Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance announces completion of Ski Hill trails

Leavenworth—After more than 20 years of local effort to develop the trails on the hills surrounding the Leavenworth Ski Hill the end is in sight. On July 15, 2021, USFS officials, Evergreen Staff, local Evergreen Chapter leadership and local supporters celebrated the approval of the final section of trail with a small gathering at the historic Ski Hill Lodge.

The final section of trail will connect with the recently completed N.U.T. (New Uphill Trail) trail which created a more direct and relatively easy climb to the ridge above the historic Ski Hill Lodge. Riders who use this trail find it a much more enjoyable climb than the alternative of Ranger Road, a steep and very rough forest service road. The final trail section will connect the top of the N.U.T. with the top of the very popular Rosy Boa trail and offer another 1-2 miles of distance over approximately 300 feet of elevation.

 Evergreen Trail builder James Munly has built or rebuilt most of the trails in the Ski Hill system, and he is excited to get to work on this last piece. “Connecting the N.U.T. with the top of Rosy Boa will add a whole new level of connectivity and variety for the system. Every time we can add a section of trail it creates options for a ride. And in a system like ours when there is a limited number of opportunities to create trails, the more options we have the better!”

This approval will also serve as one of the final actions for USFS District Ranger Jeff Rivera. Rivera, who has been with the district for the past 11 years, has accepted a new position with the Sitgreaves National Forest, Alpine Ranger District in Arizona, and will be leaving the Leavenworth district at the end of the month. Rivera sees this work as a legacy piece for him. “We’ve been working for a long time to make this happen, I’m happy to see this being completed,” Rivera said.

Evergreen Executive Director, Yvonne Kraus could not be prouder of the work completed. “The Central Chapter is our oldest chapter, and they have been working on this project for a long time. It’s taken a lot of work, and patience, but we can see the end. And we are Stoked!” she said.

Kraus joined Rivera, Munly, US Forest service staff, TREAD staff, and several supporters for tour of other projects in the valley earlier in the day. Evergreen continues to work on the #2 Canyon project in Wenatchee, which when complete will add another 35 miles of single-track trails for riders of all ages and abilities.

About Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance

Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance is Washington State’s largest mountain bike organization, with more than 9,000 members across the state. Evergreen is dedicated to trail maintenance and building, advocacy, and education. Created in 1989 as a nonprofit, grassroots solution to local trail networks close to riders, Evergreen has since grown to become a valued partner with public land managers, contributing more than 30,000 hours of volunteer labor annually to build and maintain trails.  The organization is internationally known for creating both Colonnade and Duthie Hill mountain bike parks. To learn more about Evergreen visit http://www.evergreenmtb.org.