Find the top rated bike trails in Wenatchee, whether you're looking for an easy short bike trail or a long bike trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a bike trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
The Coal Mines Trail is built on an old railroad spur of the Northern Pacific Railway that once served several mines. Look for interpretive signs along the way that identify historical sites. The...
The Apple Capital Recreation Loop Trail circles the Columbia River at Wenatchee with 22 miles of excellent asphalt trail and lots to see and do. The trail begins north of Wenatchee in Lincoln Rock...
The Great American Rail-Trail highlights some of the country’s most iconic landmarks, well-known geography and storied history across a 3,700-miles-plus route between Washington and Washington....
The Great American Rail-Trail highlights some of the country’s most iconic landmarks, well-known geography and storied history across a 3,700-miles-plus route between Washington and Washington....
The Coal Mines Trail is built on an old railroad spur of the Northern Pacific Railway that once served several mines. Look for interpretive signs along the way that identify historical sites. The...
The Apple Capital Recreation Loop Trail circles the Columbia River at Wenatchee with 22 miles of excellent asphalt trail and lots to see and do. The trail begins north of Wenatchee in Lincoln Rock...
The Great American Rail-Trail highlights some of the country’s most iconic landmarks, well-known geography and storied history across a 3,700-miles-plus route between Washington and Washington....
The Coal Mines Trail is built on an old railroad spur of the Northern Pacific Railway that once served several mines. Look for interpretive signs along the way that identify historical sites. The...
The Apple Capital Recreation Loop Trail circles the Columbia River at Wenatchee with 22 miles of excellent asphalt trail and lots to see and do. The trail begins north of Wenatchee in Lincoln Rock...
Road this from Ellensburg west for 26 miles with 38mm tires. nice smooth trail going through history. met some gravel riders riding from North Bend to Cle Elum 50 miles and back for a gravel century in a day.
Rode this trail in August and it is a wonderful trail. Well maintained, scenic and relatively flat. For someone just getting into biking after a two year lay off, it was perfect.
Rode the John Wayne trail from Beverly to east of Smyrna April 25, 2019 about 15.5 miles. Trail is in good condition. The ride was a tad over 5 hours. Started about noon and reached our destination a little after 5 PM. Saw two rattlesnakes and heard several others. One place sounded like it could have been a den of them. The horses shied and side stepped a bit but no rodeo. Lots of water birds. And we saw asparagus growing along the tracks in several places. Plan to continue on east as the weather permits.
I’ve lived in Wenatchee for four years now and have really enjoyed the Apple Loop trail, even more so after the two additional legs have been added. One leg takes you 5 miles (one way) south to Hydro Park while the other leg goes north ~6 miles (again, one way) to Rocky Reach Dam. The Loop itself is 10 miles so it’s wonderful to be able to crank out 20+ miles on the bike after work right from the office! The county PUD does a great job keeping it clear of snow in the winter as well.
I loved my hike, spent 3 weeks going from Seattle to Ellensburg.
Went for a run on this 10-mile loop on a beautiful fall day with my two labs. They love the swim stops. I love the gorgeous views. The trail goes through the Wenatchee Riverfront Park where there is a public market, lots of art work along the trail, and beautiful, gardens. Bathrooms, water fountains, and trash cans can be found periodically along the route.
I returned last night from my two-day bike packing trip over the John Wayne Pioneer Trail (The part we rode is also known as Iron Horse State Park) in Washington State. Our ride went from North Bend at the Cedar Falls Trailhead to the Thorp Trailhead. We stopped at Lake Easton State Park to camp. My 31 year old son rode with me and my wife dropped us off at the first trailhead and picked us up at our final trailhead. She also served as support, meeting us at the campground when our first day was done.
First day was a 40 mile ride approx. My GPS app did not function properly either day because of the four tunnels we passed through. The second day, after we cleared the tunnel MapMyRide told me I had just gone 1650 miles per hour!
The first 22 miles of the ride was a constant but not terrible climb. We stopped to walk a few times because my son, who is an experienced and well conditioned hiker, but not a cyclist, just got wore out from the constant uphill. I think I could have made the climb if I had been with a rider who could also make it and who would have encouraged me to keep on. I am certain I would not have made it without walking if I had been alone.
Once clearing the tunnel at the summit we camp quickly to Hyak rest stop. This is the only place on the trail where there is fresh water. non potable water is available almost constantly along the trail if you have a water filter with you. Upgraded pit toilets are situated frequently along the trail.
