Trail Description:
If you like spectacular scenery and amazing views, then this is the ride for you. It starts with a grueling 7 mile 4,000 foot climb, but rewards you with the most breathtaking view of Mt. Rainier you won't soon forget. At the top, take in the sights and an energy bar and get ready for miles of amazing singletrack. The beginning of the decent is steep and technical, but the challenges ease as the trail descends.
How to get there:
From Enumclaw, drive East on Highway 410. After about 30 miles, keep your eyes out for road #73 on the right. (if you see the Visitor's Information Center, you have gone too far. But since you're there, you might want to pick up a map of the trail). After turning onto road #73, cross the bridge and immediately turn right into the small parking area. If you have two cars, you can drive a second car to the top of Sun Top Mountain and then ride back down to your first car.
| Posted by: Alving on 8/4/2008 |
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Great ride. Fast, banked turns- exceptional single track.The upper trail is in great shape, a recent rain mitigated any dust the trail had. The lower trail was pulverized by horse traffic.
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| Posted by: jake the brit on 10/30/2007 |
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rode this last sunday 10.28.07 - no snow really. Excellent route, forgot to stop to look at the view though, bummer cos the mountain looked beautiful.
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| Posted by: Dirty Dirt-E on 9/29/2007 |
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Rode yesterday. Snow on top was pretty cool. (just a dusting) The snow line was exactly on the logging rode that you cross about half way or so. Great condition. Slick rocks and roots and wet trail were a nice change from the dry, dusty trails all summer. Rode it 3 times this summer finishing with Skookum Flats each time. As tired as I was, I couldn't justify riding down logging roads or 410. Bag this trail while you can!
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| Posted by: ptux on 8/30/2007 |
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Rode the trail yesterday... endorphins still firing. Rode up for the first time (had shuttled up about 15 years ago)... definitely hard, but not as hard as the trail climb at the top (assuming you rode to that point). Bonked a bit at that point with cramps, think I was overrationing my water... but otherwise felt good on the way up. Helps to go into it with the right expectation. Trail down was great... did something change at the top? Seem to remember a more sinister dropin. Don't like the clearcut though, was a bit overgrown and switchbacks were really loose and dusty. Was game for the Skookum, but it seems have disappeared into the river about .5-1mi in from airstrip? Next time I will have 100 ounces of water and consume more on way up... and then hit the flats, baby!
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| Posted by: The MArtay on 6/26/2007 |
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WOW! We did Sun Top as a shuttle ride today and it was fantastic. The trail is in great condition, some tree fall that needs to be ported over but, overall very good. We rode from the top down to Ranger Creek air field and then down Hwy 410 to our bottom car at FS 73. While we were at the air field some guy crashed his Cessna right in front of us, I don't know how but he was ok... the airplane, however was totaled.
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| Posted by: limojoe on 9/15/2006 |
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Very nice ridin' brutal but nice - do not blast it up, since you'll need some power for smooth uphil single track. Views are dangerous - watch for the trail too :-)
Got some pics @ http://www.limojoe.cz/fotky/2006/0608_suntop/index.en.html
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| Posted by: introvertikal on 9/26/2005 |
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I had a great time on this ride 9/25. I got a late start around 2pm. The road climb is not a whole lot of fun. Probably the worst part was finally reaching the trail and realizing I still had climbing to do! Views off the trail are incredible, and the downhill singletrack when you finally get there is amazing: smooth, fast, and fun, and it just goes on and on. One recommendation, don't bother returning on the skookum flats trail. Just take 410 back. Skookum pretty much is a huge letdown after all that beautiful, smooth high country singletrack. Roots, rocks, on and off the bike the whole way. I didn't have the patience at that point. I ended up fording the river and riding back on the highway.
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| Posted by: livtoride on 9/24/2005 |
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My new favorite ride. The climb is ball busting to say the least. Beutiful weather today not too hot not too cold. My legs will feel this one for a couple of days. The climbing on the trail is the most treacherous part of this ride due to the steep angle. We had 3 dogs so we couldn't take 410 back to the car and opted for Skookum flats trail. That trail never felt as hard as it did today. This trail requires a cooler of beer in the car waiting because you earn it.
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| Posted by: El Diablo biz on 9/5/2004 |
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Just did this trail today (9/5/04) for the 1st time, and I must say that it was quite the grueling ride. we parked our truck at the foot of skookum trail (Forest road 73), and biked up. took us a bit over 1 1/2 hours to head up ~8.6 miles or so (we biked all the way up to the Suntop observatory at the top). the fire road going up is very doable--and quite a bit less painful than the bike up to kachess ridge (holy moly, that was a mother!). Unfortunately, by the time i ended up at the top of the trail, i began to bonk a bit, and had to walk up a lot of the initial 1.5 mi. uphill part of the trail. the remainder of the trail is very fast, very fun. nice smooth singletrack stuff, very few roots, and a lot of small rocks strewn about. i wouldn't call this trail particularly technical--just fast and furious! you will hit a point with some nasty switchbacks, and i ended up at the ranger airstrip and had to, in the interests of time, ride 410 back to fs73; if you were psycho, you
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| Posted by: Males on 7/17/2004 |
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Forget the 6 mile ride up unless you enjoy pain. It'll take you 15 minutes just to drive up to the junction point and another 5 minutes to drive to the very top of Suntop. From the very top down to the junction point really isn't anything special... so if you're peddling up it you might as well skip the ride to the top. Hmmm. The view is pretty awesome from the top though. I guess if it's cloudy then skipping the ride/drive to the top wouldn't be a big deal. From the junction point heading Southeast is uphill for 1.5 miles. Once you reach this summit you'll go down, then up, then down, then up, then down somemore. It's all good though, 'specially the down. When you've reached the point where 2 ridges meet(and you cross a small creek)is where you change direction heading from southeast to now a more northeasterly direction. This is when it gets into mostly downhill. 5 minutes after this change in direction watch for the 3 foot deep dip in the trail. B
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