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Olallie
Basic Facts
Phase 1 is currently being planned by Washington State Parks. This phase will be an out-and-back up to Mount Washington, and trail mileage could be between 4 and 7 miles each way. There are currently some challenges and the project has been delayed one year. Estimated completion date is August 31, 2008. Keep reading this page for detailed info. Map of Phase 1
Phase 2 is in the future, with a timeline of 10 to 20 years. This phase will be on Forest Service land. Any new trails on FS land require an Access and Travel Management (ATM) plan. Estimates put the cost of an ATM plan at $150k due to the studies required. There is also a moratorium on new road or trail mileage in Region 6 of the FS. This can be overcome by decomissioning existing logging roads, but it adds further expense.
Phase 1 - Mt. Washington
Map of Phase 1 Trails in this phase include CEB-2 and OTW-1 through OTW-8.
October, 2006 The project has run into two major issues which will likely delay the project one year. The estimated completion date is now August 31, 2008.
- A lawsuit has been brough against State Parks to remove Trails Unlimited, and Enterprise Corporation that is part of the Forest Service, from the project. The lawsuit claims "the appearance of impropriety" and appears to be brough by the National Trail Builders Association because they feel the Ineragency Agreement used to hire Trails Unlimited was anti-competitive. As such, Trails Unlimited will not conduct the construction portion of the project, though they may still do the design and permitting.
State Parks is now investigating hiring someone to create a bid package so that this project can go out to competitive bid. Under this process the State must hire the lowest bidder who is deemed qualified to complete the project. One challenge with this process is that sealed enginnering drawings for the project must be created before the project can go to bid - thus driving up the cost of the project.
- A section of the intentende route appears to be impassible using moderate cost construction methods and an alternate route needs to be found. On the map of Phase 1 the problem section is OTW-4 which is in a very steep cliff area. Going to the south of Mount Washington appears unlikely because the Cedar River Watershed does not allow public access in order to protect Seattle's drinking water.
It is important that a passable route be found, even if the trail needs to stay lower. Phase 1 is just the start and it is necessary for these trails to eventually connect up to the Forest Service land to the East so that Phase 2 is possible in the future. State Parks is investigating alternate routing options.
September, 2006 State Parks has selected Trails Unlimited as the contractor to design and build the trail. Trails Unlimited is an enterprise corporation that is a part of the US Forest Service, which allowed them to bypass the competitive bidding requirement for this kind of project.
BBTC has been involved in meetings with State Parks and Trails Unlimited, and have been actively voicing our design goals and opinions about routing, design and construction techniques. We have some concerns about the types and sizes of machinery that will be used for construction. The contractor will be using a combination of 4' wide dozers and mini-excavators. It is the opinion of many in the local trail building community that dozers are not capable of building as high a quality of trail as a mini-excvator can. We also are concerned that a 4' wide machine will result in a wider gauge trail than is ideal. One thing to mitigate our concerns is that a wider trail will become narrower over the course of 5 years.
Flagging has begun for the project, but ran into a snag on the North flank of Mount Washington. This area is very steep and rocky, and would require extensive blasting to bench in a trail in this area. Blasting is not feasible on this project due to cost, nasty permitting requirements, and Trails Unlimited does not have a Washington blasting license. Right now, State Parks is meeting with the Cedar River Watershed to see if they can get permission to route the upper portion of the trail on the South flank of Mount Washington. This is a bit of a challenge since the watershed does not allow public access in order to protect the safety of our drinking water.
Summer, 2005 Washington State Parks has secured funding for construction of Phase I of the Olallie mountain bike trail system. This trail will be approximately 6 miles of singletrack that will be ridden as an out-and-back. The trail will start at the Iron Horse trail, near Cedar Buttle and will end near the summit of Mount Washington.
BBTC is actively working with Washington State parks to ensure mountain bikers are involved in the design and construction process, and help State Parks build an excellent singletrack trail. This section of trail will be completed by Fall, 2007.
