Need mtb ride ideas for WA

The timber companies here, are either super supportive (Galbraith tree farm), or mostly just turn a blind eye to it as long was you are not building wood work / putting nails in their trees (they aggressively cut that stuff out). There are a few exceptions, where they have allowed the local trail building community to build with full reign, once the riding community purchased an insurance policy to insulate them from liability. At the end of the day, it's still very much a cat and mouse game, and the unspoken rule is no Strava recording on those trails, and don't tell any one. Anyone is welcome to ride them, but you gotta find them for yourself and thats part of the adventure.

WA mags - sorry, didn't find another WA/PNW thread. We're thinking about coming out for the last 2 weeks of October to check out the area, see friends, and bike after work/weekends. When does the rain normally start up from about PDX north, and does that mean MTB season is shut down at most places?

We'd be spending most of our time in Seattle and Bellingham, with a stop in PDX as well.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jtran10

WA mags - sorry, didn't find another WA/PNW thread. We're thinking about coming out for the last 2 weeks of October to check out the area, see friends, and bike after work/weekends. When does the rain normally start up from about PDX north, and does that mean MTB season is shut down at most places?

We'd be spending most of our time in Seattle and Bellingham, with a stop in PDX as well.

---

Early oct can be wet, but often get an induan summer mid to late oct. regardless we can ride year round here in Bellingham. It’s just a question of how wet you are willing to get.

Unlike Utah you can ride when its wet in WA and its super fun, if you can handle cold-ish rain you will have a great time

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jtran10

WA mags - sorry, didn't find another WA/PNW thread. We're thinking about coming out for the last 2 weeks of October to check out the area, see friends, and bike after work/weekends. When does the rain normally start up from about PDX north, and does that mean MTB season is shut down at most places?

We'd be spending most of our time in Seattle and Bellingham, with a stop in PDX as well.

---

MTB will be fully open for business at that time. Trails around here are built with the wet season (8ish months solid) in mind, and its very rare that there is any expectation to stay off a wet trail. What kind of rides/trails are you looking for? How big do you want your days to be? What bikes are you bringing?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by californiagrown

MTB will be fully open for business at that time. Trails around here are built with the wet season (8ish months solid) in mind, and its very rare that there is any expectation to stay off a wet trail. What kind of rides/trails are you looking for? How big do you want your days to be? What bikes are you bringing?

---

I'll get back to you if we pull the trigger on this trip btw. didn't want to make you ride plan for no reason

I'm the midst of round 2 in WA right now (headed up to BC to visit parents and ride). Notes above have been pretty useful but pretty much have hands full getting in the main rides. Did Goat Ridge and Osborne Mt on the way up. Coming back have done Kettle Crest, Cutthroat Pas, Buck Mtn, Angels Staircase loop, Entiat area (lake creek, pyramid Mtn to pyramid creek), Devil's gulch, Xanadu/tres, icicle ridge, Leavenworth ski, and nason Ridge. Doing enchantments hike tomorrow then Kachess, palisade/ranger/Suntop, then Juniper via Dark meadow, Norway pass, Mt St Helens, maybe Surveyors ridge or something else. Then gotta head home.

Jesus; the who’s who of rides in WA. Next time come check out Sandpoint/Cabinets. Some great epics out that way.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by evdog

I'm the midst of round 2 in WA right now (headed up to BC to visit parents and ride). Notes above have been pretty useful but pretty much have hands full getting in the main rides. Did Goat Ridge and Osborne Mt on the way up. Coming back have done Kettle Crest, Cutthroat Pas, Buck Mtn, Angels Staircase loop, Entiat area (lake creek, pyramid Mtn to pyramid creek), Devil's gulch, Xanadu/tres, icicle ridge, Leavenworth ski, and nason Ridge. Doing enchantments hike tomorrow then Kachess, palisade/ranger/Suntop, then Juniper via Dark meadow, Norway pass, Mt St Helens, maybe Surveyors ridge or something else. Then gotta head home.

---

Juniper to dark meadow is epic, but you should make time for Hamilton Buttes and Summit Prairie too.

Surveyors ridge is meh and a lot of xc pedalling.

Park at gumjuwac trailhead, pedal up to pocket creek snopark and up the road, then gunsight butte to gumjuwac. Raging fast descent right to your car.

You can also hit crane creek, crane prairie or boulder lake before hopping on gunsight to add a great descent and more miles to the ride.

If you can swing a shuttle or want a monster pedal: cooks meadow to dog river

Thanks, I'll take a look at those!

Digging this thread for future reference.

I rode Christoff trail today, it’s a fantastic downhill above highway 410 that doesn’t seem to get any hype. Well worth it if you’re in the area.

Headed up to visit some of my wife's family in Darrington/Sumas area this coming week. Planning on riding/staying in Darrington Sunday and Monday, and then driving up to Sumas and staying up there for the remainder of the week. Is there any decent riding in the vicinity of Sumas/Maple Falls/Glacier? Or will I need to drive south? (Don't feel like driving to Canada unless I should.) Looks like some random trails on Alltrails and random heatmaps but nothing conclusive. Any mags up in B'ham or nearby want to ride in the afternoon/evenings? PM me if you feel like sharing... I have cool trails to show you in N Idaho. Also I am good with a shovel if there's a price of entry.

