Trail vandalism in Spokane, WA: A greased rock leaves a mountain biker injured

The city of Spokane, WA, has been investing millions of dollars to revitalize its popular Beacon Hill trail system. Even though the local municipality is actively working to support and expand the trail system, some locals are apparently unhappy with the ongoing trail developments.

4 News Now reports that some trails at Beacon Hill have been vandalized, with grease poured on some of the technical rock features to make them slippery, and threatening notes posted at the trailhead.

“One of our trail bosses for the Beacon area, he went down,” said The Bike Hub owner Jon Amend in an interview with 4 News Now. “The picture he sent out, it was greased up the side. He went down on the rock pretty good, so it’s unsafe.”

It’s important to note that Beacon Hill is a city park, providing Spokane residents with easy access to the outdoors. While mountain biking is extremely popular at Beacon Hill, most of the trails are multi-use. Families hike there, locals run there, and cross country teams from the nearby schools use the trails for training. Vandalizing the trails puts all trail users at risk — not just mountain bikers.

An investigation into the trail vandalism is currently underway by the Spokane police, parks and recreation, and park rangers. For now, local trail users are encouraged to use caution while recreating at Beacon Hill.

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