Mt. Washington mountain bike trail map 2 mb pdf
This map is a schematic, and the actual route will vary slightly from what is shown here to take into consideration appropriate slope grades and soil/forest conditions. This phase will include the following trail segments: OTW-1 through OTW-7 and MWC-1 through parts of MWC-3. CEB-2 is an alternate start to the route, since the pink area listed as DNR land is now owned by State Parks.
Art Tuftee has spent several days investigating conditions, and some of the roads (OTW-2 & OTW-3) are already decomissioned. It is the professional opinion of BBTC that it will be more cost effective, provide a better user experience, and result in a more sustainable trail with lower maintenance costs if new trails are created that run parallel to the old roads rather than construct trails on the decomissioned road beds.
BBTC is committed to working with State Parks to assist them with the process and ensure that a trail is created that:
Is environmentally sustainable
Is an excellent user-experience for mountain bikers
Takes into considation the interaction with other user groups
Is durable and does not require substantial ongoing maintenance
About the Olallie Mountain Bike Trails Plan
Map of Proposed Trail
Art Tuftee
The ridge south of I-90 from roughly North Bend almost to Snoqualmie Pass is in the initial planning stages for mountain bike trails! The BBTC is proposing a 30 mile loop that will use the Iron Horse Trail, some existing logging roads, and new single track following the ridge line. The route will pass three alpine lakes and cross several talus slopes with sweeping views over the freeway to the north. Below is the text outlining our proposal for the first step of establishing the trail system. Below is the text outlining our proposal for the first step of establishing the trail system.
Proposed First Phase Trails Plan
for the
South Fork Snoqualmie Ridge Mountain Bike Trail System
September 19, 2002
The Backcountry Bicycle Trails Club (BBTC) has explored much this area in anticipation of a potential multi-use trail system. Based on our findings we describe herein a basic loop that would be the first step in an eventually complete trail system extending from Mt. Washington to Scout Lake.
Our proposed loop incorporates the Iron Horse Trail as a low elevation connector, various existing logging roads as routes to the ridge, and new single track trail completing the loop at higher elevations.
Some of the logging roads are well suited for use as part of the trail system, having moderate grade with good tread and drainage. Others, without these advantages, should be used only temporarily with plans to build new single track trail elsewhere or decommission in a manner suitable for trail use.
Just as with hiking, the desired experience for mountain biking is single track trail, not road. To be successful, a trail system must have a large percentage of real trail.
The general route we are proposing begins climbing from the Iron Horse up the Harris Creek basin to Harris Lake, then continuing up towards the ridge. Once on the ridge following it to the shoulder of Mt. Kent and dropping down to Alice Lakes. From there contouring over to the shoulder of McClellan Butte, down into the Mine Creek basin, then up and over into the Hall Creek basin. Then generally down to rejoin the Iron Horse.
Detailed Description of Route
Mile 0 - 4 From Garcia east on the Iron Horse
Garcia is a natural starting point for the loop. There is easy access from I-90 via exit 38 and parking for several cars. There is a logging road paralleling the grade on the uphill side for this stretch, but it is quite rough and has significant elevation gain and loss therefor the Iron Horse is preferred here. Around the 4 mile point the route leaves the grade to the right and climbs an open talus slope.
Mile 4 – 8.2 Iron Horse to Harris Lake
After a 250’vertical gain up the talus slope from the grade the route joins an existing road. This climb would be new trail with some switch backs. The route then turns left on the road which is fairly steep for the next 1 ½ miles with a loose, rocky tread. Portions of section will be hike-a-bike for most riders.
After the steep climb the road turns south into the Harris Creek basin and becomes slightly down hill. The surface is good here and there are nice views of a meadow below. As the road bends back to the north in the fold of a small valley there is a wet and brushy area that will need some work. At about 8 miles from the start the route turns left at an intersection and climbs to Harris Lake. This section is extremely rocky, choked with Slide Alder and too close if not in the drainage. It is recommended that this section be re-routed with new trail uphill to the northwest.
The route has now arrived at the first significant point of interest- Harris Lake. There is a small campsite on the shore next to the road and huckleberries abound.
