Swan Creek Park is a 373 acre site located just a few miles southeast of downtown Tacoma. 276 acres are owned by Metro Parks Tacoma (MPT) and 97 acres are owned by Pierce County. Evergreen volunteers
Swan Creek Park is a 373 acre site located just a few miles southeast of downtown Tacoma. 276 acres are owned by Metro Parks Tacoma (MPT) and 97 acres are owned by Pierce County. Evergreen volunteers recently completed construction of ~6 miles of trail and skill building options in the ~50 acre “Douglas Fir Forest” zone of the park.
How to Find It
Trailhead / South Side Entrance.
The primary trailhead is located off of E 56th St on the south side of the bike trail system. Address is 2045 E 56th St, Tacoma, WA 98404. Any online map will get you there. From I-5, head south on Portland Ave for ~2 miles. Take a left on E 56th St and head east for a couple blocks. Trailhead is on your left. *DON'T LEAVE ANYTHING VALUABLE IN YOUR CAR*.
Maintenance / North Side Entrance.
We'll use this entrance for large work parties where we meet volunteers at the gate and drive everyone into the clearing. Address is 4480 East T St, Tacoma, WA 98404 -- right next to Lister Elementary school. Any online map will get you there. From I-5, head south on Portland Ave for a little less than 2 miles. Take a left on E 44th St and head east for 1/3 of a mile. Take a right on East T St and we'll be waiting for you at the gate. There is also plenty of parking along T Street if you want to walk in from the north side of the bike trail system, but it's trickier to find the bike trails from there. *DON'T LEAVE ANYTHING VALUABLE IN YOUR CAR*.
Typical Conditions
All Phase 1 and Phase 2 trails are complete and designed to be ridden year round... rain or shine. They will be generally dry and rideable year round.
Exceptions... There are a few very short clay sections on Hustle & Flow that will get slimy after heavy rain or long freeze-thaw cycles. Braking Bad runs through the flat Hazel stand in the center of the park, so may get a little muddy in winter. The trails will get powdery and chundery after our long dry summers, but as soon as the Fall rains hit, volunteers will be back out there whipping them into shape for the next 9 wet months.
Frigid Air and TNT do not run all the way down into the clearing. We are looking for volunteer builders who can take on completion of these trails and build a few more jumps. any takers? Contact Mike Westra (mwestra at evergreenmtb dot org) or Silas Smith.
Advocacy & Stewardship
Phase 1 and Phase 2 Trails are now open! New mountain bike specific trails constructed in cooperation with Evergreen. http://www.metroparkstacoma.org/swan-creek-park/
Maintenance work parties will be posted on our calendar. Sign up here on the Evergreen Calendar.
Swan Creek Park is under a relatively new Park Management Plan, so is in transition. There is still illegal activity happening in the park: garbage dumping, campfires, gate locks are cut, new entrances are being bulldozed, quads and motos are tearing through the woods at high speed. Metro Parks is blocking illegal entrances, repairing fences/gates/locks, installing signs, etc. The real long term solution is to bring in regular positive users like Mt Bikers into the park! In the short term, if you see any illegal activity, report it to the Tacoma Police Dept's Non-Emergency Number: (253)798-4721. In the event of an emergency, or if you're in doubt as to whether or not it's an emergency, call 911.
Turn by Turn
All Phase 1 and 2 trails are open.
