[Oblisk]

Me and a friend are planning a one day there and one day back sort of camping xc ride for his spring break in a few weeks. only one problem (well big problem) were both entirely clueless as to where it should be done! so we need some trail ideas!

its gotta:

• Be long enough to take a good long day of riding.
• Be doable on HT xc bikes (were not afraid of rough terrain)
• Have camping at the end.
• And preferably lead us to some breathtakingly beautiful spot.

any ideas?
Any advice is also greatly welcome (as this will be our first overnight/longish ride)

 

[verslowrdr]

What week exactly? This time a year details like that matter a lot....

 

[Oblisk]

some time after the 23rd.

 

[Dave_schuldt]

Capitol Forest has lots on long rides this time of year, Cascades will be snowed in.

 

[Tarekith]

Maybe middle fork snoqualmie, it's lower elevation so might be snow free by then. You can ask at NWhikers.net, people there seem to get out on trails more this time of year.

 

[michaelw81]

Unfortunately, I believe the Middle Fork trail doesn't open to mt bikes till later in the spring(I think June). What about something in the Olympics?

 

[shiggy]

Me and a friend are planning a one day there and one day back sort of camping xc ride for his spring break in a few weeks. only one problem (well big problem) were both entirely clueless as to where it should be done! so we need some trail ideas!

its gotta:

• Be long enough to take a good long day of riding.
• Be doable on HT xc bikes (were not afraid of rough terrain)
• Have camping at the end.
• And preferably lead us to some breathtakingly beautiful spot.

any ideas?
Any advice is also greatly welcome (as this will be our first overnight/longish ride)

Are you looking to ride in with gear and setup camp, or Drive there, setup camp and then do day rides?

 

[crtlnd]

Forest is snowed in too. Seriously.

 

[crtlnd]

Uh..Capitol Forest that is.

 

[Tarekith]

Unfortunately, I believe the Middle Fork trail doesn't open to mt bikes till later in the spring(I think June). What about something in the Olympics?

Doh, thanks for the clarification. Only been there mid-summer...

 

[Oblisk]

we are looking to ride in and camp then ride out the next day.

 

[Borneo]

Not a lot of options this time of year. At least for a "long" day in and out.

Tahuya, Green Mtn, or maybe ACFL come to mind for some laps and then camping. Or, maybe Orcas and around Moran? (Probably snow up top there too though...)

You could also go ride the oft pimped but un-mapped stuff down south along I-5 Centralia way but I don't think there are camping options in that trail system... (No snow and plenty of miles though.)

Or, the Ancient Lakes stuff Verslordr just did.

 

[blackgriffen_1]

Now that I'm aware of the thread, I'll join in; I'm the other party involved in this trip (so far). By day-long, we mean something in the ten-twenty mile range, and it doesn't necessarily need to have official camping at the end. As long as it isn't in a wilderness area, that won't be an issue. At this time of the year, the Olympics and the Cascades are pretty much snowed in, so stuff like Nason Ridge isn't doable. Any thoughts? Unfortunately USFS doesn't like bikers on hiker trails because of "user conflicts" which can realistically be avoided. Bad legislation...

 

[Borneo]

See the above post. Not much available right now with that kind of mileage and camp spots and low elevations. Private forests won't work because of the fires though I suppose you can go for that anyways... Your call.

 

[ACree]

How about the Oly Discovery trail? Never been there, but looks interesting, and relatively lowland.

 

[blackgriffen_1]

Had no clue about the Discovery trail, looks cool for a roadie adventure (or a for-fun century). We're looking for singletrack or unpaved multi-use though, but thanks for the suggestion!

 

[ACree]

Had no clue about the Discovery trail, looks cool for a roadie adventure (or a for-fun century). We're looking for singletrack or unpaved multi-use though, but thanks for the suggestion!

The one I'm thinking of is singletrack, I might have the name wrong though. Someone posted about it on here awhile back.

 

[blackgriffen_1]

Oh the one I found after some hasty google-ing is 120 something miles of paved/hardpack multi-use trail going from Pt. Townsend to the coast.