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Ride Summary:
A very unpredictable yet fun trail. The single track varies from excellent rolling descents to steep, rough, technical climbs.
Trail Description:
This loop ride spends it entire 16.9 miles on trails. some of these trails are excellent, smooth, and well graded. Other trails on this loop are steep and rough. It can be safely assumed that at some point during the climb you will have to dismount and walk a substantial amount of the trail while gaining a great deal of altitude of the 3,810 feet climb. The reward for all your efforts to reach the crest of Bishop Ridge are numerous. You will pass a scenic sub-alpine lake, ride through beautiful alpine gardens, and find views of deep valleys, snow-capped mountains, and endless green hills. However, you greatest reward is a long, exciting descent back to the valley floor. This route follows ORV trails and it is also used at times by hikers and horse riders.
How to get there:
Drive Highway 12 to the center of Randle then turn south on combined Forest Road 23 and 25. At about 1 mile the road divides; stay to the left on paved Road 23 and follow it for 12.9 miles to the Bishop Ridge Trailhead.
Additional Notes:
Bring extra bandages!
| Posted by: Erik Gillette on 10/1/2004 |
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Man, this place was awesome. I should've brought some extra bandages, because going over the 7 mile marker i split my calves by missing my pedal and cut my leg up pretty good. i rode on, when i got back, i took off my spandex and saw that i needed stitches, 16 of them! this trail is awesome and want to go back next month, when my leg's all better
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| Posted by: JP on 10/24/2001 |
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This trail is pretty good, just the climbs are pretty steep. There are a ton of trails in this area (juniper ridge, dark meadows, the valley trail, yazoo trail, blue lake, boundary), get a GPNF map and look on their website for exact details. Most of the trails in the area I would recommend riding up the forest service road or you will end up hiking a good portion of the elevation because of the large number of dirt bikers chewing up the soil (I went during the week this summer for 3 days and only saw five though). Also, some of the trails weren't really designed for MT Bikes, so they are steep. A nice intimate campsite is Cat Creek, it only requires a NW forest pass. It is small however and all five sites are usually taken on summer weekends. Go explore and watch out for the ATVS!
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| Posted by: Wardo on 6/17/2001 |
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Rode this trail while coming back from a meeting in Eastern WA on 6/15/01. Pay particular heed to the comments about hiking up the climb as several sections are simply unrideable uphill. Was intending on intersecting the Blue Lake trail (#271)to descend, but ran into deep snowpack about mile 5 and had to turn around for the return trip. Views are awesome, but wait until later in the year before trying this trail. Also consider riding south to north, as I found the trail very technical (large and long rock garden sections) on the return (they were right on about pumping your tires up prior to the descent).I intend to return and try this from the other direction later this summer. Will consider making this a loop trip with the Happy Valley Trail (#270).
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| Posted by: Bernie Loeffers on 6/9/2000 |
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We ride this trail backwards, finishing with a rough technical descent to the trailhead. Once on the ridge, get lots of air in your tires. We all pinchflatted on the steep, rutted, rocky downhill. The last couple miles are fast and groomed. Yah-hoo.
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