The Naneum Ridge State Forest new trail construction project will create up to 34 miles of new trail and span multiple years. The complete plan calls for a Family Area with 6 miles, an Advanced Area with 18 miles, a 6-mile connector between the two areas, and additional stacked loop options.

Design work got underway in 2018. Evergreen raised sufficient funds to sign an agreement with DNR in the spring of 2019, and construction began in July 2019. Phase 1 construction started in 2019 with a planned opening in early 2020 and includes about 8 miles of new trail (4 in the Family Area and 4 miles of the singletrack connector). With a little luck and pending weather/fire conditions, Evergreen Crew and Kittitas Chapter volunteers may be able to up the total mileage for Phase 1 to 10 miles.

For Phase 2 and 3, Evergreen will be adding to the existing family trail area, completing the northern singletrack connector, and building six miles of the northern advanced riding area. These new trails will allow for several stacked loop options for riders of every skill level. 

In 2022 Evergreen finished the southern area of the ridge which included 2 miles of new trail. These new miles added on to the existing family trail area, as well as 3 new intermediate downhill lines. Phase 3 is expected to start in the fall 0f 2023 to add the remaining trails to the Advanced Northern Area.

This project is entirely funded by Evergreen members and donors, and we are delivering project design and construction at no cost to the Department of Natural Resources. The Kittitas Chapter raised $4K for the initial design, scoping, and flagging fees through memberships, donations, and event income. An additional $9K in construction funds were donated by Evergreen’s generous community of riders during 2019 Give Big Campaign, making this project possible for residents of Ellensburg.

Evergreen has committed $15,000 from our 2022 Give Big Campaign towards this project.

In partnership with...

This project is one piece of the much bigger “Naneum Ridge to Columbia River Rec Plan” that spans multiple agency lands, caters to all non-moto and motorized rec groups, covers summer and winter rec, and was co-developed by DNR and WDFW.