Instead of starting the ride from the Salmon La Sac campground, we parked on the far end of Cooper lake, and first rode out to the Pete Lake trail.  Pete lake trail was a lot of fun, although we passed many hikers on a Saturday. Next time I would reccomend a midweek ride, but all hikers were friendly.  I dont think this trails sees many bikers. But it was easy/intermediate technical XC riding, with small creek crossings, and some punchy climbs with root and rock obstacles. Pete Lake trail was a short out and back, as bikes are not allowed past a certain point, about 2 miles away from Pete lake.

Next we headed down Cooper River trail, but right away we came across many down trees and overgrown brush, before reaching the campround area. We weaved through the campsites, and eventually came out to a road crossing at the lower end/base of the lake. Next time around, we should have started Cooper river trail at this point, since the upper portion was full of down trees and campsites and wasn't fun.  The trail itself was in good shape, with good views of the river. A bit more challenging than Pete Lake trail with more elevation change, and plenty of tight turns and punchy ups and downs. The ride finished at Salmon La Sac campground, and there is a rad swimming hole with rope-swing right at the bottom of the trail. We hitched a ride from a friend up to cooper lake to retrieve the car. Overall these trails were  worth riding, since we were camping close by.  But, I dont think they are quite exciting enough to justify if you travelling to ride them.