Ride The Willapa

Ride The Willapa is coming back for its eighth year, and we invite you to come join us for this family-friendly organized bike ride on the beautiful Willapa Hills Trail on June 22-23, 2024!

Explore a landscape of farms, hills, forests and more along a trail that was once the South Bend Branch of the Northern Pacific Railway. The same scenic path that steam trains once utilized to deliver lumber, mail and passengers between Chehalis and the coast beckons bike riders and more today!

This year’s Ride the Willapa event starts at the Veterans Memorial Museum in Chehalis. From here, you can ride up to 70 total miles (35 out and 35 back) on the trail for a car-free, family-friendly, scenic experience.

Experience the ride at your own pace and leisure! With aid stations and rest stops along the trail, and with several small stores and restaurants nearby, there are plenty of opportunities to relax, chat for a bit, grab a bite to eat, and just enjoy the beauty of the trail's surroundings.

 

COME CAMP WITH US!

And after a four-year hiatus, the Rainbow Falls Campout is BACK! Through a wonderful partnership with Washington State Parks, we will offer riders a spot to camp overnight before you return to Chehalis the next day.

Whether you want to spent just one day riding with us or join us for the campout and ride back on Sunday as well, we would love to welcome you and yours to Washington state's newest and most exciting rails-to-trails project.

More details about the Rainbow Falls Campout are available on our website at ridethewillapa.com in the coming days.

 

ROUTE OPTIONS

Most families with young kids opt to ride about 20 miles or so, while more experienced cyclists will opt for longer mileages and check out the more remote portions of the trail.

We'll offer four suggested routes this year: three tried-and-true trail routes that are the backbone of RTW and rideable for people of all ages; and one difficult route for strong riders that offers an absolutely tough challenge with some amazing views at the top.

- Ride to Rainbow Falls (trail-only): 31 miles total, bringing you from Chehalis to Rainbow Falls and back. A gentle ramble with very minimal elevation gain, doable by riders of all ages and abilities.

- High Bridge Hightail (trail-only): 44 miles total, bringing you from Chehalis to the scenic High Bridge over the Chehalis River just east of Pe Ell. This one is another gentle ramble with about 250 feet of elevation gain.

- Tour de Frances (trail-only): 71 miles total, comprising the entire rideable length of the trail at this time from the Veterans Museum to the small village of Frances in Pacific County. This is the most miles we have ever offered, and takes you through a variety of terrain with some gentle climbing grades that take you through the hills of the Coast Range. This route is good for experienced cyclists looking to log some serious gravel miles.

- Chris's Challenge: 90 miles total, this is the toughest route of all. And this year it's taking a northward turn. Start in Chehalis and deviate from the trail in Adna, and head over some local roads and up some hills to the L-3000 line off of Lincoln Creek. This route has some serious elevation gain that pays off at the end with some amazing views. Fair warning: this is for strong cyclists as the tough section climbs 2600 feet on gravel over 6 miles! Are you ready to tackle the new version of Chris's Challenge?

 

INTRODUCING THE FUN RIDE TO ADNA

We welcome families with children especially to join us for our first-ever Fun Ride, which will bring everyone from the Veterans Museum to Adna for a total of 5 miles on a paved trail with minimal traffic exposure. We'll all ramble along together with route monitors to help keep your kids safe along the way. Pizza and prizes await at the Adna finish! You can pick your kids up there or turn around and ride back to the museum with them! More details to come on ridethewillapa.com.

 

EVERYONE IS WELCOME AT RIDE THE WILLAPA

All cyclists of all ages and all abilities are welcome! E-bikes are welcome, with riders pedaling and utilizing assist mode. We recommend bikes with tire width of 700x32c or wider; mountain bikes and dedicated gravel or cyclocross bikes will be perfect for most routes.

Ride the Willapa is the primary fundraiser for the Lewis County Community Trails Association, a nonprofit trails group who organizes this ride and is working to advocate for trail systems in Lewis County! To date, LCCT has granted more than $120,000 in matching funds that has unlocked more than $10 million in funding to assist State Parks in building the Willapa Hills Trail – and your participation is a big part of that! 

 

RIDE THE WILLAPA 2024 IS PRESENTED BY THE LEWIS COUNTY COMMUNITY TRAILS ASSOCIATION, WITH THE GRACIOUS PARTNERSHIP OF WASHINGTON STATE PARKS.