail
Trail Snapshot:
LIkely deadfall from The Tam McArthur Rim trail southward.
Trail Description
E-bikes NOT allowed on Metolius-Windigo (99 Upper)
The Metolius-Windigo trail is over 100 miles long and begins in the north at the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness and runs all the way south to Windigo Pass near Crescent Lake. To minimize confusion the “Met-Win” trail — as it’s often called — is broken into distinct segments each with its own character.
The segment on this page runs for about 7 miles between the Mrazek junction to Three Creeks Meadow.
The Metolius-Windigo gets a lot of use by horses and can be quite sandy — especially in late summer. This section has equal amounts of climbing and descending — with almost 1000′ of each before reaching Three Creeks Meadow.
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Clear of deadfall between Three Creek Rd and the Tam McArthur Rim trail intersection. Some snow patches near the crest. Unknown conditions south of Tam McArthur trail, but expect some deadfall.
From Mrazek to Tam McArthur horse trail there are a few small snow patches and 4 downed trees about 12″ or so in diameter. The smaller stuff has been cleared out
We went to clear Met/Win but it was clear, we didn’t ride the whole way because we had saws but I’m calling it clear until I hear otherwise.
From Mrazek to Three Creeks is great. From Three Creeks towards Sisters there’s lots of downed trees, at least 10 in the first 1/2 mile. 3 Creeks Road is currently closed for construction/road crews.
Made it about 1/2 mile past the junction with FS4601 and turned around after hitting the 5th deadfall that required lifting the bike over.
Typical dust and loose corners. Still a ripping good time. Brush along the trail is thicker than previous years it seems.
6/24/22
Starting from the South end first 2.5 miles had 72 downed trees. Significant snow starts at mile 2 making it impossible to find the trail without a GPS.
COTA is planning a work party to clear the deadfall trees.
Lots of trees down. I only made it a little ways before turning around but didn’t see any snow.
Did a recon hike on 7/18/21 from Three Creeks Horse Camp to Mzarek Junction (Happy Valley). Gorgeous conditions, all cleared of deadfall (thanks COTA cutters). A bit of sand on the first 2 miles, but then beautiful after that. Not many tracks of any sort bike or horse.
Cleared from Mrazek to 3 Creeks Meadow TH.
Lots of deadfall until the first short road climb. Hoping to clear Friday.
Is that coming up from the Sisters side? I was thinking of working from 4601 on Saturday.
Saw two bike tracks running from met win up Park Meadow trail today…into the wilderness. Please spread the word that no one should be riding in the wilderness.
Rode from top of mrazack over to peterson ridge and sisters on Saturday 06/27. Trail was is great shape the entire way. No snow and only a single spot that has 2 tree crossings one after the other. Mosquitos were nasty near the water. Go get it!
Rode entire trail from Park Meadow trailhead. Lots of downed trees on upper sections–most require carrying your bike. Middle and lower trail generally in good condition, though a bit loose in places. No snow. The Peterson ridge tie is in perfect condition, and is riding hard and fast right now.
George, is the trail pretty easy to follow throughout its entirety? I’ve never ridden this route and am thinking of starting my ride at the Farewell Trailhead, linking to MetWin-99 and then taking MW-99 to Peterson Tie and Peterson Ridge the way into Sisters, any other intel or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!
I cut out Trail 99 today. Unsure if there are still downed trees on Met-win so I didn’t change the deadfall button.
Thanks Dan, we started from Three Creeks lake and there are about 10 trees down until you hit the Park Meadows intersection. We were able to cut out/move a few smaller ones. Surprisingly sandy/loose today – even after all that rain. But still super fun!
Rode 6.5 miles up from the tie. Move about 12 or so trees before I lost count of the ones I had moved. Completely lost count of the ones I couldn’t move. Trail was dry though. 2 small snow spots (10′). Great trail, but needs a chainsaw or a group of 3-4 to handle moving the trees.
20+ downed trail trees in first couple miles from Tumalo Loop Rd. Otherwise one here and there. Riding well yesterday.
Fun ride. Hard to see the trail in spots due to grass and other vegetation. Not a lot of evidence of horses (yet) this season. Go get some.
Met a couple on the descent from Three Creek Lake who had biked over from Tumalo Falls today.
Get thee to Trail 99 pronto! Perfect moist tread, zero deadfall (thanks magic sawyer fairy), wildflowers peaking and nada a mosquito from Three Creeks Lake to Peterson Ridge!
Anyone have any updates on trail 99? It looks like it was updated to “riding well” a few days ago but I am not seeing a description. I would guess that there is still snow up high with a good amount of dead fall.
Oh well. It couldn’t really last. The storms this past week kinda made a mess of things. Not bad from Mrazek to Three Creeks Road (just a few trees down), but there are a lot more down in the burn area. We moved what we could, but without a chainsaw, the rest aren’t going anywhere. :(
Still worth riding, just be aware that some are in bad places.
We cleared out three downed trees this morning, so it’s totally clear top to bottom. Dirt is as good as it gets. Get it before the snow hits!
Finally got back to clear the remaining trees between Three Creeks and Tam MacArthur. I left a couple small easy to ride over ground trees and any ride-arounds that weren’t too obnoxious. Should be all clear now from Happy Valley to Peterson Tie.
