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Tags:
Level: Advanced
Length: 24 mi (38.6 km)
Surface: Singletrack
Configuration: Loop
Elevation: +1,289/ -1,318 ft
Total: 73 riders
Mountain Biking Ape Canyon#234, Abraham#216d, Smith Creek#225 Trails
#3 of 1,216 mountain bike trails in Washington
This trail has it all. You have to see it to believe it. From Steep tight single track to riding on the surface of the moon. There is a 1.5 mile section of dirt/paved road to link the Abraham#216D Trail to the Smith Creek#225 trial.
First added by Bmtbyker on Apr 21, 2011. Last updated Apr 30, 2020. → add an update
Before you go
- Drinking water: unknown
- Lift service: unknown
- Night riding: unknown
- Pump track: unknown
- Restrooms: unknown
- Fat bike grooming: unknown
- E-bikes allowed: unknown
- Fee required: unknown
This trail information is user-generated. Help improve this information by suggesting a correction.
From I5 take Exit #21 in Woodland, WA. Head East on Lewis River Rd/WA503 about 23 miles where the road becomes FR90. Continue threw Cougar until you reach the Swift Reservoir. Turn left going onto Nat for Dev Rd 83 contining about 17 to 18 miles to the Ape Canyon trailhead with a small paved parking area on the left.
System trails (5)
Featured in
Awesome trail with a ridiculous climb. The views are worth all the hard work.
| ThankBreathtaking views the whole way. I did the out and back starting at the bottom of Ape Canyon to Windy Ridge then back down. Not very beginner friendly or to the out of shape flat land riders, bring your climbing legs and lungs to ride up Ape Canyon. Very much worth the effort though.
| ThankRode Ape Canyon trail to Plains of Abraham to Windy Ridge as an out and back 8/27/16 and can't wait to go back! Steep warm up right out of the gate as you climb through beautiful NW forests with views of Mt. Adams and Mt. Hood in addition to Helens. Plains of Abraham is like nothing else - feels like riding on the moon. Plenty of hike-a-bike from Plains to Windy Ridge where you will probably find out why it got its name. At the end of Windy there are rope ladders to help you down/up. Not a bad place to turn around (as other riders we met did) since humping a bike up this steep and loose section, even with the ladders, is a P.I.A. Once back into the forest on the return you'll be treated to a fast, flowy, fun rip! Highly recommend this ride!
| ThankAwesome singletrack in the forest and strange singletrack out on the plains a must do trail. For more information please visit Mountain Bike Arkansas - www.mtbark.com
| ThankEach of the trails in this route has its own character. Ape Canyon and Abraham are completely different in both surface and surroundings despite their proximity to each other. The Ape Canyon trail is soft smooth forest floor, relentlessly steep, and primarily in deep, dark forest. Abraham is ground up pumice, up and down, and out of a volcano-blasted plain. Ape is fun to ride but most of the epic scenery is obscured while Abraham has the dramatic scenery but the underlying surface is sometimes less pleasant to ride. The bottom line is that the glass is always more than half full though and this ride is completely unique and worthy of a visit by any adventurous rider.
| ThankIf you are worried about your Strava time on this ride, you are missing the point. Very few rides can match this one for sheer wow factor. The scenery is both humbling and awe inspiring. If you have any interest in geology this is a can't miss ride. As for the mtb aspects, it has everything, great single tracks, big climbs, big descents, technical sections and flow.
| ThankIn my opinion this is a must ride! The views and the different types of rock are simply amazing! I did the out and back and it was just amazing wasn't easy but totally worth it!
| ThankFelt like a good trail for a fat bike.
| ThankWhere else in the World can you ride through the blast zone of a dormant volcano and see life slowly crawling back in a high alpine ecosystem? Truly a unique experience and a wonderful, rideable and fun trail too.
| ThankThis trail is absolutely unbelievable. I had two days to ride it both from the Ape Canyon trailhead. The first day I rode it as an out an back which was simply incredible. Tough climb through the foresty Ape Canyon but as soon as you make it out of the trees you get absolutely breathtaking views of the canyon, Mt. Rainier, Mt. Baker, and of course Mt. St. Helens. Continuing on through the Plains of Abraham is best described by someone before me as riding on the moon. A bit more flat but still very flowy and fast at times. Continuing on towards the Windy Ridge Viewpoint there is some one of a kind downhill sections on a trail that somehow exists atop a gradual gravel slope drop-off on either side. Windy Ridge really is a great view to take in before returning back in the same direction, which is tough at the start, but very rewarding in the end with some surprisingly fast sections in the forest area. Overall, this day was one of the best if the the best days I've ever had mountain biking. The next day I looped it with Smith Creek so I could know what else was out there, butI found this trail to be a bit disappointing. Really loose unpredictable downhill sections that had me riding my brakes so hard my hands were getting sore. Hard to really catch a ton of speed because the visibility is somewhat limited. Overall the trail is good but it doesn't compare to Ape Canyon/Plains of Abraham.
| ThankVolcanic ash and pumice cover the ground in many spots. Others where the forest survived it's a spruce forest. Pretty unique riding savor the power of the volcano and remember that it will erupt again.
| ThankWords can't describe this trail. Deep forest to landing on the moon, to Super tight fast single track decent. You just have to ride it for yourself.
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