Oakridge
Lane County, 97463
Mountain Biking Capital of the Northwest
Oakridge suffered as much as any of the small Oregon towns when the logging was shut down and the mills closed. There seemed to be no fallback activity here. In 1985 the town was just frozen in time. The surrounding mountains were beautiful but that attracted only a handful of hunters. The railroad thru town was very active but the rail yard creates very few jobs. Oakridge had no freight to ship. Empty buildings downtown seemed more the norm than the exception.
The creative citizens of Oakridge were unwilling to take no for an answer though. The have re-invented the area as a recreational paradise specializing in mountain biking.