The trail between Hyak (the summit) and Lake Easton State Park feels mostly flat but was challenging - especially for my son) after making the climb. We arrived at Lake Easton State park 8 hrs and 30 minutes after beginning our day. The signs on the trail for the State park will lead you four miles off the trail onto the opposite end of the park from Bicycle camping sites (I think there are only two designated for bicycle camping) but it is mostly downhill. Sort of nice after the long day. The bicycle camping sites are not on the lake. We wished they had been. I chose to stay at Lake Easton State Park because I have experience camping at state parks. There are, however, back country camping sites all along the John Wayne Pioneer Trail. Almost every site has a pit toilet and non potable water in the form of a pond or stream nearby. My wife met us at the park with ice cold drinks and lots of water. We determined that we would have her return the next morning at carry our camping gear with her. It would have been a good idea to have had her deliver them to us at the campsite. That way we would not have had to pack them up the mountain! On the other hand, we would not have had them had we chosen to stay in one of the back country sites. At the very least she could have given them to us at Hyak and saved us packing them during the steps part of the trip. Live and learn.
Tent camping is hard on this old body. It was so hot I could not sleep well and began having leg cramps. I had to get up at 1:30 AM and do about an hour of stretching to get them to settle down!
Second day we rode out of the State Park, at 7:30 AM, to the small town of Easton, just one mile from the bicycle camping area. We got a coffee at the Hitching Post - a small convenience store, service station, restaurant, motel. The trail runs alongside Easton and we were on our way. Thirteen miles to Cle Elum, it was hot. My wife met us there and refilled our water. Just eighteen miles left to Thorp.
The ride from Cle Elum to Thorp is beautiful as it follows along the Yakima River. We watched a guided fly fishing group float alongside us from a few moments. It was cooler than I expected and with many more trees than I imagined.
Thorp TrailHead was a bit confusing to find for my wife tp pick us up. But it is only a mile or so from the Fruit stand/Antique Store at the Thorp exit.
Great scenery. Encountered snow east of Hyak. Knobby tires recommended
We started in Cedar Falls and made it to Lake Easton State Park the first day, where we camped. Our bicycles were fully loaded, and by the time we got to the Snoqualmie Tunnel we were very tired of the uphill grind. The grade is never difficult, and you barely notice it, but after 20 miles your body is feeling it. There was a shortish patch between the tunnel and Lake Easton where the gravel was loose, which made the biking a bit difficult, but all in all it was pretty great. It was a 40-mile day, and there were lots of wilderness camping spots along the way. If we had known how long it would take us to do those 40 miles (about 8-9 hours), we might have chosen to camp at one of the wilderness spots.
At Lake Easton, we took one of the hiker-biker sites for $12.00. There are
two: #36 and #37. We were assigned #36, which is quite small. The other site (#37) is roomier.
The next day we biked 15 miles to Cle Elum, where we ended our ride. The first five miles out of the campground at Lake Easton were excruciating. It appeared that new gravel had been dumped on the trail for those five miles, and it was slow going and a bit scary for one of our friends who was clipped in. But once we got past that point, it was back to being a very pleasant ride.
My recommendation: Switch to flat pedals for this ride. You don't need to be clipped in!
First visit in 2010, the 100th anniversary of the disaster. Read the book, White Cascade, for the compelling human stories within the story of the railroad.
I keep going back, even when recovering from chemo, even weeks before heart surgery. I enjoy introducing friends to this beautiful Washington hike and the story. The somber, hush-compelling snowshed sets us up for the overlook. Continue on the overlook at Scenic for a picnic lunch (cleanup your trash!). Return to Wellington and savor the experience. Stop at the Windy Point Interpretive spot (Look for the red Great Northern Caboose.) A good day trip from Seattle if you leave by 8:30 a.m.
We rode the whole trail from the Idaho border to Cedar Falls in 2016. It is not true that "145 miles" of the trail are closed. There are some detours due to missing trestles, a section of live rail, and short sections of private land. There are no plans to close the trail through the Yakima Training Center. The JWPT is a great way to explore Washington's geography and history through areas not seen from a car. We passed through without any disruption or trespass, and with barely any notice, although we did meet some very friendly people along the trail. We only left behind money we spent in small towns along the way, including those on the detours. For more accurate information go to www.johnwaynepioneertrail.org.
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