Anacortes Community Forest Lands

I love little cranberry. Great place to hike, walk, swim or mountain bike

I give it a 5 because I know the trail system and the serenity. Great trails, great workout and rarely encounter others during the week. If you want a great 1 to 1.5 hour ride here is my recommendation (I ride this route 3-5 times a week especially when pressed for time). Park at Heart Lake parking lot. Cross Heart Lake road and enter the forest. Take #313 you'll cross over #312 and head straight up. It is steep with no chance to gain momentum. Most of us will "bike hike" up part of the first steep incline. Continue left onto #21. You will then encounter 2 more semi-steep climbs, level a bit and turn left onto #300. Go up #300 which splits, take #302 left at the split and climb to Little Round Top (you'll need a drink here). Leave down Little Round Top the way you came in. At the split get back on #300 again on left. Follow #300 all the way up to #27 then take a right. Follow #27 all the way down to #21 and take a left. Follow #21 to the outhouse and take a left on #20 continue to the Whistle Lake parking lot. After your second drink, head back into the forest on #201. Follow #201 all the back to #21. Take a right on #21. Follow #21 all the way back to #313, some small climbs and great downhill. As you pop out of #313 take a quick right on #312. Follow #312 to #304 which takes you out to Heart lake Road. Hop on the road by turning left and back to Heart Lake parking lot. I have done this in under an hour at a good pace. Take your time to learn and it will take just under 1.5 hours.

Great trails and good for what it is. My problem is that I hate having to make a decision on which way to go every 1000 feet or so. I like to get on a trail and ride for a while without having to think. There are a ton of trails packed into this tight area. That's a good thing because space is limited on an Island, but again, not as fun to me. If you're visiting or live here and want to get out for a ride but don't have time to drive somewhere better like Galbraith, this place has some great XC/AM trails. Just be prepared to zigzag around a bit and pay attention to signage for which trails bikes are allowed on.

A maze of multiuse trails, not really a mountain biking destination but ok cross country if you're in the area.

Wow! Wasn't expecting to see a #3 statewide rating for our local "secret".
There are significantly more than 20 miles of trails as indicated in the description.
It is critical that users understand that there are NO dedicated Mt Bike trails in this system. All trails are multi-use and are well used by hikers and to a lesser degree, horses. It works, because everyone tries hard to cooperate and be respectful of other users.
The trails themselves are moderately technical (generally speaking)with notable roots and rocks. Maximum ride-able elevation is 900' - on Sugarloaf. There are trails to the top of Mt Erie(1200' -) but they are not open to Mt Bikes. Most lake-edge trails are also closed to bikes. Make sure to obtain the series (3) of maps from "Bikespot" at the north end of Commercial Ave in town. It is very easy to get lost without them. The trails are well "signed" at the intersections. Be sure to only ride on those trails which are open for bikes........which is most of them!!

Alternative description from "Guest"

This ride is a combination of different trails, starting in the Skyline area by
the water tower on Cedar Glen Way. Starting with trail 109 heading East.
At the first T intersection I made a right, continuing on track 110 crossing
the creek between the Wetland and the Little Beaver Pond. At the next T
intersection I made a right again heading SW on trail 115. The Goal was to
head to the forest road (FR)10. I used trail 120, 115, 116 and 117 to get to
reach FR 10. Once on FR 10 go around Mitten Pond and take the first single
trail (126) right. This will connect to the Heart Lake trail system.
Trail 241 is the first trail, continuing onto trail 224. I did a little side trip on
trail 210 to get to the lake, giving my dogs a chance to go for a swim. Back
on trail 224 continue, the trail with change to 250. This is a fun twisty
section, just a few climbs. At the T intersection make a left and continue on
212. Trail 212 makes a big circle around a hill and will get back to trail 250.
Don't miss the intersection, or you will do another circle around the hill.
Once back on 250 basically used the same trail system to get back to
Skyline.

Fun trails, good xc type stuff and some light gravity stuff off of 115, 116, 118. Only disappointment is when the ACFL does trail improvements it always involves making the trails slower and more hiker oriented.

Great trails. Very old school, mildly techy with abrupt ups and downs. The drier climate of Anacortes pays off in the winter, making this worth the drive to enjoy some dryish trails even in winter.

without question the best experience yet, Cranberry Lake Trails and Whistle lake were rode, as well as a number of other trails i didn't get the numbers off, well worth any effort you have to give to get there and ride, some highly technical sections, some downhill, some difficult and others easier, gorfeous scenery and abundant wildlife, im going back asap and i live in Astoria Oregon!!well worth the drive, i recommend staying in Washington Park, its was located close and only $5 a nite

Trail maps of the ACFL are available in color on water resistant paper. A set of three maps is available at City Hall, the Visitor’s Information Center and from local merchants. The maps show trail access and sanctioned usage.

FANTASTIC!
Getting there is easy, there are literally a couple dozen access points, however I would highly advise picking up a map due to the shear number of trails here. Whenever I hear of a trail system designed or managed by a local Parks & Rec Dept I envision a handful of trails, generally around a lake, that have been ‘improved’ to the point that it seems the 100 yard hiker is the only user group happy with them. Nothing could be farther from the truth when we are talking about this trail system, my hat is off to the ACFL! The above description is a bit off, there is at least 100 miles of ride ready trails all together here ranging from wide, smooth byway to tight & twisty to technical down hills to hike-a-bike climbs. If your in the area or driving up from Seattle I highly recommend spending a day or more here.
I stopped by Skagit Cycle Center on the main drag in Anacortes and picked up a great set of 3 topo maps for $10 that are a must to navigate the trail system. Anyone who has ridden here knows that although they are connected the system is really 3 different areas and the trail descriptions here should reflect that, I will work on that (including trailheads) as soon as time allows me to do so.

I grew up in Anacortes and just recently moved to Lynnwood, and all I can say is that I really really REALLY miss the trails in A-Town. You can spend weeks there and never have the same ride. Stop by visitor's information on Commercial and 8th (or right near there) and buy a trail map for about $10. It will be perfect for when you finally get lost..

Rolling hills and some steep downhill as well. Fun riding! Park at Heart Lake.