Venture into the pristine backcountry of The Dark Divide, a revered Roadless area boasting some of the most breathtaking forest scenery for mountain bikers riding in the PNW. Our journey begins and ends at the valley floor, promising an unforgettable experience amidst nature’s grandeur.
Starting Point: Gather at the valley floor before embarking on an epic adventure into The Dark Divide.
Shuttle Ride: Hop aboard our shuttle truck for a scenic drive to the summit near Summit Prairie, optimizing our day for maximum enjoyment.
Trail Exploration: Begin with a short hike to Summit Prairie, where the Summit Prairie Trail offers a thrilling ridgeline descent, gradually descending to the valley floor.
Lunch Break: Refuel and replenish at a picturesque spot, indulging in lunch and snacks amidst the tranquil surroundings.
Second Shuttle: After a short shuttle ride, ascend once more to explore the heart of The Dark Divide, passing by old lookout points and lush meadows.
Final Descent: Conclude the ride with an exhilarating descent down Dark Meadow Trail, characterized by its rich soil and intriguing trail features.
Celebration: Reflect on the day’s adventure as we return to our vehicles, exchanging high-fives and recounting the highlights of our journey.
Trip Details:
- Duration: 10 hours pick up to drop.
- Trail Difficulty: Intermediate to advanced.
- Recommended for: Adventurous riders seeking remote trails and stunning landscapes.
2024 TRIP DATES:
8/4
1 Day Guided Trip
$149
Per Person / Per Day
E-BIKE FRIENDLY
Distance
(per day)
Ascent: 2,500’
Decent: 6,600’
Mileage: 16.5 Miles
Difficulty
Day Trip Includes:
- Professionally guided tour of remote single track
- Shuttles
Meeting Spot
We’ll meet at the junction of the Sunrise Road and the 23 Raod. Detailed instructions are sent with your booking.
Shuttle Departure : 9:00 AM
Please arrive 15 minutes early
CELL PHONES: DO NOT WORK HERE, Have an offline MAP available for reference.
MAP: 822 :: Mount St. Helens, Mount Adams [Gifford Pinchot National Forest]
Ride Description
The Dark Divide, a highly coveted Roadless area and one of the most spectacular slices of forest you can possibly ride your mountain bike on. Our meeting location is at the valley floor and where we will eventually ride back to. To make the most of our day, we’ll hop in the shuttle truck and drive for 1 hour to the top of our first drop, near Summit Prarie. We have a sort of ride and hike scenario, but it’s nature and it’s efficient, a quick 15-20 mins and we’ll have hit our intersection with Summit Prairie and well along our way. Our first half of this ride is on the Summit Prarie Trail. This is a sweet ridgeline that stair steps down from it’s high point and then eventually drops continuously for the last 2k of our descent. We exit following a creek and eventually back to our Truck.
We’ll have the chance to fill our water and grab some lunch and snacks, we have a short 25 minute shuttle to the top of our final drop on the day and the same spot our first shuttle dropped us. We have to repeat our 20 min little climb from the truck to our trail intersection, but this time we will head the opposite direction, up into the heart of the Dark Divide. We’ll make our way past and old fire lookout and several meadows before we intersect our final descent on the day, down Dark Meadow Trail. This last piece of Trail is well named for it’s Dark Meadows, Rich with black soil and interesting trail features and some rocky tech as we near the valley floor on our descent. We’ll ford a little creek and then meander our way out as we make our way back to our vehicles and slap some fives for the fine day that it was! We always ride Saturday and Sunday, make sure to check out what we’re doing both Saturday and Sunday on the dates you’d like to ride. Booking both rides on the weekend is what we recommend, it takes a while to get into the Gifford Pinchot and camping a night or two with two of our ride days is an excellent weekend and make the drive that much more worth it.