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Trail Guide  /  Central Washington

Chelan Butte

11 miles 2700' gain Grunt 4/5 Tech 2-3 Road Grade, X-Country
Surface: 40% Singletrack 50% Fire Road 10% Paved

This is a great downhill ride minutes from downtown Chelan. You can ride it as a loop or shuttle to the top. The downhill (3.7 miles) includes some great ridgeline riding, a few brake burning sections

This is a great downhill ride minutes from downtown Chelan. You can ride it as a loop or shuttle to the top. The downhill (3.7 miles) includes some great ridgeline riding, a few brake burning sections, and fun single track. You can actually ride from the end of the dirt trail into town on a paved trail along the lake to Campbells for a Draft PBR. The ride up the dirt road is very demanding. It's smooth but very steep. However, it is easy to shuttle.

How to Find It

For the loop: Park at the PUD Trailhead for the Reach 1 trail on the Southeast side of Chelan on the Gorge Road.

Typical Conditions

Spring - Good conditons and wildflowers into late June on the top.

Summer- Hot...but you can climb up in the early morning to beat the heat. Some steep trail segments get  a bit loose but overall riding remanins good.

Fall - Once the fall rains hit the trail conditons return to good. You may be able to ride this well into November.

Turn by Turn

Ride through Chelan to Lakeside and go left on Millard Steet just after the Subway. There is also a big sign on a power pole that says Chelan Butte. Start climbing up the paved road and just keep on climbing until you reach a saddle. Go left and climb some more. At the intersection close to the top go left towards the radio towers. Just before the towers there is a single track to the left or go just past the towers and see another single track to the left. You can take either of these as they quickly merge. Its all downhill from here. Pretty obvious where to go.......but towards the bottom there are a few junctions......just keep to your right and look at the attached map.

To Shuttle: Drive to the top of the Butte and ride down. Road is narrow and steep. Watch for other vehicles.

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Chelan Butte and 200+ other Washington trail areas are built and maintained by Evergreen volunteers and staff — funded entirely by riders like you.