There are a total of three trails at Tiger Mountain open to MTBers, all nicely sign boarded with direction of travel and distance. They fall into the general XC category with the Preston Rail Trail still able to bring a smile to the face of the avid DH rider. Iverson is a very nice technical trail with short climbing/descending sections with the challenges changing depending on direction. ( I met two local riders who suggest riding it both ways as the best.) The Northwest Timber Trail is a nice short relatively easy ride and actually a place that a novice might ride to challenge themselves without death and dismemberment. Yes there would likely be a few blown short climbs and a couple of walks but its not a bad ride.

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You can ride the three trails as a nice loop. Start at the upper parking lot inside the actual park gate. (This parking lot is accessed from the parking lot at the Tiger Mountain Summit on Highway 18.) Ride the fire road (the gate is at the bottom of the upper parking lot) to the back of Iverson and then ride Iverson back towards the parking lot. Take a break or keep riding by taking the connector across to the fire road that will take you up to the trail head for the Preston Rail Trail. (The connector is signed and shares its start/finish with Iverson. The fire road climb is a 3 mile long 1000 ft change in elevation uphill climb.) Ride Preston down and then take the fire road at the bottom of Preston to connect to the Northwest Timber Trail. Ride the NW Timber Trail back to the Connector and then back to the parking lot. The following site has a map with this exact route http://backcountry.unicyclist.com/UNICON/TigerNWTimber/TigerMountainMap.jpg

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If you have the time. 1.5 hours from Seattle will put you in Billingham, WA where Mt. Galbraith awaits your riding pleasure. Otherwise check with a LBS for more close by.

THIS is the type of trail I was looking forward to when moving to Seattle from Chicago, straight up real mountain biking. As mentioned the first 3 miles up the fireroads are pretty rough, I'm in good shape but still need to walk a lot of it to save my legs for the DH sections, takes about 35-45 minutes to get up. I like doing this early in the morning, it's cooler and peaceful then.

The rest is just body jarring roots and rocks, small drops galore, and a lot of beautiful scenery on the way down. Timber trail is nice and smooth compared to Preston. Iverson has a lot of leg work to get to the last DH section, but man is that a workout getting down. Very technical, roots and natural drops left and right. Loads of fun.

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Climb the main fireroad, head down Preston, meet a fireroad on the otherside and take that to Timberwoods. Ride that until you hit the connector to the upper parking lot, then take the second fireroad up to the Iverson trail.

I loved this ride.
Once you get pasted the first 3 miles of climbing on gravel roads you really feel like you've earned the single track. You get 4 awsome miles of down hill switch backs on the side of tiger mt. There are tons of tree roots and rocks to jump off of. Becareful if it's wet because there are a ton of roots everywhere. Good ride though. So 3 miles up....4 miles of awsome woods....1 mile of gravel again, then 2 miles back. The final back trail is not as exciting as preston but it's still fun. They are repairing the bridges this week, so next week should be even better.

Intermed. trail, nice scenic views on the way up, really fun and challenging ride down. This is one of the most popular trails in the region, and I personally consider it a must-ride-in-your-lifetime trail.

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From the Parking Lot: Go on the trail on the right hand side, around the blue gate. Follow this trail up for about 3.2 miles, making sure to stay on the Main Tiger Mountain Trail. At 3.2 miles, you'll intersect with the Preston Railroad Trail on the right. Follow the Preston RR trail. At the end of it, you'll meet a road. Take a left, and follow this road downhill. After a steep hill, the road levels out at about 9 miles in. Look on the right for a turnoff, with a sign labeled "Northwest Timber Trail." Be careful, as it's easy to miss. Follow this trail until you come to another road at 11.4 miles. Turn left again, and you'll be back at the parking lot within .2 miles.

Great Ride when open...that being said trails are closed October 15 to April 15 (dates do vary year to year depending on trail conditions). The reason that guy said the trail was a creek when he rode it was...it was CLOSED dumba$$. Don't ruin it for everyone and obey closures there. The road climb is 3-1/4 miles...not that bad if you are in shape.

