Built on a former Portland, Astoria, & Pacific railroad right-of-way that originally extended past Vernonia, all the way to Keasey in Columbia County (boo! hiss!), the Banks-Vernonia Trail is the crown jewel of WashCo biking. 22 miles of paved, car-free riding with gentle inclines through some of the best forests of the Pacific Northwest. Every cyclist from the most casual to hardcore finds themselves along this path sooner or later.
I think it's alright.
Look just like we all enjoy different music or film genres, not all cyclists want the same terrain. I find BV trail crowded (it was January and the main lot was full), slow, and shaded. Yes, it's a nice trail. I'm glad we have it. I wish we had more paths like it. I use it from time to time. Given the choice, though, I'd rather bike the roads to Hillside or Gaston.
Most people will want to start this ride from the BV trailhead in Banks. I added ~30mi by coming up from Hillsboro via Roy. I can't do anything the easy way. Check out the Banks entry for route recommendations, if you want to extend the trip to your front door.
The BV trailhead has ample parking on both sides of the street and is on the north side of town. There's a repair station, bathrooms and phone chargers. From there, head north through the throngs of dog walkers a few miles parallel to Hwy47 to the first stop.
It's just an overpass. There's never been a town or post office here. No school or general store. This is another mirage town.
Davies is the interchange where US26 and US47 merge for a few miles. Some maps label Davies Junction, some just "Davies." You may wonder why a highway intersection qualifies as a Local Community Area on county maps and I wonder that, too. It's not the only one.
Before the roads were built, Davies was a station along the rail line. The Davies were the landowners. The railroad maintained its original right-of-way at the ground level and the highways were elevated far off the ground. There's not much to see here (some graffiti, I guess). It's still the best way to cross Highway 26 outside the urban growth boundary.
Continue north a few more flat miles, now parallel to the merged 47/26 until the next town.
Martin Manning made the land claim here in the 1860s and the post office was established in the 1890s. Situated, as it is, on the narrow valley of Dairy Creek, the community was and continues to be a hub for both farming and forestry.
I recognize a few of the local farm names from the farmers markets and there's still a lumberyard. The church above is still active. The general store has closed.
Manning has additional parking and bathrooms for the BV trail. There's also some interest in developing the Salmonberry trail, a new all-gravel rail to trail following the old PNR line from Banks to Tillamook. A second bike trail may seem a little silly in Manning, it's directly adjacent to the extent BV paved trail, but they diverge just ahead.
Manning also makes a good starting point for some riding on gravel roads. I've parked here and biked up Pihl and I'll likely start here when I visit Hayward.
But most cyclists should stick to the multipurpose path. After Manning, it turns gently upward for a multi-mile 2% grade climb. Our last stop of the day is in the middle of that hill.
If Buxton sounds familiar, that's because I've been here before. I started here on my climb to Bacona. Buxton is the hub for the county's premier gravel riding and a number of strenuous gravel treks pass through here.
I'll be here again many times on my way to visit other remote logging communities like Scofield and Strassel. It's also the closest free parking to the MTB trails at L.L. Stubb Stewart.
The parking area along the trailhead is large with bathrooms, repair stations and horse facilities. There's a big picnic shelter, too.
The main town, itself, is a little off of the trail. Named for Henry Buxton, the first postmaster in the 1880s, this has been another lumber hub for a very long time and it's fortunes have risen and fallen with both rail and timber.
Today, there are no stores or restaurants in town (the general store shown above is now a private residence as far as I know) but two churches:
That's not really odd; church congregations are often fixed while businesses come and go and relocate to more prominent locations. There are plenty of restaurants along US26 to capture the coast traffic, but I'm not sure I would consider them reachable to cyclists.
In my trace, I left the multipurpose path to ride some gravel and photograph the main town of Buxton. Most riders should stick to the path.
The BV trail continues from here but I covered the rest of the WashCo portion in my Bacona article. From here, I turn around and roll downhill all the way back to Banks.
I highly recommend this ride for beginner cyclists or (or runners! Manning to Tophill is great hill-climb training) that want an uninterrupted car-free trail with plenty of facilities along the way. While it may not be my favorite, the trail provides a safe route to some of the most remote, adventurous biking destinations in the area.
