Teanaway Community Forest in Cle Elum, Washington has something like 280 trails, though some of those are forest roads. The 50,241-acre landscape lies at the headwaters of the Yakima Basin watershed. Washington state purchased the land in 2013 with funding provided by the Legislature and established Washington’s first state-owned community forest. The forest contains nearly 400 miles of free-flowing streams and prime habitat for fish and wildlife. It has a history of grazing and timber harvests and offers unique recreation opportunities. It’s a big area with lots of room for activities. On our first day riding here we only saw 2 other riders, though, as always, I imagine the weekends get busier. It also helps that there are different areas to access the trails so folks can spread out.
Large sandstone and basalt formations dot the forest and trails pass right by them so you can get up close and personal. Our first ride started from the Teanaway Canmpground and went up and over the ridge via a series of trails. Some are foresty and some are dry depending on which way they face. We dropped down Grotto Trail towards Cle Elem and then climbed back up on Ewok Trail. The riding isn’t super technical unless you are on one of the black diamond trials. We ended on Paul’s Trail and BST. This is good old fashioned cross country riding.
The Trailforks app is necessary because there are only a couple signs out here that we saw.
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