Anyone know if it’s possible to just buy a day pass at Snoqualmie Silver Fir bike park? Everything I’m seeing on the website is season pass only.

Looks fun

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by AK47bp

Anyone know if it’s possible to just buy a day pass at Snoqualmie Silver Fir bike park? Everything I’m seeing on the website is season pass only.

Looks fun

---

100% there will be day passes. I think they just won't get them up on the site until the last minute.

New vid from Jeff Kendall-Weed showing off the Port Gamble trails. These are the trails I ride most of the time, prob 2 outta 3 times.

reading through this thread and seeing a comment from me from last fall - funny. we didn't make it out last year, but are on our way Thursday evening. Will be in seattle saturday day/night, before heading to mora campground sun/mon nights prior to a tuesday 12:45 PM ferry to Victoria.

If we were going to ride 1 or 2 trails on the I90 corridor east of seattle what should we do? Preference would be for big trees, ferns, great dirt - all the things UT doesn't have. Flowy over gnar/roots for us.

I was planning to do 1 or 2 out and backs on the OAT on the way to/from the coast, but it sounds like Dry Hill near Port Angeles is worth a spin up as well?

I know it'll be tough but we're also going to need to find a place to camp Friday night (7/1) off I90. I saw Snoqualmie is doing $40 for their parking lot (we're in a van) but would rather not pay that much to camp in a parking lot :D

With that description I would recommend ollalie and a full raging lollipop.
For some real Pnw flavor see if you can grab a spot in the middle fork campground.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jtran10

reading through this thread and seeing a comment from me from last fall - funny. we didn't make it out last year, but are on our way Thursday evening. Will be in seattle saturday day/night, before heading to mora campground sun/mon nights prior to a tuesday 12:45 PM ferry to Victoria.

If we were going to ride 1 or 2 trails on the I90 corridor east of seattle what should we do? Preference would be for big trees, ferns, great dirt - all the things UT doesn't have. Flowy over gnar/roots for us.

I was planning to do 1 or 2 out and backs on the OAT on the way to/from the coast, but it sounds like Dry Hill near Port Angeles is worth a spin up as well?

I know it'll be tough but we're also going to need to find a place to camp Friday night (7/1) off I90. I saw Snoqualmie is doing $40 for their parking lot (we're in a van) but would rather not pay that much to camp in a parking lot :D

---

I love the Mora area, make sure to catch the sunset at Rialto beach just down the road. I heard there have been some great new trails around Forks, they are on Trailforks.

Tiger and Raging River are the best trail networks in the I-90 corridor, my favorite trail in that area is Poppin Tops but I haven't ridden enough at Tiger. I'd say the scenery at Tiger is better because you don't encounter as much clearcut. Keep in mind the dirt isn't going to be very good if it hasn't rained, they get moon dust just like we do, especially in the I-90 area.

I haven't ridden Dry Hill but I have ridden a lot of the trails around the OAT (Horse, Newt, Alpaca, Llama) and they are a lot of fun. Keep in mind the "black diamond" trails in WA are no joke, harder than a lot of the double black rated trails in Utah.

For camping near I-90, I think the Denny Creek site near North Bend and the Kachess Campground near the pass are decent. There are a lot of public campgrounds and dispersed camping opportunities east of Snoqualmie pass, its been a while since I spent time there but I like using the Campendium site for up to date info for that kind of think.

Dirt is prime right now. 95% of the trails are in forest shade, still tacky from the week of rain a while back and some recent misty morning cloud caps.

Edit. Comment is for Raging and Tiger

Sick, can't wait. Seems like we'll focus on Raging as plan 1 and then tiger or olalie if we end up riding twice in that zone.

I’m new to the sport and haven’t been past Physical Therapy yet, mainly been doing training laps on Poppin Tops to get into shape. .The lollipop route looks awesome.

https://youtu.be/OZNDuyK0pn0

Just rode tiger yesterday, what I did was in good shape. If the water is low enough you can camp free on the reservoir just over the pass.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

For flow trails I recommend Side Hustle and maybe Extra Terrestrial at Tiger. Master Link -> Inside Passage to ATLAS is also a super fun shorter loop. ATLAS is moderate tech trail not to miss - just great riding.

Raging has a ton of awesome trails. I really like No Service to CCDH to Flow State. If that’s too long at 4500’ climbing then do CCDH to Flow State:

Canyon Creek DH Loop Route
https://www.trailforks.com/goto/ro/22351/

Ollalie is in a cool area, but IMO the descent is a bore. I would skip it if you are passing through briefly.

Try to fit in a lap on Dungeness to Gold Creek Trail above Sequim/Port Angeles. It fits the big trees, ferns, nice dirt, flowy criteria perfectly. One of the best rides I have done in PNW.

https://www.trailforks.com/route/low...s--gold-creek/

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jtran10

I was planning to do 1 or 2 out and backs on the OAT on the way to/from the coast, but it sounds like Dry Hill near Port Angeles is worth a spin up as well?