Believe it or not there is a half mile of amazing dirt at the highest elevation near Tam MacArthur! The rest is dust (obviously). Saw lots of hunters so not a bad idea to wear bright colors.
rode up the trail from the top of Mrazek yesterday in the damp and rain. Tread is in top shape and didn’t see any horse prints till after the Tam Mcarthur cut off.
Loose and sandy in places but not a big deal on the midfats. A few trees down still. Starting at Three Creeks lake adds several miles of singletrack and flower lined streams. Super fun!
Rode the section from Three Creeks Lake down into Peterson Ridge yesterday. There where a few small trees down that where easy to navigate over. Looked like some of the larger deadfall was recently cleared. A bit loose through the burn areas and some thick sections of Manzanita but overall it was riding well for a trail that sees little use.
Matthew,
My friend Doug and I also rode today (July 21) from Park Meadow TH to Sisters via Met-Win 99 and Peterson Ridge Trail network; left about 9:30am, maybe you were ahead of us. We got fouled up and ended up on Roads 540/510/1516 about 5.5 miles in. Somehow we missed a trail junction (around 5500′) that we would take us along the brushy ridge above the roads. We actually went back and looked closely for a singletrack branch to the ridge but didn’t see it. Can you give us some hints? Great ride otherwise – not too dusty yet. Greg
I ended up doing what sounds like the same thing and had to backtrack about a half mile. Right in the area you are describing shortly after climbing the short steep double track the trail/road starts to descend. As you descend on the road the trail takes a sharp right. There is a trail marker on a tree about 25 yards to the right and the trail is pretty faint in that section. There where also some sticks placed at the junction that also where not very noticeable that were likely placed there to help indicate the trail. I noticed it out of the corner of my eye as I was descending but did not think much of as I kept descending on the road for a ways. I took out my phone and used trailforks to confirm I was back on track and heading the right direction. I would suggest downloading the trailforks app as it has the whole trail listed and the GPS in your phone will help you pinpoint your location on the trail without needing cell service. It has come in very handy for me when I am second guessing if I am heading the right direction. A buddy and I are hoping to get out on that section of trail in the next couple of weeks to clear back some of the brush and the smaller logs.
Rode a few mile segment in the middle and lots of trees down still. Could use some manzanita brushing as well as treadwork in the burned areas too.
Thanks for the reports G!
First couple miles in from parking lot across from Peterson Ridge are riding great!! I cleared a couple smallish trees but as more trail opens up I’m guessing there will be much more deadfall.
Couldn’t decide between riding well and deadfall. The 5 miles I rode N of NF16 (3 creeks lakes) only had a couple down that you couldn’t ride over. But was pretty overgrown with grasses as few people have been using it with the Milli fire. I suspect further N would be way worse.
S of NF16 to Mrazek, there were 20 down trees, mostly close to Mrazek. But between the trees, it was riding great. Just one 5′ patch of snow to ride through. Most trees were under 6″.
10-20 trees down in 2 miles closest to Mrazek then sandy with horse tracks and a few trees down for the next 4 miles down to Three Creek.
Rode up from Sisters today starting off in PR. The PR Tie is completely clear and riding great. We turned around at 5500′ with no snow in sight. We had a few large trees to climb over on the ridge half way to Three Creeks lakes. Other than the lose rocks on the ridge climb, it was riding great. Definitely a tough climb. Wish I’d have had more time to see how far it’s relatively clear.
We shuttled this on Sunday from Three Creeks Lake down to the Peterson Ridge network. Just a few small trees down. Somewhat sandy/dusty through the burn but easily doable as it gradually goes downhill. Once out of the burn the trail was fast and fun. Thankful for the fatbike but others on their skinnies did just fine. Maybe with the upcoming predicted rain for Tuesday, conditions could be awesome.
TIP: Around mile 7.5-8ish, after climbing (walking) up a steep doubletrack, we missed the trail which veers sharply up to the right. It’s not signed. If you end up on roads, you’ve gone too far. Turn around and backtrack and look for the yellow diamond markers up on the knoll heading north. Have fun!
Any one know if this is cleared yet?
I called the Sisters Ranger District today and they told me it is pretty much clear from Three Creeks Lake down to Sisters. We plan to ride this Sunday so will report back.
Was that you we saw on the trail yesterday? Did you find your way back onto the trail?
99 is heavily blocked on the Three Creeks/ Sisters side. Lots of hike and bike.
do you have a specific location? FS says it’s clear from 3 creeks…
The southern end of T99 is now clear for about 1 mile.
Clear per USFS
Clear? Not at the Southern end. Not even close. Began working on the Southern end of the trail Monday. Beginning at the Met-Wen/Mrazek junction we worked north. Took out about 30 trees and only made it 1/2 mile. Still plenty more to go there. The trail could use more traffic. I hear most folks avoid this section and just take the road for a bit. Looks like this segment has not been cleared in a long time.
Thanks for the update. guess I got some bad intel.
Only rode a small portion South from the Pete Ridge Tie. The trail was pretty much clear for the first two miles heading south. Someone had obviously been there this year with a chainsaw. I’m not sure how far they made it though…
Upper T99 Not rideable. The gate at Upper Three Creeks is closed, so we rode up the road to the trailhead at Park Meadow. Massive blowdown in all the burned areas, so the trail is almost non-existent. More hiking than biking. Bailed out on the forest road back to Upper Three Creeks. A couple days of chainsaw work needed to just clear the trail, then some rebuilding to repair damage from ridearounds.