[dbradfo]

I will be in Seattle for a weekend visiting in September. I have one full day (Friday the 12th) ready for mountain biking, but I am not sure where to go. I live in Chicago and don't make it out west to bike all that often, so I don't want to waste my only day biking in the northwest on something that I could ride out here.

My quesiton is - what is the best single track within 2 hours (ish) driving of Seattle. Thanks in advance.

 

[andres611]

Galbraith Mtn in Bellingham is awesome. Tiger Mtn is also pretty cool

 

[buildyourown]

Having mountain biked in Illinois, Galbraith will blow your mind. Tiger is fun, but you can ride all 3 trails in under 2 hours. It is very close to Seattle though and the risk of getting lost is much lower.

Galbraith is an incredible maze of trails that are hard to navigate alone.

Carnation/ Tolt McDonald park is also very good. A little less tech but very flowy and very fun on a 4" bike. Also about an 45-60min from the city.

 

[Borneo]

We really need a sticky for this one.

Galby? Really? I mean, its fun and all. But... Within 2 hours is so much more. For the, "NW experience" the closest place is probably Middle Fork Snoqualmie. It won't kill you flatlanders with the climbing. Tiger is missing NW Timber trail due to bridge rebuilding so there's more road in lieu of that section. (Though, that's the trail system all the shops and most locals send the visitors too becasue it's easy to follow and gets you some altitude and is relatively close to downtown.)

Look here and pick something that pique's your interest.

http://www.bbtc.org/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page

www.ridegalbraith.com for more info on Galby but it's at the fringe of your 2 hours from Seattle. Lots of XC stuff but geat more to the FR/AM genre if that's your thing.

Maybe White River/Skookum Flats as an option or ACFL to the North.

 

[iridebikes]

ranger creek? sun top?

 

[dbradfo]

Thanks - for the info. Although from Chicago, I take a couple of trips a year to MTB - recently in Crested Butte and Moab. Although my technical skills are not great, I am used to some difficult trails with lots of climbing.

I am not scared (just kidding) - tell me where the best stuff is. Thanks.

 

[Borneo]

What's your version of, "lots of climbing"? 1K, 3K, 6K, 14K?

Did you ride most of the Portal Trail down ?

That would tell us a lot.
Palisades or Ranger Creek or the Crystal Mountain Loop would give you about 3-4K and some great views of Rainier.

http://www.nwsource.com/outdoors/scr/of_detail.cfm?category=biking&rt=41219

Up Ranger Creek/Down Palisades, back on White River trail. All singletrack. BIG views. Fun descents.

http://www.nwsource.com/outdoors/scr/of_detail.cfm?category=biking&rt=41217

 

[PsychO!1]

Borneo speaks the truth.
These are truly epic NW trails. Even if the ride kills you, you'd die with a huge smile on your face!

 

[dbradfo]

Thanks for all of the help guys. I really appreciate it and I will let you know what we decide on.

 

[DBR X6 RIDER]

Ahhhhhh, I miss the epics. I should eventually get a bike that can pedal up a hill more efficiently again. Eventually.

Galby is good for all styles in one ride. I've taken all kinds of riders there for their first trip out and they all were stoked on the place...even some of the most devoted shuttle-whores. Definitely hook up with a local if you go there so you can hit all the right trails.

 

[Str8OutaBallard]

Tokul... both East and West