Leavenworth Ski Hill (Freund Canyon / Rosy Boa)

Freund Canyon is your friend: In less than two hours you can leave Leavenworth on a bike, grind uphill, scream downhill on fast trails, and be back in town. If you have family in tow, they can shop for Christmas ornaments and play miniature golf while you engage in something sensible before meeting them at Andre's Keller to play the accordion.

The uphill may take you an hour, but it's a pleasant gradual spin, mostly singletrack, with occasional views and only very short steep bits. As of Spring 2015 the downhill is newly rebuilt. Still very fast, with long series of berms and some jumps interspersed. Safe for even beginner riders, if you keep your speed down; fun for advanced riders who want to push their cornering skills. 

The "standard" Freund Canyon loop connects with a few other trails: the more technical "Rosy Boa", which has great views of Leavenworth and is a diversion off Freund that rejoins it later, and the very technical "Ribbed".

(Any videos or pictures you see of the Freund downhill made before 2015 don't show what the downhill is like now.)

How to Find It

Hwy. 2 to Leavenworth 1/2 hour from Wenatchee, 2-1/2 hours from Seattle.

Directions

• North on Chumstick Road out of downtown Leavenworth.
• Left on Freund Creek road, 1.5 to 2 miles out of Leavenworth, just before railroad underpass.
• Park 1/2 mile down Freund Ck road where main arterial turns left away from the railroad tracks;
• Or: follow main arterial to the left, take immediate left fork, pass through tree farm gate and park along FS Road 7200 at the gate.
• Follow bike trail signs to start the climb
• When you emerge from the single track onto a saddle, the trail that comes down steeply from the right and continues onto a ridge on your left is the Ribbed trail; it's a technical downhill. Instead, continue straight & bearing right to what looks like a double track but quickly turns into the Freund Canyon Trail. If you follow the most obvious, most straight trail, you'll descend back to the climbing road.
• For the Rosy Boa option: After a few minutes you'll see a trail junction with a trail going right and uphill, marked with orange+black ribbons. That's the way to Rosy Boa. The start of Rosy Boa proper is an unmarked trail diving off that roadbed to the left in a spot where the road turns. If you're taking Rosy Boa, be prepared for steep and possibly sandy downhills, and a short knife-edge ridge section that's not for those who fear exposure. When Rosy Boa hits a T, turn left to go back to Freund.

Map link:

http://www.justgetout.net/ClientFiles/8ecf9e69-8f8f-419d-91d8-10c7ca9cbcbb/Freund2013.JPG

Local Points of Interest

Many great places in Leavenworth for apres: Uncle Ulis, Gustav's, Munchen Haus. Healthy "hippy-ish" food at Good Mood Food Café.

Bike shops either Das Rad Haus, EuroSports, or Der Sportsman.

Turn by Turn

Classic loop topography: up all the way out and down all the way back.

Start ride at the start of FS road 7200 (or is it 7002?) at the tree farm, or add 3 miles to loop by starting from Leavenworth. Climb dirt road to the West for 1.5 to 2 miles along the South side of the gulch/valley. At road's end, find the singletrack at the left side of the berm. The transition from dirt road to singletrack forms a switchback, and the singletrack starts climbing the gulch wall back to the East. The singletrack tops out on the ridge a mile later and switchbacks again to the West, and the climb continues. The climb is very mellow and gradual. If you're looking at the nearby ridgelines while you're climbing, don't worry, you won't go quite that high. The singletrack climb will end in a saddle where a technical descent trail crosses your path from the left; ignore it and go straight, curving to the right onto what looks like a doubletrack. The trail is now heading South and stays at level grade for 1/4 to 1/2 a mile. Follow the predominant trail as old dirt roads and spurs are evident to the left and right. Taking one of these spurs might give you a good birdseye view of Leavenworth and the Icicle Valley.

After the level grade singletrack, the trail widens to an old roadbed that has been reshaped into a series of bermed turns that never seems to end. You'll pass the turnoff for Rosy Boa (there's no sign, but you can tell by the ribbons), eventually take a nearly 180-degree bermed switchback, get another series of berms, and then the fun's over. A right turn followed by a few sharp creek crossing dips and a short, straight section take you back to the road you climbed. (Straight across the road is a short trail with jumps if you want a bit more fun.) Either way, hang a right back to your car.