The upper part of the Preston Railroad trail is built on an old logging railroad bed. The first part of the trail is rolling up and down as it follows a contour line around the East Tiger Mountain peak. The trail gets very rooty where it meets up with the old railroad bed. The ground under the old railroad bed is hard packed forcing the roots to grow along the surface. It's a bumpy and difficult section of trail with roots growing at odd angles that force your wheel to go in directions you don't want it to go. After the rooty section the downhill switchbacks begin. The trail gives you almost 1000 vertical feet of downhill on the switchbacks. In the early spring when the mountain springs are gurgling the upper switchbacks can turn into a small stream. You're literally riding in running water. Fortunately the trail dries up in the summer. The ride finishes with the Northwest Timber Trail. The Northwest Timber Trail follows a contour line but still manages to sneak in more than 100 vertical feet of climbing. This loop is one of my favorite local rides.

The Preston Railroad Trail is about 3.5 miles of mostly downhill singletrack. The trail starts with some rolling ups and downs as it follows a contour line. Then it hits the rooty section. Now the switchbacks start and the real fun begins. It's a bumpy ride down.

The Preston Railroad Trail exits onto a dirt road. Take a left on the dirt road (Crossover Road). About 0.2 miles later take a right onto East Side Road. Follow East Side Road about 2 miles. You'll come to an intersection with a new logging road heading uphill and a pile of gravel. The Northwest Timber Trail is on your right just after this intersection.

The Northwest Timber Trail is about 2 miles long. The first part of the trail is fairly smooth, but has a slight grade upwards. The trail will gain about 100 feet of elevation. After the gentle climb the trail gets a little more technical. There will be several bridge crossings.

The Northwest Timber Trail exits onto Main Tiger Road which we already climbed to get to the Preston Railroad Trail. Take a left and head downhill back to the cars. Whew.

Total ride time is usually a little less than 3 hours when I'm riding by myself. With a larger group the ride will take longer. I would estimate about 3.5 to 4 hours for a group ride. I'm usually exhausted at the end of the ride and sometimes end up walking the last bit of the Northwest Timber Trail because I have no energy left to ride.

Pack some basic tools with you. It is a long walk back to the car if you have a mechanical.

There are two parking lots at the trailhead. The lower lot is right by Highway 18. The upper lot is straight through the lower lot, take a left through the open gate, and follow the dirt road about 0.25 miles. The upper lot will be on your right.

There is a pit toilet at the upper parking lot.

These are all multiple use trails. The trails here are open for hikers, horses, and mountain bikes. Yield the trail for hikers. Dismount the unicycle for horses and stand by the side of the trail. Do not do anything that could spook a horse as it passes you. These trails are very well used and it is very likely that you will pass other people on the trail.

The dirt roads are exposed and will get lots of sun. Sunscreen is a good idea.

The trails are on the east side of the mountain and get dark about an hour before sunset. If you are going to be doing a late evening ride here plan on the trails getting dark earlier than you expect. The trails are under heavy tree cover so they don't get much light to begin with. When the sun starts to go down the light fades quickly.

When parking at the trailheads do not leave valuables in the car.

The overview jpg maps don't have a high enough resolution for good printing. The purpose of the overview map is to give you an idea of the area. I'll have high resolution printed maps to hand out at the convention.