Mountain Biking

Mountain bikes can be rented from Winthrop Mountain Sports (509/996-2886 or 800/719-3826, www.winthropmountainsports.com [1]).

Winthrop [2] is a summer mecca for cyclists, with an incredible range of trails and country roads spreading through the valley and into the surrounding mountains. There are routes for every level of ability. Pick up descriptions of local routes at the Forest Service visitors center, or call the Methow Valley Sport Trails Association (509/996-3287 or 800/682-5787, www.mvsta.com [3]) for information and maps to more than a hundred miles of mountain biking and hiking trails; they become cross-country ski paths in winter. A good place for bikers to access the trail system is from the Sun Mountain Lodge parking lot. Approximately seven miles of trails are wheelchair-accessible.

One good, though very challenging, ride in the national forest near Winthrop [2] is the Cedar Creek Trail, which turns off Highway 20 17 miles northwest of Winthrop. The first three miles of trail are brutally steep and rocky, but past that the next four miles farther up the narrow valley are wonderful and remote. Another popular trail, not as technical as Cedar Creek, is the Twisp River Valley Trail, which parallels the Twisp River. For more details on these and other rides around Winthrop, pick up a copy of Methow Valley Mountain Bike Routes, published by the Northwest Interpretive Association and the Forest Service.