Grand Ridge Trail to Duthie Hill Mountain Bike Park

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-TrailMixxx.com 

Distance: 14 miles round trip on Grand Ridge plus whatever is done at Duthie

If one thinks of mountain bike riding in the Seattle Metropolitan area, Duthie Hill is likely to be
mentioned. It is a fantastic piece of work, with trails, jumps, and skill building areas. On this ride, I went to Duthie by starting at the Grand Ridge trail, right off of I-90. Grand Ridge Park is 1,300 acres of pristine forest rising 1,100 feet in elevation above Issaquah and Lake Sammamish. The steep slope above the North Fork of Issaquah Creek is covered by stands of large second growth Douglas fir trees.

How to get there: From I-90, take the High Point exit, number 20. The parking area is just north of the interstate, right next to the on-ramp. The parking area is actually on the Issaquah-Preston trail, which is essentially a gravel road. Take this trail west for about a half mile and you will see the first signed entrance to Grand Ridge, and true singletrack. Now, start to climb! At the first intersection, stay to the right. At the second intersection do the same. The next intersection is actually a paved road. Here you will just cross and continue onwards. You are now in the heart of the Grand Ridge Park. Keep your speed down, as this is used by equestrians and hikers, and there are some blind corners. Don’t worry, when you get to Duthie there are some bike only one-way trails to rip on. About one mile past the paved road you will come to another intersection where the trail continues to the right (signed). This will drop you down into the valley, where you will cross a few wooden bridges until finally coming to the swamp at the bottom. The whole swamp is covered by an awesome wooden boardwalk. When you hit this, you have only a small climb back up the ridge to get to Duthie. At the top of the ridge you hit a paved road, look across the road about 20 feet to the left and you will see a gated dirt road leading into Duthie. Congrats! Now when you are finished riding the park, just reverse your course and head back to the parking area.

Useful links:

A Grand Ridge brochure and trail map put out by King County:
http://your.kingcounty.gov/ftp/gis/web/vmc/recreation/BCT_GrandRidge_brochure.pdf

King County’s website on Duthie:
http://www.kingcounty.gov/recreation/parks/trails/backcountry/duthiehill.aspx

King County’s website on Grand Ridge:
http://www.kingcounty.gov/recreation/parks/trails/backcountry/grandridge.aspx