4 Epic, Seriously Intense Must Experience Bike Rides in WA

Warning: These bike rides are NOT for beginners. While I'm not a beginner in cycling, I'm not a pro. I know that I love spinning, which is NOT the same as trail riding.

Get our free mobile app

I got excited when I came upon the Washington Endurance Series Blog. (Sure, it's from 2016, but the trails remain.) It's a series of self-supported mountain bike rides that go into extremely remote and rugged areas. You should be an experienced backcountry rider. Below is just one in the series.

The Whiskey Dick Warm Up

Of course, the name comes from the area of the trail near Vantage. This ride is anywhere from 3-7 hours.

The start/finish is at the trailhead on Recreation Drive, North of Vantage. You'll need a Discover Pass for parking. The entire route, except for a couple of short portions along the Whiskey Dick, is on pretty tough double-track dirt roads.

The Sacagawea Heritage Trail

You don't need to be a pro-rider for this one. This is a very scenic trail along the Columbia River through the Tri-Cities of Richland, Kennewick, and Pasco. It's a 23-mile blacktop loop trail on both sides of the river.

The Lower Yakima Valley Pathway

This trail offers cyclists the opportunity to stop and experience great wines, and interesting shops as you cycle your way along the 14-mile paved route. This trail does have some hills and road crossings.

The Columbia Plateau Trail

As of late 2011 the Columbia Plateau Trail State Park has developed 38 miles in two segments between Fish Lake near Cheney and Martin Road near Sprague, and between Ice Harbor Dam near the Tri-Cities and Snake River Junction. It passes through the scenic uplands of eastern Washington and along the Snake River. The middle 92 miles are undeveloped and difficult going.

You can get more information on all bike trails in Washington here.