more stats
8.9 miles
Distance
1,156 ft
Climb
-4,184 ft
Descent
02:34:35
Avg time
-3,028 ft
Altitude change
2,372 ft
Altitude min
5,780 ft
Altitude max
5,400 ft
Altitude start
2,372 ft
Altitude end
-6.5%
Grade
-85.1%
Grade max
71.5%
Grade min
2 miles
Distance climb
7 miles
Distance down
2,008 ft
Distance flat
02:34:35
Avg time

Kachess Details

  • Activities
    • Mountain Bike
    • Hike
    • Trail Running
  • Riding Area
    Kachess Ridge
    Easton, Washington
  • Difficulty Rating
    Black Diamond Rate
  • Local Popularity
    55 in Mountain Biking [+]
    • 90 in Trail Running
    • 5 in Hiking
  • Global Ranking
    #52001 in Mountain Biking [+]
    • #412 in Trail Running
    • #119091 in Hiking
  • Hiking SAC Scale
    T1 Hiking
  • Trail Type
    Singletrack
  • Bike Type
    AM, XC
  • Direction
    Both Directions
    Popular Direction Shown
  • Climb Difficulty
    Black Diamond
  • Physical Rating
    Hard
  • Trail Visibility
    Always easy to follow
  • Season
    July-November
  • Dogs Allowed
    Yes
  • eBike Allowed
    No
  • TTFs on Trail
    Rock Face
  • Land Owner
    USFS

Tough Forest Road climb to the top, a bit of hike a bike and then spectacular single track for an hour or more - all downhill to the cars. Breathtaking scenery of the Central Cascades, including Lake Kachess, Mt. Rainier, Mt. Stuart, and more. The singletrack portion of the trail generally follows Silver Creek on a winding descent through shadowy glades, open meadows, sections of head-high wildflowers, and exposed ledges. This is a wilderness ride not for the faint of heart - several hours of endurance required, and richly rewarded.

Do not ride in the spring/early summer when the trail is wet from snow melt or snow covered (with the exception of the hike a bike to the saddle). This causes damage to the trail, particularly the meadows, especially now that the trail is getting a lot of use. Local rule of thumb: Don't ride until July 4th or later. However you can ride up the singletrack (reverse of what is described below) to avoid the snow and/or do recon in the late spring.

Reminder that this is a multi-use trail and you may encounter horses and/or hikers. With shuttle services and such happening up there this really needs to be taken into consideration. There are lots of blind corners and it's easy to startle someone, or worse.

In the winter there is typically some tree blowdown - watch the EMBA website for trail clearance work parties in the early season. You cross several creeks on the way down, and early season they can be flowing pretty good. Prepare to get your feet wet

The switchbacks near the end of the trail are quite loose. Take your time and try not to make them worse by skidding!

Ride up road 4818 for 6 miles of gravel logging road riding and look for road 4824 on the right. Here's where the climbing starts. From here to Kachess Ridge trail is about 5 miles of up (10+% grade). Increasingly-worthy views of Rainier and the lake make a fine excuse for stopping for a breather. In a mile keep to the main road. You will pass a gate on this road and a little over a mile from the gate stay right. There are a handful of less-traveled spurs on the ascent; keep to the main road. When you come to a plateau and a fork in the road, go right and then look to the left for the easy to miss trail. Sort of looks like a spur road to camping spot to trail kind of thing all in about 50 feet. There are a couple of these entrances, all of which shortly meet.

This trail descends immediately (lots of people walk this) to a T. Go right here. The object is to follow the trail to the pass between the pinnacles looming above. There's a bit of downhill, then some hike a bike across a scree slope and more hike a bike up to the pass. From here follow the trail down down down. Steeps, roots, rocks, rivers, streams, meadows, hairy switchbacks, and more. About half way down on the right there's the remains of a big avalanche a few years ago. Just before you get into the switchbacks (near the end) there are some nice waterfalls in Silver Creek you can climb down to. Then there are a few miles of steep somewhat eroded switchbacks returning you to the valley floor.

When you finally come to the bottom of the descent, take a quick right and ride through a short clearing which brings you to an access road. Ride this access road back to 4818 then take a left (south) about a mile back to the powerlines and your car. You've just completed the 18.5 mile loop!

source: https://www.evergreenmtb.org/trails/kachess-ridge
Access Info

ake I-90 East until exit #70. Turn left and cross over the highway. Now take another left on Sparks Road (the frontage road). Follow this for 0.6 miles and turn right on Kachess Dam Road (also known as Forest Service Rd 481Cool . After 0.1 miles, the pavement turns to dirt park at the powerlines (about 1/3 mile).