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The standard Road > Preston > NW Timber Trail loop
Climb up the main Tiger Mountain Road.
After approx 2.5 miles you'll reach an intersection, stay to the left.
About 1/3 mile further you'll see the entrance to the Preston RR Trail on your right. If you go down a big hill you've gone too far.
Take the Preston RR Trail, it's about 4 miles long and has no intersections.
When you come out on the road, take a left and go for a short distance.
Take a right turn at the first intersection.
Follow this road for approx 2 miles. You'll go down a big dip, and then climb up a hill.
At the Top of this hill you'll see some gravel piles and a road heading off to your right. The entrance to the NW Timber Trail is just past the road on your right.
Take the NW Timber trail for approx 2.5 miles
At the road, take a left and coast back down to the lower parking lot, about 1/3 of a mile. If you parked at the upper lot, you'll have to go down to the lower lot then take the road back since the connector trail is closed for repairs.

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Iverson (Fat Hand Trail)

Just took my last trip up and down Preston Railroad trail this past weekend as it closes October 15th. By this time of year, the trail has become super rooty with lots of gravel up top. I guess the best way to deal with this is to bomb down through the flack. It won't be long until a nice set of jumps await you though. The winters rain firms everything up again by the time the trail opens again April 15. The climb isn't that bad and well worth it for the downhill. It's a good work out so close to Seattle. Plenty of riders around for those nervous of going it alone.

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Up the fire road and down the Preston

Now that the trails are closed for the Winter, this is the only way I can get my Tiger fix, so...for all the people who complain that the first three miles of the ride up are a pain (I agree) I would suggest riding up Timber and Preston. It makes for a much more intesting and challenging ride vs. the fire road. I tried this route earlier this year and haven't ridden the fire road since (except on the way down). There may be some hike-a-bikes on the lower section of Preston, but after the first few switchbacks it's all good. Watch for riders coming down. I always give them the right of way. Please respect the trails and stay off during the off-season.

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Iverson rocks! Very technical. Tolt, Tapeworm, Beaver Lake.

As with all other reviewers, the first three miles are a pain. After the first 20 minutes of climbing, hopefully you'll just go into the thousand-yard, tunnel-vision stare. I underestimated the elevation of this ride, and actually rode into heavy snow (wasn't sticking, though) on this mid-April ride. The Preston Railroad Trail is an absolute blast. Due to the heavy precipitation, practically the entire switchbacking portion of the ride was done in a creek. I was frozen solid, but was grinning from ear to ear the whole time. On a side note, whichever group that does trail maintenance on the Preston deserves major props. If the trail gets that much flowing water after heavy rains, it has to be a major job slowing down the erosion process. Coming down the East Side Road was relaxing. The weather cleared and great views were to be seen. There was quite a bit of loose gravel, though, so an all-out bonzai wasn't going to happen. The Northwest Timber Trail was pretty fun. There is some unique foliage that the naturalist within will appreciate. But, this ride is all about the Preston. Sure, the NW Timber Trail is a nice finale, but the Preston is what makes this ride such a great one. If you want rolling single track, may I suggest Tolt/McDonald in Carnation. It has some amazingly fun and endless single track.

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Park in the second parking lot (away from the highway/about 1/3 of a mile past the main lot) and take the short connector trail to the Tiger Mountain Road. The road will come to a T after a few miles, go left. A half mile later, there will be a small trailhead on the right, take it. Continue on the Preston Railroad Trail and take a left at the trail's exit (the end of the Preston is obvious once you're there). Continue BRIEFLY and take a right onto the East Side Road. Connect onto the Northwest Timber Trail where there are some large deposits of rock. The rock piles are very obvious, the trailhead is not. Continue on the NW Timber Trail all the way back to the lot.

The trail was opened early this year, the entire mountain was dry and in some cases dusty. Better get up there quick before they close it back down because of fire danger due to the dry conditions.

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Main Tiger Mountain Road -> Preston RR Trail -> East Side Road -> NW Timber Trail.

Was visiting from Irvine, CA. Nice ride on the Kona Explosif singlespeed. The fireroad climb wasn't too difficult. The gravel was at times hard to find traction on while standing and cranking the SS. Preston was sweet riding under the shade of trees, unlike hot sunny socal trails. All the green moss covered trees in NW Timber was cool. Fun with all the roots/rocks, great loomy traction.

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Up the fireroad like 3 miles, Preston singletrack the next 4 mi. Short 1 mi. fireroad to NW Timber singletrack. Back to parking. 11+ miles and 1:40 time.