Group Run in Places We Don’t Have Races #3

They’re back! We’re hosting three group runs in a places where don’t have races. These are on trails that we think are pretty cool and we like to show them off to people. If we could, we’d have a race there, but for various reasons like permitting, parking, scheduling, etc, we don’t. So this is a chance to spend a good chunk of the day with us in the off-season, running, laughing, and sweating, and then grabbing a bite to eat on the way home.

This year’s runs are all out-and-backs, so people can run the entire planned route, or turn around and head back whenever they want:

#1: Larch Mountain (1/24/26) – 13.1 miles

#2: Ecola (2/21/26) – 10.1 miles

#3: Lewis River (3/21/26) – 12 miles

The third run, Lewis River Trail, is one we somewhat recently experienced for the first time. It’s in Washington, southeast of Mt. St. Helens. It’s a magical, mossy trail that runs alongside the Lewis River, which feeds the Swift Reservoir. We’ll meet at Backwoods Brewing (1162 Wind River Hwy, Carson, WA), to carpool, at 8:00 a.m. and then at the Curly Creek Trailhead for the run at 9:00 a.m. We’ll run northeast on the trail for six miles and then turnaround and go back the way we came. Round trip is 1200′ of gain. After the run, we’ll return to Backwoods Brewing for pizza and brews.

From Portland via I-84, it is almost 2 hours of drive-time to get to the trailhead and has a toll to cross the Bridge of the Gods in Cascade Locks