Biking - Siouxon Creek
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If you’re looking for a gorgeous, intermediate ride, Siouxon Trail 130 is just the ticket. Totaling 14 miles out and back along magnificent Siouxon Creek, the 130 delivers excellent tread amid lush old-growth forest.
The best downhill comes right off the bat, so enjoy every inch of it. Be sure to check out Chinook Falls, just a quarter-mile off the main trail about 5.6 out. After 7 miles, you’ll reach a place where you would have to ford Siouxon Creek in order to keep going. Turn around here. Trail 130 continues but becomes steep, rocky, and difficult.
When you reach the last three-mile stretch on the return trip, remember how much fun you had coming down because you now have to grind back out. On the positive side, the tread is typically in good shape and the climb is not incredibly steep.
This ride can be lengthened and intensified by taking 130A near Chinook Falls toward Siouxon Peak and Huffman Peak. Notice the inclusion of “peak” in this description. The three-mile climb isn’t all that bad—if you’re a goat. After two miles, you will reach a logging road. At that point, bear left. The logging road turns into a jeep road. Amazingly, when it appears it can’t get any steeper, it does.
The descent is a rush—seven miles on a ridgetop about as wide as your handlebars back to Siouxon 130 via Huffman 129. You will intersect the 130 about a mile from the trailhead. Before attempting the extended ride, it would be wise to call the Gifford Pinchot folks at (360) 891-5000 to find out if the 129 has been cleared of blowdown. Please note: the extended version that takes in Huffman 129 is not for beginners or intermediates. Total elevation gain is in the neighborhood of 7,000 to 8,000 feet.
From Interstate 5, take Lewis River Road (503) east from Woodland and turn right onto Hayes Road, heading toward Amboy. Go right on N.E. Cedar Road for about 19 miles. When you reach Chelatchie, go past the ranger station on the left. Turn right on N.E. Healy Road and continue for 7 miles. When you reach a fork, stay right on the paved road that takes you into the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. At the next Y, turn left on FR57 and take another left onto FR5701. The trailhead is on the left about 50 yards past a sharp right-hand bend in the road. A Northwest Forest Pass is required.
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