Little Mountain is a beautiful 522-acre park with meandering multi-use trails for hiking, mountain biking and trail running. These trails lead from the park entrance to the park's summit, and are bein
Little Mountain is a beautiful 522-acre park with meandering multi-use trails for hiking, mountain biking and trail running. These trails lead from the park entrance to the park's summit, and are being built by the Mount Vernon Trail Builders. This volunteer organization started their work on Little Mountain in May of 2009. Tools, building materials, equipment and the money to support our volunteers come from two sources: Mount Vernon Parks & Recreation and donations.
How to Find It
Driving Instructions to Little Mountain main entrance from I-5:
- Take Exit 225 / Anderson Road
- Turn East onto Anderson Road (becomes S. Laventure Rd)
- Proceed 1.0 Mile to Blackburn Road
- Turn Right onto Blackburn Road
- Proceed 0.3 Miles to Little Mountain Road
- Turn Right onto Little Mountain Road
- Proceed 0.4 Miles - Little Mountain Park entrance on the Right
There are now multiple trailhead accesses / parking areas - see LittleMountainPark.org for driving directions
Typical Conditions
The trails on Little Mountain hold up extremely well in the winter with very little puddling or mud. In summer the trails are hard and fast, with limited dust.
Advocacy & Stewardship
Little Mountain is a Mount Vernon City park. The Mount Vernon Trail Builders work with the Parks Department and the City of Mount Vernon, to create and maintain sustainable multi-use trails on Little Mountain. For more info please visit the Little Mountain Park website.
Follow us on our blog, on Facebook and on Twitter
Work Parties
We host trail work parties the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of every month. Our trail building party dates can be found on the Little Mountain Park Facebook page.
Your Support
You can make a tax deductible donation to support our work. The Mount Vernon Parks Foundation serves as our fiscal agent, donations can be made through our website. If you have questions you may contact Mount Vernon Parks & Recreation, their number is (360) 336-6213.
All donations will directly support our volunteers and the building of sweet singletrack.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/outdoors/2012964866_nwwwalkabout23.html
http://www.goskagit.com/home/article/recreation_new_trail_designed_for_bikers_and_hikers
Turn by Turn
Download latest Little Mountain Park trail map / directory PDF here!
The upper trail, Sidewinder, can be found just off the path near the north lookout structure. The trail winds down with switchbacks and grade reversals. It is flowing and fun, with a great log ride! This trail, like all on Little Mountain, can be ridden in either direction. It exits onto a service road that leads out to the paved road where you entered the park.
After proceeding several hundred yards on the service road you'll see two trails below the road on the left. One is "Up Only" a hiking only trail, it's very steep and leads down to the park entrance. The other is a "multi-use" trail called Huff-N-Puff, it's between the "hiking only" trail and the service road. It's a flowing trail that's almost half a mile long. It leads to the paved access road, and the road crossing you noticed if you parked at the top. On the opposite side of the road is Surfer's Way, that leads to La-Z-Boy and the Hickox Rd. trailhead (the South side).
Important note: If you've crossed the road (headed down the mountain) on "Surfer's Way" watch on your left, you'll see La-Z-Boy -- it leads down to the park entrance (over a mile in length). If you opt for the Surfer's Way loop be aware, a wrong turn midway can lead you down to the base of Little Mountain on the South side -- the Hickox Rd. trailhead (near Cedardale Rd). This is a steep switchback trail called Down South, if you start giving up "lots of elevation" you'll know you're headed that direction. Test your skills on the challenging log ride near the bottom!
At this time Down South is a DEAD END. The only way back to the main trail system is back up. As noted earlier, our plan is to link this South side with the Park entrance, building a perimeter trail along the East park boundary. But if you're looking to test your abilities, this may be your trail -- it's a climb going back up!
Parking Tip - The main road through the park to the summit has limited parking until you reach the summit. If you would like to begin your ride at the bottom, drive east past the Park's main park entrance rabout half-a-mile nd park on Little Mt. Road at the East Trailhead (aka Nature Trail). The trail head is just past the wetland area and has a flat shoulder that makes unloading easier.
Again, please give us a hand -- we have lots of work to do!
