Lewis River Trail is a classic river trail: heavily forested, shady, rolling, and more of a workout than the map suggests. It's not as gnarly as Skookum Flats, not as developed as the lower part of th
Lewis River Trail is a classic river trail: heavily forested, shady, rolling, and more of a workout than the map suggests. It's not as gnarly as Skookum Flats, not as developed as the lower part of the Mid Fork trail. This is a fabulous trail, mostly very smooth & buff, and a common second day option after doing Ape Canyon and/or Smith Creek on day 1. It's 11 miles one-way; you can return on paved Forest Road 90 which runs parallel if you don't want to do 22 miles of trail.
How to Find It
I-5 South to exit 21 (Woodland) to SR 503. Continue past the town of Cougar. At the junction with FR-25, turn onto FR-90 (Northwoods). If you're not camping, you may want to start your ride at the lower trailhead by Curly Creek, about 4 miles up FR-90.
Most people will go about 14 miles up FR-90/Lewis River Rd (i.e. 10 miles past Curly Creek) to the Lower Falls Recreation Area (Don't go too fast, the sign is easy to miss), which is a great campground. Turn right off FR-90 and the first right is the trailhead. IF YOU HAVE LARGE RV OR LONG TRAILER check w/ FS there's one section of road that has some steep ups and downs.
To start at Curly Creek, turn left on FS 9039 (gravel road) and go 3/4 to 1 mile. On the left you will find a gravel parking lot, just before a bridge that crosses the Lewis River. Park in the gravel parking lot, ride over the bridge, and the trail starts immediately after the bridge on your right. The initial mile or so has some exposure on the right, but after that it tends to smooth out as you enter the forest and the trail lowers to river level.
A third option is to park at the official Lewis River Trailhead, by crossing the bridge mentioned above, and drive up the hill. On the left will be the sign for the Lewis River Trail, and Curly Creek Falls. If the gravel road turns to one riddled with deep potholes, you've gone too far. Following the trail to the right will take you a short distance to the Curly Creek Falls, following the trail to the left, will guide you down a steep, narrow, exposed section of singletrack along the river that will lead you back to the bridge you crossed, near the lower parking lot. It seems like most of the cars are parked at the lower parking lot (10 vehicles) vs the upper lot (0 vehicles).
Excellent map showing where to park: http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/recreation/trails/locations/msh-0031-curly-and-miller-creek-falls.shtml
Don't forget your Forest Pass.
For the full out and back experience, start riding at the Curly Creek Trailhead, which is the lowest point of the Lewis River Trail. Proceed upriver to Upper Falls, which is 2.5 miles upriver from the Lower Falls and Lower Falls campground, or to the upper road crossing, which is about 3 miles upriver from Lower Falls. Upper falls is 13.5 miles from Curly creek, for a 27 mile out and back round trip.
The trail is interesting in both directions, but don't be fooled by the elevation loss on the trip back. It's almost as hard as the trip up.
Bailout points are:
Upper Falls - continue up past Upper Falls to the road and ride the road back
Middle Falls - climb the steep switchbacks up from Middle Falls. At the top of the switchback look for another steep trail away from the river. This will take you up to the Middle Falls parking lot. From there you can take the road back.
Lower Falls - pass through the campground and to the road and take the road back.
Road crossing - approx 1 mile downriver from Lower Falls you will cross FR 90. This is the last bailout point until you get to Curly Creek. From here it's 10 miles on the trail, or about 9 miles on the road.
Typical Conditions
Mostly buff trail with its share of short but steep climbs. Some flowy & fast. Beautiful old forest. Classic river trail.
See the following Forest Service reports for current conditions:
Local Points of Interest
Northwoods general store near the SR-503/FR-25/FR-90 junction is the closest source of food, drinks, and gas. September 2009, didn't look open. Fuel up in Cougar. MSH info center has maps and info.
The campground has water pumps that produce water said to be potable but was fairly brown and metallic.
Turn by Turn
There's one road crossing where the trail picks up a few dozen yards to the side; otherwise no real directions necessary.
