The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) invites the public to come visit the North Mountain Bike Trail System, located adjacent to the community of Darrington, WA, with over 10 miles of new trails officially open beginning Saturday, October 19.
In partnership with Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance, Darrington community, legislative leaders, Sierra Pacific Industries, Washington Conservation Corps, DNR trail crews, volunteers, Skagit and Snohomish Counties, DNR is opening the North Mountain Bike Trail System. About an hour from Everett, this trail system offers breathtaking views of Whitehorse Mountain and the Stillaguamish Valley.
“With around 10.5 trail miles opening on North Mountain’s upper slopes, new downhill trails provide a variety of challenges for riders with advanced skills. This higher elevation trail system complements the 4-miles of lower North Mountain Bike Skills Area trails opened in 2017, offering skill-building for riders to eventually progress to the upper mountain shuttle zone,” said Sam Jarrett, DNR’s Trails Program Manager, who led DNR project management.
As the winter season approaches with more consistent precipitation and potential for snow on upper elevation trail segments, visitors should carefully consider the weather and resulting trail conditions before visiting. Several advanced difficulty skill level trails are built to a more primitive development standard, trail crews will be tackling maintenance needs throughout the winter and spring months as trails wear in.
“Working with project partners, we are planning an in-person grand opening celebration event to occur spring 2020, at that time we expect to have a final trail connection in place that will link the upper mountain trails to the skills area. This will allow visitors an option to descend the longest available system trail, starting near the roughly 3,800’ elevation North Mountain summit, and ending near local businesses in Darrington,” says Jarrett.
This project could not have happened without support from leaders at the town of Darrington, local businesses that supported various components of the project, including HiLine Helicopters Inc. and Three Rivers Cutting, and the hundreds of hours of donated volunteer labor contributed to developing the trails alongside Evergreen MTB Alliance professional builders.
Directions
Follow signs off of Highway 530 just north of Darrington for Whitehorse Park, turning on N Mtn Rd (Forest Road 2810), follow signs to the North Mountain Bike Trail System Lower & Upper Parking Areas.
For more information about the trail system, visit DNR’s project web page at dnr.wa.gov/DarringtonMTB. Download the trail map here.
Background
DNR held the two open houses for the project in Darrington and Arlington in November 2015. You can view the comments we received at public input stations at the Darrington and Arlington open houses.
Share your thoughts
To connect with our project manager, send us an email. To hear more about the project, sign up to receive updates on this project through our Darrington Mountain Bike E-news and connect with us on our Facebook and Twitter pages. Class 1 electric mountain bikes (eMTBs) will be allowed on trails as a pilot project in our Darrington/North Mountain trail system.
This pilot project is expected to last through October 2020 and will provide one source of data gathering to help inform long-term suitability of e-bike usage on DNR lands. WA Bill 6434: “Class 1 electric-assisted bicycle” means an electric-assisted bicycle in which the motor provides assistance only when the rider is pedaling and ceases to provide assistance when the bicycle reaches the speed of twenty miles per hour.”
To participate in a project survey, including feedback on eMTB use on North Mountain, please visit the following survey link: www.surveymonkey.com/r/3NQCFGL
EAR TO THE GROUND WITH DNR & COMMISSIONER FRANZ 