Go ride the Mountain Loop Highway from Granite Falls
#1
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Go ride the Mountain Loop Highway from Granite Falls
You'll thank me later, but it isn't necessary.
Park in downtown Granite Falls, there's ample street parking. Take care of whatever food/water/bathroom/iced cream needs you may have, then start riding. As you leave the smallish town, you enter the woods, enjoy a big hill, pass through a small community with the only store you'll see, and then the scenery gets very natural and beautiful. The road hugs the Stillaguamish River, and there are occasional glimpses of peaks that are still snow-capped. At this point the road serves campgrounds and hiking trails. The way civilization gives way to nature makes a very pleasant ride.
You can turn back 30 miles later at Barlow Pass, or make a ~90 mile loop if you can handle (15 miles of) dirt and gravel. (If you do the loop, take Jordan Road back from Arlington.)
Here are a few pictures from yesterday. If you do this ride, I'd love to see yours too.
Here's a map:
https://www.google.com/maps/@48.0831.../data=!3m1!1e3
Park in downtown Granite Falls, there's ample street parking. Take care of whatever food/water/bathroom/iced cream needs you may have, then start riding. As you leave the smallish town, you enter the woods, enjoy a big hill, pass through a small community with the only store you'll see, and then the scenery gets very natural and beautiful. The road hugs the Stillaguamish River, and there are occasional glimpses of peaks that are still snow-capped. At this point the road serves campgrounds and hiking trails. The way civilization gives way to nature makes a very pleasant ride.
You can turn back 30 miles later at Barlow Pass, or make a ~90 mile loop if you can handle (15 miles of) dirt and gravel. (If you do the loop, take Jordan Road back from Arlington.)
Here are a few pictures from yesterday. If you do this ride, I'd love to see yours too.
Here's a map:
https://www.google.com/maps/@48.0831.../data=!3m1!1e3
Likes For Seattle Forrest:
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Great scenery, thanks for sharing. I'll add this to the cycling dream/bucket list.
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I don't know which is more beautiful, the photos or the bike in them.
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Thanks for posting this ride.
I have ridden 530 out to Darrington, and the South Skagit Hwy - but not the Mountain Loop Hwy.
I have ridden 530 out to Darrington, and the South Skagit Hwy - but not the Mountain Loop Hwy.
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Be aware the Mountain Loop Hwy is not paved from Barlow Pass until near Bedal, around 10 miles from Darrington. Some gravel but mostly hard-packed dirt. (Pic) It's about 15 miles of this.
If you want to make a loop, the obvious route looks like you should take Hwy 9 from Arlington toward Granite Falls, but don't. Take Arlington Heights Road which turns into Jordan Road. It's rolling farm land, with ponds, a view of the river, and almost no traffic.
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I should take my 'ultimate gravel grinder + downhill roadie demon'
Builds character and muscle when ridden as a single.
Builds character and muscle when ridden as a single.
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I haven't seen the dirt section yet this year, but I was passed near the end of my ride, and Strava's flyby shows that somebody did the full loop this past weekend. The title he gave the ride was something like "I wish I knew there were 15 miles of gravel, I got 4 flats." So I assume it's passable on a bike, especially if you're prepared for dirt.
#12
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The gravel section was stunning.
(If you do the loop, take Jordan Road back from Arlington.)
If you wanted to do Burn but have a splash of more Jordan-esque vibe toward the end, you could do burn until getting to the left turn onto Moen rd/Engebretsen rd and take that to the Jordan/Quarry roundabout.
Lots of options.
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I want to go to there.
Is this worth the drive from, say, an hour south of Portland?
And that photo of the gravel section looks pretty gentle, but the description of four flats makes me wonder. Would 32c Conti 4000s be sufficient? They've been fine on most gravel so far for short stretches, and 100% great on mostly-dirt gravel roads.
Is this worth the drive from, say, an hour south of Portland?
And that photo of the gravel section looks pretty gentle, but the description of four flats makes me wonder. Would 32c Conti 4000s be sufficient? They've been fine on most gravel so far for short stretches, and 100% great on mostly-dirt gravel roads.
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@Masque
It’s a long drive. Getting to the start of this ride takes about an hour’s drive north from Seattle.
This is a fantastic ride, the dirt section is mostly pretty good, I’m sure you would enjoy it on 32s. That’s answering a different question than “is it worth the drive” though. Don’t know if I can really answer that for you. There are a lot of great roads (paved and not paved) that are closer to you. I hate driving so I probably wouldn’t make the trip, or if I did I’d want to stay a few days.
It’s a long drive. Getting to the start of this ride takes about an hour’s drive north from Seattle.
This is a fantastic ride, the dirt section is mostly pretty good, I’m sure you would enjoy it on 32s. That’s answering a different question than “is it worth the drive” though. Don’t know if I can really answer that for you. There are a lot of great roads (paved and not paved) that are closer to you. I hate driving so I probably wouldn’t make the trip, or if I did I’d want to stay a few days.
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I lead a group ride on the paved section at least once/year. This year we did it from Snohomish, avoiding main roads as much as possible, and made a century of it to Barlow Pass and back. https://ridewithgps.com/routes/13085792
One of our riders this year rode to Darrington from his Everett house and met us at the pass, then rode with us back as far as Snohomish, thus doing the loop plus some. I think it was 200k+. He says the gravel rides fine on 25s. He's not your average rider, though.
This is also a very beautiful ride in fall if you can get a sunny day before a storm has blown the leaves off. Don't forget to take the side road into the lower parking lot at Big 4 and admire the view.
One of our riders this year rode to Darrington from his Everett house and met us at the pass, then rode with us back as far as Snohomish, thus doing the loop plus some. I think it was 200k+. He says the gravel rides fine on 25s. He's not your average rider, though.
This is also a very beautiful ride in fall if you can get a sunny day before a storm has blown the leaves off. Don't forget to take the side road into the lower parking lot at Big 4 and admire the view.
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Anyone ride the Whitehouse Trail in Darrington to Arlington to make it a loop back to Snohomish? Saw the Snohomish county webpage but not sure if phase 1 is completed. Even if incomplete, I'd be OK with gravel. Have an email out to their project manager but thought this would be an easier place to get replies and firsthand real answers.
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Anyone ride the Whitehouse Trail in Darrington to Arlington to make it a loop back to Snohomish? Saw the Snohomish county webpage but not sure if phase 1 is completed. Even if incomplete, I'd be OK with gravel. Have an email out to their project manager but thought this would be an easier place to get replies and firsthand real answers.
There's a 3-mile pseudo-open portion starting in Arlington where the Whitehorse Trail connects to the Centennial Trail, and ending at Trafton. The surface is railroad ballast, very thick and loose. If it hasn't been cleared in a while, it's also prone to be covered in blackberry thorns.
The rest of the trail is closed, and much of that corridor basically consists of rough ground that gets occasionally semi-cleared. It's more "unstarted" than "incomplete."
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I rode a short section of the Whitehorse Trail that paralleled 530. Not suitable for 32 mm tires. I got back on the highway at my first opportunity. Blackberries reaching across the trail didn't flat me, but were a nuisance.
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Which portion of the trail? Closer to Arlington or leaving from?
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It was near Oso, I think. I'll see if I can find the GPS data.
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Nearby in Darrington. Suiattle River Road.