---

This is one of my favorites out there: https://www.trailforks.com/trails/mount-muller/

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Zeno

This is one of my favorites out there: https://www.trailforks.com/trails/mount-muller/

---

Those climbs are too steep to make the descent worth it for us, haha. I'm more of a 400 ft/mile climber ;)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jtran10

Those climbs are too steep to make the descent worth it for us, haha. I'm more of a 400 ft/mile climber ;)

---

Unless you like relentless steep climbing, there are many nearby options more fun than Muller IMO.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Benneke10

For camping near I-90, I think the Denny Creek site near North Bend and the Kachess Campground near the pass are decent. There are a lot of public campgrounds and dispersed camping opportunities east of Snoqualmie pass, its been a while since I spent time there but I like using the Campendium site for up to date info for that kind of think.

---

Denny creek closed this year, Kachess is full, but campendium did give me a lot of good dispersed options just east of the pass. Thanks

WAtch out for shitty traffic on I90 and SR18 getting to and from Tiger and Raging. Roadwork shutting down multiple lanes is ongoing.

Id suggest Off The Grid, Side Hustle and Extra Terrestrial if you are going to Tiger. Unfortunatley, they cant really be linked in a single lap so to hit more than one, youll need to do laps. All great flowy trails.

Personally, id just stay away from Raging. The fun stuff is chunky and techy. The main flow trail Poppin Tops and Flow state are gonna be dusty with braking bumps and IMO just not worth it unless you are already there.

Have you thought about riding the Snoqualmie Pass Bike Park? That might be a decent option for a few lift served laps after the pedal laps.

My $0.02 is to skip out on the I90 trails and spend more time riding Dry Hill in Port Angeles. they have the most fun legal trails ive ridden in the USA- nothing really gnarly just a ton of solid blue - black trails. Its not a big area, but there are a ton of trails to ride and the lap back up top isnt too long either. You should be able to camp under the powerlines in your van no problem too.

If you can make it up to shuttle Chuckanut, I highly recommend it as well. Recently rode it for the first time. Full on mach speed flow tech DH trail. Darrington is supposed to be great too, but I haven't been.

Also since you're headed out to the peninsula, I'd check out Port Gamble MTB Park. Apparently it's pretty damn awesome.

If you want to really get a PNW feel, go ride NOTG or Predator at Tiger or CCDH and Upper PT at Raging, that's the kind of stuff you definitely can't get in Utah. But these are also the cities main trail spots < 1 hr so you get a lot of people out there. Depends what you want.

The good news is...you can't really go wrong out here.

Definitely check out Port Gamble if you get a chance. I visited for the first time a couple weekends ago and was very impressed. There's a lot of variety for skill progression like Duthie, but also a variety of longer trails you can lap. Also, it's gorgeous and will definitely tick off that PNW rainforest checkbox you're looking for.

I found Ranger to be a stupidly fun bermy trail worth lapping.

Attachment 463596
Attachment 463597

Just got back from an after dinner lap down upper Poppin tops at raging.

Dirt is still really nice, getting pretty rutted out in spots though.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Brasso

I found Ranger to be a stupidly fun bermy trail worth lapping.

---

Attachment 463598

That looks worth a ferry ride

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jacob_dbu

Darrington is supposed to be great too, but I haven't been.

.

---

I would label it part of a must-see but only on an extended WA deep dive kind of trip; It's pretty out of the way, FR is a grind, and the trails are more of the steep, rowdy and over a little too soon-variety. Shuttle-friendly though, as memory serves.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by evdog

Try to fit in a lap on Dungeness to Gold Creek Trail above Sequim/Port Angeles. It fits the big trees, ferns, nice dirt, flowy criteria perfectly. One of the best rides I have done in PNW.

https://www.trailforks.com/route/low...s--gold-creek/

---

Seconded. The local Port Angeles trails are actually really fun too, and there's almost no one there.

Port gamble looks like a good idea on the way to Mora campground. Fiance likes XC riding more than enduro style so I bet she'd dig. Ranger looks fun!

Thinking the local port angeles trails in the AM before our ferry on the 4th. Maybe nix the OAT to fit that in?

Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk

OAT is beautiful and fairly fun, but definitely a green trail. We rode it loaded on gravel bikes and found zero technical challenges.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Huskydoc

I would label it part of a must-see but only on an extended WA deep dive kind of trip; It's pretty out of the way, FR is a grind, and the trails are more of the steep, rowdy and over a little too soon-variety. Shuttle-friendly though, as memory serves.

---

Rode at North mountain earlier this spring. Wasn't even completely melted out so not all trails were accessible and i thought it was exceptional. Not a ton of trails i guess, it's a pretty new network. I live on the east side of the cascades though, so all the fern gully greenery is somewhat novel for me.
Good campground right at the base of the mountain. Bring your townie bike and ride into town to party, avoid driving.
It's really not that far to Bellingham. I rode both spots one day.
YMMV obviously but i thought it was great.
Yes, it's shuttleable or pedal up a different closed cutoff road.