Northeast Washington Outdoor Club

Last October, over a dozen volunteers from Conservation Northwest, Spokane Mountaineers, Washington Trails Association and the Ferry County Trails Association broke ground on the newGibraltartrail east of Republic. The trail, the product of a five-year effort between recreation groups, conservationists and theColvilleNational Forest, will provide non-motorized and motorized recreation opportunities close to the town ofRepublic.

We need your volunteer help to build this new, exciting mountain biking and hiking trail!

Join a volunteer trail construction project for the day or whole weekend this summer, and bring along your friends!  The first trail building work party will be July 8-10, with options for camping and a shared potluck dinner back at the Jungle Hill camp area Saturday night.  Additional work parties will be held July 21-23, August 11-12 and September 9-11. E-mail derrick@conservationnw.org to sign up or call 509-435-1270 for more info on these projects.

More on the Gibraltar Trail…

The final trail, which will likely be in the range of 17-18 miles long with several trailhead and loop options, will wind aroundQuartzMountainandCamelBackMountainon a combination of new singletrack and existing, closed forest roads. Open old-growth ponderosa grasslands and rocky knobs provide ample views of Republic to the west and the Kettle Crest to the east, as well as making for an interesting and fun trail for mountain bikers and hikers.

A new trailhead will provide access from the popularQuartz Ridge Road(FS 2053) and will include a toilet, trailhead signs, and a parking lot large enough for trailers.

Slightly under 12 miles of the loop will be open to non-motorized use including hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding and Nordic skiing. Eventually, easements across state and private land will allow for a non-motorized connector trail from the Ferry County Fairgrounds in Republic, which could add another 5-6 miles of trail.

Approximately one mile will be open to motorized and non-motorized use. The motorized portion of the trail will link to existing motorized routes, with future motorized routes to Republic a possibility. Once open,Gibraltarwill be the closest National Forest trail to Republic, and, because most of the trail is under 4000 feet of elevation, will provide early- and late-season snow-free recreation opportunities

Biking the Taylor Ridge Trail

The next NE WA Outdoor Club meeting is set for Friday, May 20 just north of Colville at the proposed trailhead for various hiking/biking trails that are being developed on old forest roads in the Mill Creek area.  The meeting around 6pm Friday will be informal, around the campfire updates and discussion, but the real draw is the opportunity to get our and explore some new trails in the area close to Colville Saturday morning.  E-mail Bill for all the details if you’re interested–all are welcome: way001@gotsky.com

Sherman Peak Views

We are a new group of people who are passionate about outdoor recreation and want to make Northeast WA an even better place to do all of the amazing outdoor sports we enjoy and love.  To us, that means building a stronger community of human and nature powered outdoor recreation enthusiasts by sharing information, ideas and stories and working together to make new trails and other recreation amenities and infrastructure a reality!  We’re still figuring out how best to go about all that, but if you want to join our cause, keep checking back on this site for more info, next steps, and how to get involved.  You can start by visiting our “Trail Reports” page and post a comment or question or respond to another post.  But most importantly, get out there and enjoy the amazing winter adventure waiting for you right out your back door!