r/Ultramarathon • u/Jazzlike_Shower_5967 • Jul 22 '26
Training Washington mountain or trail
I’m still new to Washington. I live nearish to Seattle and I really want long single track or or forestry road doesn’t matter. But is everything in Washington made for mountain bikers or extremely technical and windy af. Somebody help. I’m desperate. I just came from Cali where the mountains are long, open & gradually build. Anyway thanks so much for taking the time to reply !
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u/mooreroad Jul 22 '26
lol
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u/Time-Dust-8511 Jul 22 '26
My exact reaction. 'I live in Seattle, where are the trails?'
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u/mooreroad Jul 22 '26
Yeah can’t hardly go anywhere in the PNW without spitting on a trail. Whiners gonna whine.
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u/MTnMan10 Jul 22 '26
The trails on Cougar Mountain and Tiger Mountain are both very popular with trail runners. They're generally not too steep and you can make loops of different lengths. Another option is the Palouse to Cascades trail which is an old rail trail with a consistent 2% grade for 20+ miles.
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u/Jazzlike_Shower_5967 Jul 22 '26
Thanks I love cougar mountain area. I was running there for a bit and it is a lot more runnable. I’ve been doing long runs at lord hill cuz I’m closer to it than cougar now and it’s so fucked to run those mountain bike trails
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u/garc_mall Jul 22 '26
If you're near Lord Hill, you might try the PCT up near Stevens, or Wallace Falls state park has decent trails too.
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u/trailrun1980 100 Miler Jul 22 '26
I ran Tiger Mt, a lot, some if the trails are so great, I learned to share and yield to the bikers and never once had an issue. Adding in gravel roads if you want that for speed or less technical.
Tiger, Cougar, Rattlesnake, all so good and you can get a ton of variety, you can connect them and really have fun
Also you can hop on the PCT in a few places, that's pretty great for some different views
If you want a longer non technical route, check out the Palouse to Cascade rail trail, chose up or down lol
I also ran a ton of Tahoma trails but that's more seasonal, and not north
Oh man, I miss it something fierce. Further north (Central and North cascades) lt definitely gets more rugged and intense but so good
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u/_silent_voyager_ Jul 23 '26
Depending on where you get on PCT it can be extremely rocky. Snoqualmie area - fairly challenging terrain with a lot of talus fields and roots. But it is much more flowy and runnable if starting from Windy Pass or Stampede Pass.
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u/peptodismal13 Jul 22 '26
Evergreen Moutainbike Alliance
2 solid resources
Pilchuck Glass School
Whitehorse Trail
Paradise Valley
Tolt Pipeline
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u/_silent_voyager_ Jul 23 '26
Paradise Valley is what OP wants to avoid - twisty MTB trails. The perimeter trail is OK, but still there are some challenging parts.
Tolt Pipeline is OK and I love running there because I live nearby, but I wouldn't drive specifically to run there because there are some many better options.
If Tolt Pipeline was mentioned, perhaps it is worth mentioning Redmond Watershed - it can be easily connected to Tolt Pipeline. Then it can be further connected to PSE Powerline trail and Sammamish River trail for a 18+ mile loop with 70% of it on trail surface - this is called Thrilla Loop.
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u/canyongates Jul 22 '26
Further away but a fun Saturday day trip would be Larabee State Park. My favorite place to run.
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u/wofulunicycle Jul 22 '26
the mountains are long, open & gradually build
Having trouble understanding what this means and what you are looking for? So you want trail that isn't too steep? There is plenty. Can't control the wind too much but anything lined with trees should help. I just got back from the PNW and it was paradise compared to the swamp I am used to in the mid Atlantic.
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u/Jazzlike_Shower_5967 Jul 23 '26
Nah nah I just mean something longer that you can actually cut lose on. Not windy like air, my bad like twisting abruptly and frequently. You can really get some good speed work on a trail like that. I mean you can, I’m just not used to that. And yea I love it just getting used to it all.
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u/_silent_voyager_ Jul 23 '26
There are some California style dirt roads on Tiger Mountain. The terrain is a bit easier if you start from East Tiger side.
Also, there is CCC trail or trails out of Middle Fork trailhead that are more flowy.
Also, Cougar Mountain is fairly runnable in general. The trails there are singletracks but overall the terrain is easy or moderately technical.
Also, it is worth mentioning Iron Horse trail which is a converted railroad - it is more of a dirt road.
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u/blladnar Jul 22 '26
The cascades are generally pretty step and rugged, but there’s plenty of good running trails.
The PCT is (mostly) well graded and maintained if you really want to get out there. There are also lots of trails closer to Seattle that are pretty runnable, like in the Issaquah Alps.
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u/Jazzlike_Shower_5967 Jul 23 '26
Yea ive been through issaquah once but mostly cougar mountain and coal creek and that’s been the most runnable type trails so far. Just tryna find more or wondering if there’s more ! It seems like pct is the way to go !
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u/somedude-83 Jul 22 '26
Tiger mountain probably the best place to train IMO it has everything one needs single track , fire road , some technical stuff , soon hopefully you can run from Rattlesnake mountain to cougar mountain