Mile 8.2 – 11.5 Harris Lake to Alice Lakes
This segment is all new trail construction and is what makes the climb up worthwhile. It is mostly forested but there are open slopes affording views to the north. The feeling is very alpine and the mountain biking experience that will be provided can not be had without a much farther drive from Seattle. When the entire system is eventually completed this segment will remain the most appreciated.
Harris Lake is on the edge of a clear cut and brush is very thick around the southern shore. The route leaves the road here and heads west. After about 50 yards forest is entered and the brush gives way completely. The grade is very gentle for the first half mile from the lake then steepens as the route climbs to the ridge above Rock Creek. Some switchbacks will be needed here. This is followed by about a quarter mile of contouring then more climbing to gain the main ridge. This area is quite rocky and more switchbacks will be needed.
The ridge here is sharply defined by a very steep, sometimes cliff edge to the north. To the south it slopes away much more gradually. Because of this topography the route is on or within the hydrographic boundary of the watershed. Along much of this section a way path exists apparently from watershed staff patrolling the boundary.
Around 2 ½ miles from Harris Lake the route contours out onto the southern open slopes of Mt. Kent. A switchbacking climb up talus gains the saddle of the mountain. At this point an out and back route should exist to the top of Mt. Kent. This may or may not be a rideable route but people will invariably make the trek to reach the 5,087’ summit.
From the saddle the route drops down similar slopes into the Alice Lakes basin, first going by the upper lake then the west side of the lower lake before exiting the basin.
Mile 11.5 – 14.5 Alice Lakes to Mine Creek basin
After a brief paralleling of the lake drainage the route contours across a slope alternating with talus and forest with an easy downward grade. A faint waypath exists here from people leaving the McClellan Butte trail and going to the lakes.
At the end of this contour the route is unavoidably in close proximity to a watershed road although still out of sight. The possibility of having this road decommissioned should be investigated.
After this point there is a short section of very difficult terrain that may become a permanent hike-a-bike.
At mile 12.7 the route joins the McClellan Butte trail and follows it west for up to a quarter mile. Although there is no doubt this would be controversial the McClellan Butte trail is in very bad shape here and would benefit from the necessary reconstruction. The alternative of routing the multi-use trail below the existing trail puts it in a clearcut and close to a very obvious watershed road. The McClellan Butte trail is already within the watershed boundary at this point and adding an additional trail even further into the watershed would also be controversial.
At some point after the McClellan Butte trail crosses the divide into Mine Creek basin the trail again separate. The multi-use descends on a gentle grade towards the northwest shoulder of the butte where it swtichbacks to join an existing road at 13.5 miles.
An alternative route for this section is switchbacking directly down the slope from the McClellan Butte trail to join the same road at a lower point.
The existing road is initially steep but becomes a good grade as it passes a large pond and then joins with the main Mine Creek basin road at 14.5 miles.
Mile 14.5 - 17 Mine Creek to Hall Creek
After the intersection a road of good grade continues to the west and eventually ends at a log landing. The route stays on this road to a point just below a rocky notch in the Mine Creek, Hall Creek dividing ridge where it switchbacks up to the notch at about 15.5 miles.
Once at the notch the route continues due north staying just on the west side of the ridge until intersecting with an existing road. This point is landmarked with an abandoned fuel truck likely left over from logging days. The route then follows a decommissioned spur for a half a mile back to the south and descending into Hall Creek basin.
The decommissioned road ends at a log landing where a short section of new trail would have to be constructed joining the route to another road. This next section of road has not been decommissioned but is very over grown with Alder. The grade however is excellent for bikes. The route then joins the main Hall Creek basin road at 17 miles from the start.
This last mile of the route starting with the decommissioned road, new trail, then old road bed is well suited for construction with a trail machine. There is good access from the top and it is mostly on previously disturbed ground.
Mile 17 – 23 Mine Creek Road back to Garcia
At this point our proposed phase one route follows existing roads back to the start at Garcia. It would be very desirable for the route to leave the road at an appropriate place and descend the slope to the north with new trail construction to intersect with the Iron Horse Trail. This could be done in a future phase of the project or if resources allow included in phase one. A specific route is not recommended here because we have not explored the potential route on the ground.
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