FIVE (MORE) TRAIL SYSTEMS TO RIDE IN SPOKANE
Following on from our previous post about five of our favorite mountain bike trail systems in Spokane, we present another work week’s worth of close-to-home classics. Bookmark this link or print it out and tape it to your fridge; either way, consider this your trail to-do list.
Mica Peak
The sister summit to Mount Spokane, Mica Peak boasts some 15 miles of volunteer-built singletrack that stretches from cedar forest to subalpine parkland. Where its Kan kin features mostly rooty, technical singletrack, Mica favors buffed, machine-built flow trails. For a nearly 12-mile workout, begin at Belmont trailhead with a dirt-road grind of Moonshine. Nearly 1800 feet of climbing over the span of five miles deposits riders at the entrance to Silicate Slide. Here, a leafy green corridor frames a fast, intermediate descent with scooped-out berms and a variety of medium-sized tabletops, step-downs and side hits (all of them with ridearounds). Finish off with a cooldown on California Creek back to the trailhead.
Glenrose – Flying L
You’d be hard pressed to find a prettier stretch of tread in the area—or, for that matter, in the Northwest—than the Flying L. Built in the summer of 2020 by volunteer labor, the trail, on the east side of the Glenrose-Phillips Creek area of lower Tower Mountain, switchbacks through ponderosa parkland, open meadows and ancient orchard trees, as enjoyable on the way up as it is on the way down. Except for a couple short, mildly punchy sections before it intersects the Glenrose Cliffs trail, the Flying L maintains a mellow grade over the course of its two-mile length. A new connector trail about a mile up the trail enables a lollipop loop using Glenrose Cliffs for a five-mile ride suitable for all skill levels.
Liberty Lake
The old-growth cedars of Liberty Lake Regional Park shade some of the original mountain biking trails in the area—and, thanks to recent work by Evergreen East, some of the newest. The new Zephyr connector adds a bit of fun, built-for-bikes flow to the trail system—and bypasses the busy day-use area and campground. Once on the main Liberty Lake trail, riders can complete a mellow six-mile loop to the cedar grove, with an optional return trip on the fast singletrack of Split Creek. Between the mid-ride shade and post-ride swimming opportunities, Liberty Lake is the trail to take on a hot summer day.
South Hill Bluff
For fast after-work cardio laps, there’s nowhere better than the South Hill Bluff south of downtown. Some two dozen miles of trail crisscross the Bluff, and, while most of them sidehill across steep grassy slopes and ponderosa pine forest, riders can rack up a surprising amount of elevation gain. Thanks to its open slopes and west-facing aspect, the Bluff trails also tend to be rideable most of the winter. With no trail signage or official map, your best bet is to start from any one of the trailheads off High Drive Parkway and set off with a sense of exploration.
Sorry, no photo of this trail but we have sent Atticus out to fetch one.
Antoine Peak
Antoine Peak Conservation Area comprises nearly 1,200 acres of upland ponderosa pine forest and old homestead land in the Spokane Valley. From the west trailhead, riders can connect the Antoine’s Summit and Emerald Necklace trails, a mix of old dirt-road doubletracks and new volunteer-built singletrack, for a 5-mile, 800-foot elevation gain lollipop loop to the summit. Most of the route grants views south to Liberty Lake and north to Mount Spokane. And, with few technical challenges, these vistas are available to anyone with the legs and lungs to reach them.