Some will elect to shuttle by leaving one car at the power lines and driving one on 4818 and 4824 all the way to the top. Ground clearance is important for shuttle vehicles due to drainage ditches on 4824 - a loaded subaru wagon comes close to getting high centered.

Trail Supporters

  • USFS
    Land Manager
Local Trail Association
Traditionally Indigenous Territory

Recent Activity on Trail

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  • 11 rides
  • Last: Aug 17, 2025
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Kachess Trail Reports

statusdatedescription
Jun 15, 2026 @ 8:34am (America/Los_Angeles)
Jun 15, 2026
 Started from the kachess trailhead road drop in. Had to walk over ~10 blow downs and there was a small patch of snow during a hike a bike section...
Jun 1, 2026 @ 10:17am (America/Los_Angeles)
Jun 1, 2026
I only went up a couple miles- the blowdowns thru that part have been cleared. Likely snow higher up. Especially at the saddle
Oct 17, 2025 @ 3:58pm (America/Los_Angeles)
Oct 17, 2025
 Still in! Some snow on the start and up to the notch, but otherwise riding great
Oct 5, 2025 @ 3:43pm (America/Los_Angeles)
Oct 5, 2025
 New ruts on the bottom switchbacks from a group of 7 dirt bikes who were climbing the trail today. Unfortunate to see this poaching.
Aug 8, 2025 @ 1:10pm
Aug 8, 2025
 Mint loam get it
more »
Status:
on Jun 15, 2026
Variable
Avg: 4.2 (19 votes)
Your vote: 0

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  • Snow Groomed
  • Snow Packed
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  • Snow Cover Partial
  • Freeze/thaw Cycle
  • Icy
  • Prevalent Mud
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  • Variable
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        Directions to kachess trailhead (47.367860, -121.207120)

        Photos

        168 more »
        73 |
        Jul 21, 2024 @ 5:49pm
        Jul 21, 2024
        77 |
        Jul 21, 2024 @ 5:48pm
        Jul 21, 2024
        69 |
        Jul 21, 2024 @ 5:48pm
        Jul 21, 2024
        232 |
        Jul 5, 2023 @ 2:23pm
        Jul 5, 2023

        Videos

        5 more »
        Backcountry Bangers: this is what I dream about.
        20:46 | 180 | Sep 11, 2025 , Easton
        youtuber VOTR Kachess
        5:08 | 1848 | Oct 19, 2018 , Easton
        Kachess Ridge Trail
        1931 | Sep 22, 2016 , Easton
        Kachess Ridge Helmet Cam
        5:48 | 563 | Mar 22, 2010 , Easton

        Technical Trail Features (TTF)

        Trail Lists

        Routes with this trail

        184
        Kachess Ridge
        ★ 4.5 • 13 miles • 2,136 ft • 7 • Point to Point •
        Ride the Kachess Ridge in its entirety by combining "No Name Ridge trail" with the full length of Kachess...
        178
        Kachess Ridge Loop
        ★ 4.0 • 18 miles • 3,174 ft • 10 •
        Fire road climb with a technical descent
        175
        Freehub Magazine: Kachess
        ★ 4.0 • 8 miles • 1,084 ft • 2 •
        This is one of our favorite flow routes and is featured in Freehub Magazine's North Cascades Photo Book,...

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        13 Reviews & Comments


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        Kachess Ridge

        • By RobinhoodsTF Pro & contributors
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        Frequently Asked Questions About Kachess

        ▼ Where is Kachess located?
        Kachess is located in Kachess Ridge, Easton, Washington, United States. It is part of the Kachess Ridge trail network. The trailhead is located at coordinates 47.36786, -121.20712.
        ▼ How hard is Kachess?
        Kachess is rated as Black Diamond difficulty. The physical rating is Hard. The average grade is 6.5%. The climb difficulty is rated Black Diamond.
        ▼ What is the elevation gain for Kachess?
        Kachess has 1,156 ft of elevation gain. The trail has 4,184 ft of elevation descent. The elevation ranges from 2,372 ft to 5,780 ft.
        ▼ Is Kachess a point to point trail?
        Kachess is not a point to point trail. The direction is Both Directions. The trail type is singletrack.

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