Palisades Tr1198
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Overall: 8
Aerobic: 8
Technical: 7
Steepness: 8
Flow: 7
Singletrack: 80%
The Greenwater Washington Palisades Trail is a real excursion, a near-epic ride which includes a grinding hill climb, vertical cliff exposure, and terrain so rugged that even the descent includes 3000' of climbing.
Type
Loop
Length
Avg: 22mi
Ascent
Mt Goat
Elevation Change
TH:2300'
Avg Ascent:14000'
Ascent Incline
12%
Duration
Avg: 8hr
Weather
Forecast
NOAA
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USFS
White River Trails
About 1.5hrs from downtown Seattle, the White River area trails are extremely popular...and happen to also cover some great terrain.
Skookum Flats Tr1194 can be ridden nearly all year, although the glacial water flow of the White River demands some thermal protection most of the year. The higher elevation trails become available when the snow melts (April-July).
The other major rides in the area are Crystal Mt Tr1163, Noble Knob Tr1184, Palisades Tr1198, Ranger Cr Tr1197 and Suntop Tr1183.
This very popular trail can be combined with White River Tr1199 and Noble Knob Tr1184 into a CCW Loop.
The 14,000' ascent which is listed for the CCW loop includes 4350' of very moderate ascent on the White River Tr1199 and 3300' of FR7174 ascent.
That still leaves a lot of rugged terrain to cover, but is not as daunting as it might seem.
Cliff exposure often describes the risk of a steep sliding crash for unwary riders.
The odds of walking away from a 2000' Palisades Tr1198 cliff exposure mishap are probably not so good, so maybe this is not a good trail for easily distracted riders.
Aside from the CCW loop, there are two shuttle opportunities, from FR7250 and FR7174.
FR7250.210 ends at Dalles Rdg Tr1173, providing easy access to Palisades Tr1198, Ranger Cr Tr1197 and Noble Knob Tr1184.
If the gate at the bottom of FR7174 is open, then 5.3mi/4400' of serious climbing can be avoided by shuttling up FR7174, parking at the Corral Pass campground.
Upper FR7250 TH Access: SR410E 20.3mi from Enumclaw to FR70 (Greenwater Rd). Go left onto FR70, then go 5.6mi to FR7200 (Twenty-Eight Mile Rd). Go right onto FR7200, then go 8.3mi to FR7250 (Alt: go 4mi further on SR410 to FR72 and go 7mi to FR7250). Go right onto FR7250, then go 2.1mi to FR210, then .5mi to TH.
Palisades, Ranger Cr. CW Loop: Strong climbers can ascend Palisades Tr1198, although the first .5mi is still hike-a-bike.
Strong climbers may also want to consider combining Palisades Tr1198 and Ranger Cr Tr1197 into an epic 13mi, 4900' CW Loop, or even extending the loop to Deep Cr Tr1196.
Directions: SR410E 28mi from Enumclaw to the White River TH parking area. View Larger Map. No Map?.
Loop Directions
serious cliff exposure
- TH: From the SR410 TH, go left onto Palisades Tr1198 and ride .1mi to White River Cutoff Tr1199.01, which leads to White Rvr Tr1199.
- 1.2mi: Go past the Buck Cr Tr1169/Snoquera Falls Tr1167 intersection. The trail turns to doubletrack near Camp Shepard, with a detour trail (look for the 'Trail' sign), which wanders above Camp Shepard. Pass the Moss Lake Nature Trail. White Rvr Tr1199 approaches SR410 at 2.6mi. Go past the Ranger Cr Tr1197 intersection at 2.9mi and the Deep Cr Tr1196 intersection at 4.4mi, then proceed to FR7174.
- 4.9mi: Go left on FR7174 and grind on up to Corral Pass.
- 10.2mi: Was that mountain biking? Not really, but go left at the T intersection, then right onto Noble Knob Tr1184 and let the gravel road be a distant memory.
- 11.3mi: Go right at the T and ride on to Mutton Mountain, then pass the Deep Cr Tr1196 intersection at 12.4mi.
- 13.6mi: Go left at the intersection with Dalles Ridge Tr1173, or continue .5mi to the Noble Knob summit. This is the highest elevation of the ride (5950') and Noble Knob Tr1184 defines the edge of the Norse Peak wilderness so do not take any trails to the right. Dalles Ridge Tr1173 covers rough, uneven ridgeline terrain.
- 14.8mi: Go left onto Ranger Cr Tr1197 and navigate steep switchbacks to the intersection with Palisades Tr1198, just past the log shelter. Go around the log shelter and then go right at the fork.
- 16.7mi: Ride along a ridge to Little Ranger Peak, then begin the Palisades traverse, winding along near the cliff face. The first of several great views is at 17.1mi and the terrain is rough enough that sightseeing should be done with feet on the ground.
- 18.7mi: Cross the wooden bridge above Snoquera Falls, then go across a clearcut and re-enter the forest.
- 19.5mi: Last great viewpoint, followed by increasingly intense switchbacks which culminate in the 'chute' at 21.3mi. Hike a bike down the stairs and .5mi of rocky switchbacks, then go to the TH.
Trail Index
This Ride
Dalles Ridge Trail 1173, Noble Knob Trail 1184, Palisades Trail 1198, White River Trail 1199
Area
Bone Lake Trail 1172.1, Buck Creek Trail 1169, Christoff Trail 1171, Crystal Mountain Trail 1163, Deep Creek Trail 1196, Divide Trail 1172, Doe Falls Trail 1174, Grass Mountain Trail 1170, Hen Skin Lake Trail 1193, Ranger Creek Trail 1197, Silver Creek Trail 1192, Skookum Flats Trail 1194, Suntop Trail 1183
Hiking
Doe Falls Trail 1174, Snoquera Falls Trail 1167
Campgrounds
The Dalles Campground, Silver Springs Campground, Corral Pass Campground, White River Campground
Trail Rankings
Ranking consistently applied to all of the listed trails.
- Overall Rating: Ride quality and challenge
- Aerobic: Ascent challenge
- Technical Difficulty: Terrain challenge
- Steepness: Average incline
- Flow: Uninterrupted riding
- Elevation Change: Total elevation gain
- Ride Difficulty: Terrain challenge
