Little Larch Mountain Trail 4-5-14. Capitol Forest, WA
6,895
Published 2014-04-05
thanks to all of those who have contributed to making LLMT as awesome as it is. took a ride after our work party this day while running slick tires during slippery wet weather, this is raw helmet cam footage, next time edit will be much faster and better, but this is useful for viewing and taking inventory of what berms need to be buffed and what drainage issues need to be addressed for our next work party. also was a cool way to inventory all of the stumps that we removed that were right next to the trail (per-dnr request; wherever you see fresh saw chips on the trail, it was a stump that we had cut out that day).
we give our thanks and praise to the PNW Woods...
Little Larch Mountain Trail (LLMT) is located in the Capitol State Forest, southwest of Olympia, WA in the Black Hills. It is the only trail in the entire DNR trail system that is exclusively for Mountain Biking and Hiking only (i.e. NO Horses or Motos are allowed on this trail).
Monthly Work Parties are held the first Saturday of each month at 9:00am by our mountain bike advocacy group "Friends of Capitol Forest" (FOCF). We meet at the corner of Waddell Creek Rd and Sherman Valley Rd (also known as "The Y") which is included in the directions listed below. We work on trails all over the forest, but usually have a small group on work party days that branch off and head to LLMT to make sure we keep our adopted trail in check.
Directions to Little Larch Mountain Trail (LLMT) from Highway 101 and Black Lake Blvd SW in Olympia, WA:
Head south on Black Lake Blvd SW for 4.2 mi. (the road name changes to 62nd Ave SW at 3.5mi, just after the fire station, but you stay on the same road.)
Take a left on Delphi Rd SW, go for 2.1 mi.
Take a right on Waddell Creek Rd SW, go for 2.7 mi. (this will be the corner of Waddell Creek Rd and Sherman Valley Rd SW, which is known as "The Y", where the FOCF work parties meet.)
Continue straight on Sherman Valley Rd for another 1.3 mi. You will see Noshka Rd on your right, but continue straight, up into the ascent of the forest road system.
You are now on the "C-Line", go for 2.4 mi.
Take a left on C-6000, (there's a sign there that says "Fall Creek" that points to the left) , go for 0.4 mi.
Take a left on unnamed forest road, go for 0.35 mi, to the very top of the hill.
The entrance to the start of Little Larch Mountain Trail will be on your left (just at the crest of the hill).
FOCF has been steadfast in volunteering their efforts for more than a decade, cleaning up and maintaining the vast trail network in the Capitol State Forest. The LLMT project has been the fruition of their labor, as the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has entrusted them to build and maintain a trail that is a "user built - mountain bike specific experience", after gaining a solid relationship and a good rapport for their tireless efforts. It is designed to test the skills of intermediate to advanced riders, but at the same time includes "ride-arounds" for all of the features, as well it includes "easy vs hard" line choices all along its descent which make it ideal for any level of rider.
"Gravity riders" tend to enjoy the top half of the trail (which is the footage in this vid'), which can be shuttled very quickly and easily. "All mountain" riders, on the other hand, can enjoy the full length of the course. The lower half of the trail tends to be a little more peddly, but there are lots and lots of "rollers", so if you are good at "pumping", you can make your way almost through the entire lower clear-cut section without much peddling.
Enjoy the fruits of FOCF labor, and come join a work party soon.
the new downloadable map of capitol state forest is at:
washingtondnr.wordpress.com/2013/03/05/top-5-reaso…
related websites are as follows:
friendsofcapitolforest.org/
www.capitolforest.com/
www.facebook.com/FriendsOfCapitolForest?ref=br_tf
All Comments (5)
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thank you RA Scion for such good inspiration over the years. RA Scion & Vox Mod - "Fixed"
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nice!! wished more of my buddies ride
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Badass
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hey dude this trail looks awesome!, how do i get there? iv'e been trying to start riding trails more for a couple years now but i haven't been able to find anything closer than an hour or two away, none of my friends ride either so i don't hear much word of mouth, how far is this from vancouver?
