If You Give Big...We can Dig Big!
It's a great time to ride and a great time to build more #Riderpowered trails!
Every spring since 2015 we have asked you to Give Big for trails. In just the past five years Give Big donors have opened up more than 100 miles of #Riderpowered new trail and 2 entirely new ride areas in (or near) Wenatchee, the Methow Valley, Ellensburg, Roslyn, Battle Ground, Port Gamble, Issaquah/North Bend, Skykomish, Leavenworth, and Spokane. It's time to do it again and you can #BeTheBuilder with a donation today.
We need $125,000 in our Trails Fund to make it happen. Our Trails Fund needs replenishing, and your help supports miles of projects that are ready to go! A strong Trails Fund allow us to complete urgent maintenance tasks and keep our Trail Crew going all year.
Covid threw a wrench in our plans….(seriously - we wish you all good health!! )...but we’re a hard working bunch and we are psyched to have lined up a number of new projects despite all the challenges.
We’re roaring to go...are you? #BeTheBuilder by donating today. Your donation builds more trails for you to ride...it's that simple.
When you Give Big to the Trails Fund, we can Dig Big and deliver endless smiles, and miles and miles of #RiderPowered trail adventures across the state for you to ride!
Here’s what your Give Big donation to the Trails Fund can make possible this year:
- Lewis Butte, Methow Valley: 1.5 NEW miles. Two years ago we worked with the Methow Valley Trails Collaborative to complete a trail at Lewis Butte for the Department of Fish and Wildlife. We now have an opportunity to complete a 5 mile loop for year-round use by bikers, hikers, and snowshoers. We need $10K to make this one happen. No other funds are available - this one is wholly dependent on you to #BetheBuilder!
- Loup Loup Trails, Methow Valley: 25+ NEW miles(!!) This one’s a bit of a mindblower: we could get as much as 25+ new miles of trail in the Methow if all goes well. The SEPA is complete and our fingers are crossed that the cultural review studies reveal that the trails are possible... If so, we’re off! Huge thanks to the US Forest Service for their support on this one - once complete this will be an epic network, and can transform the riding experience in the Methow Valley! We need $20K for initial work, to start as early as this fall.
- Naneum Ridge MTB Trails, Ellensburg: Up to 3 NEW miles. Work continues at the Naneum! This is the 2nd Give Big ask for this trail network, but it’s awesome, and it's the first real new MTB system in Ellensburg. We LOVE it (you will too)! We’re gonna keep trail development moving with about $15K this summer & fall. This trail network is 100% #RiderPowered and wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for Give Big donations and hundreds of hours of volunteer labor by our Kittitas chapter members and supporters. Huge thanks the Department of Natural Recources for their visioning and permitting of this new trail system.
- Number 2 Canyon - Phase 3, Wenatchee: UP TO 4 NEW miles. Work continues at No 2 Canyon as well. This will be the 3rd Give Big ask and we’re ABOUT HALFWAY DONE ON THE FULL NETWORK VISION. We expect needing one additional NOVA grant to get it all done, but what a place to ride already, and what a show of community love to get it all funded!! This year’s Give Big work includes 4 new trail miles and some infrastructure improvements. Support this vision and let’s get this system delivered - We need $12K to meet our cash match for the RCO grant for this year's build scope.
- Yacolt Burn - Trail 8. Battle Ground, 2 NEW miles. The Department of Natural Resources is near to completing its 21-mile trail plan at the Yacolt Burn. We’re currently mobilizing to complete Trail #7, which should be complete this spring. But we’re not quite done yet: the DNR has given permission to build a new climbing trail, which is missing from the Yacolt Burn trail network and we can’t wait to deliver it! This multi-use trail will be primarily volunteer built by a number of user groups. Our Southwest chapter needs $15K to cover direct expenses and crew labor.
There is always more, and that's why this fund is so important...
Sometimes projects come up sooner than expected, or have a tight timeframe that we need to act on or lose out! We always have a few other projects that are likely to happen, but they are not quite shovel ready…With your Give Big support to the Trails Fund, you can lay the groundwork for more great trails like:
- Cheasty BLVD Pilot MTB trail: More than a decade of work has gone into getting approval for the City of Seattle’s first mountain bike trail. Hurdle after hurdle has kept the City, the Friends of Cheasty and Evergreen from making this a reality. But we’re finally there: Seattle residents will soon have a mountain bike trail at the Cheasty Open Space. The trail is short, it’s a pilot, and it’s not the type of mountain bike trail that Evergreen is known for building, but nonetheless, it's a go! Hopefully we can build from here to get more knobbies (and kids) on Seattle dirt!
- Colonnade Refresh & Pump Track Speaking of Seattle, the colonnade is now 14 years old!! We’re applied for a King County Youth Athletic Facilities grant to redo the site, reduce the gnar-gnar, and add a pump track. A recent maintenance push has already led to clean up, reshape & revamp of the existing trails. We need matching funds for the Grant. Results should be known by early summer - cross your fingers!!
- Virginian Ridge: This ridge lies just southwest of the Town of Winthrop and has been used for local riders, hikers, and equestrians for a long time. After a recent harvest, Department of Natural Resources has worked with us to improve and designate the trail system. We’re in the process of pursuing grants for this, but we may have ability to begin work this fall if we can raise the funds and DNR received its full Capital budget request in Olympia. Again fingers crossed!