This epic ride includes Vanson Peak, Goat, Stawberry and Tumwater Mountains, and combines fantastic trails with mind blowing views of Mt St Helens. The ride can be done several ways for normal riders
This epic ride includes Vanson Peak, Goat, Stawberry and Tumwater Mountains, and combines fantastic trails with mind blowing views of Mt St Helens. The ride can be done several ways for normal riders or as an epic if you're looking for a real suffer-fest. The Trans-Cascadia Enduro folks did a bunch of trail work in the area summer of 2018.
How to Find It
Take road 26 off of the main road up to Windy Pass. You turn right to Norway Pass trailhead then keep going to Ryan Lake . You can also turn off the main road/highway before you turn up to windy pass and take the back way which is still road 26. There is a small restroom/parking lot at Ryan Lake. If you look on Green Trails map (#332 - Spirit Lake) you can see 26 running north and south. Right at the Ryan Lake parking area there is another road running west, the trail head is about 1500 ft west of 26 on this road. You could also call the ride Tumwater Mt. or Vanson Peak but I think Goat Mt. just sounds better. You can camp at a big plateau next to the Ryan lake parking area, room for hundreds of rigs if you wanted. Then you can also ride to Norway pass and do Boundary trail #!, and keep going on that or ride Strawberry Mt (east of 26).
Advocacy & Stewardship
Mining may affect Mt. St. Helens area trails. Many of you enjoy riding in the Mt. St. Helens area. Most people just ride the standard Ape Canyon loop, and aren’t even aware of the other superlative singletrack in the area. One of the best is the Ryan Lake area. With tons of room for camping and not one, not two, but three nearby epic rides that you can pedal to from your campsite, it is a premier mountain biking destination. If that isn’t enough, two of those rides have not one but two swimming lakes. Even more, its not just your normal everyday forest and mountain riding – while not quite as spooky as the Plains of Abraham, you travel and view the varying destruction zones of the St. Helen’s area. People – Northwest riding just doesn’t get any better than this!
One of the greatest of these is the Goat Mt/Tumwater Mt epic. You can reference the ride report below to get a flavor for it. Don’t let the agony put you off, the ride is a classic lollipop and can be ridden as an in and out where you can actually swim in 3 different lakes in a day. It doesn’t have to be a gut buster.
There is a threat to this great area. The BLM has approved initial permits to consider mining in this area.
Turn by Turn
General route is up the hill, turn right at Deadman’s Lake and go to Tumwater Peak and then drop down and climb back up to Vanson Peak then back down the way you came(lollipop). But it only takes about 2 hours to get to Deadman’s lake and this is a perfectly fun ride for less hardcore riders, Or you can go to Vanson Lake and make it a 5 hour trip. The full lollipop takes 9 hours if you swim twice, eat lunch, etc.. If you do the lollipop you will drop down further on the back side then you started at on the front side, it’s a hell uva climb back out but very nice , woodsy, quiet, wet. Most people would be better off just riding to Vanson Lake or something. I don’t recommend trying to come back up the Green River trail, steady uphill on horse churned rocky trail.
Right at the top of the first climb is another small lake, don’t know if its even on the map. Always wanted to swim there but usually too tired since you have to bushwhack a bit.
