Review Date
July 8, 2008

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 4 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a month

Reviewed by: Tarekith ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
THIS is the type of trail I was looking forward to when moving to Seattle from Chicago, straight up real mountain biking. As mentioned the first 3 miles up the fireroads are pretty rough, I'm in good shape but still need to walk a lot of it to save my legs for the DH sections, takes about 35-45 minutes to get up. I like doing this early in the morning, it's cooler and peaceful then.

The rest is just body jarring roots and rocks, small drops galore, and a lot of beautiful scenery on the way down. Timber trail is nice and smooth compared to Preston. Iverson has a lot of leg work to get to the last DH section, but man is that a workout getting down. Very technical, roots and natural drops left and right. Loads of fun.

Recommended Route:
Climb the main fireroad, head down Preston, meet a fireroad on the otherside and take that to Timberwoods. Ride that until you hit the connector to the upper parking lot, then take the second fireroad up to the Iverson trail.

Review Date
July 6, 2008

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 3 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 4 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a week

Reviewed by: dstammel ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
I loved this ride.
Once you get pasted the first 3 miles of climbing on gravel roads you really feel like you've earned the single track. You get 4 awsome miles of down hill switch backs on the side of tiger mt. There are tons of tree roots and rocks to jump off of. Becareful if it's wet because there are a ton of roots everywhere. Good ride though. So 3 miles up....4 miles of awsome woods....1 mile of gravel again, then 2 miles back. The final back trail is not as exciting as preston but it's still fun. They are repairing the bridges this week, so next week should be even better.

Review Date
October 21, 2005

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 4 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a week

Reviewed by: Dave Green ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
Now that the trails are closed for the Winter, this is the only way I can get my Tiger fix, so...for all the people who complain that the first three miles of the ride up are a pain (I agree) I would suggest riding up Timber and Preston. It makes for a much more intesting and challenging ride vs. the fire road. I tried this route earlier this year and haven't ridden the fire road since (except on the way down). There may be some hike-a-bikes on the lower section of Preston, but after the first few switchbacks it's all good. Watch for riders coming down. I always give them the right of way. Please respect the trails and stay off during the off-season.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Iverson rocks! Very technical. Tolt, Tapeworm, Beaver Lake.

Review Date
April 16, 2005

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 3 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Ridden Once

Reviewed by: s7t7e7v7e ,  Weekend Warrior

Summary:
As with all other reviewers, the first three miles are a pain. After the first 20 minutes of climbing, hopefully you'll just go into the thousand-yard, tunnel-vision stare. I underestimated the elevation of this ride, and actually rode into heavy snow (wasn't sticking, though) on this mid-April ride. The Preston Railroad Trail is an absolute blast. Due to the heavy precipitation, practically the entire switchbacking portion of the ride was done in a creek. I was frozen solid, but was grinning from ear to ear the whole time. On a side note, whichever group that does trail maintenance on the Preston deserves major props. If the trail gets that much flowing water after heavy rains, it has to be a major job slowing down the erosion process.

Coming down the East Side Road was relaxing. The weather cleared and great views were to be seen. There was quite a bit of loose gravel, though, so an all-out bonzai wasn't going to happen.

The Northwest Timber Trail was pretty fun. There is some unique foliage that the naturalist within will appreciate. But, this ride is all about the Preston. Sure, the NW Timber Trail is a nice finale, but the Preston is what makes this ride such a great one. If you want rolling single track, may I suggest Tolt/McDonald in Carnation. It has some amazingly fun and endless single track.

Recommended Route:
Park in the second parking lot (away from the highway/about 1/3 of a mile past the main lot) and take the short connector trail to the Tiger Mountain Road. The road will come to a T after a few miles, go left. A half mile later, there will be a small trailhead on the right, take it. Continue on the Preston Railroad Trail and take a left at the trail's exit (the end of the Preston is obvious once you're there). Continue BRIEFLY and take a right onto the East Side Road. Connect onto the Northwest Timber Trail where there are some large deposits of rock. The rock piles are very obvious, the trailhead is not. Continue on the NW Timber Trail all the way back to the lot.

Review Date
March 13, 2005

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 3 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a year

Reviewed by: Tenchiro ,  Weekend Warrior

Summary:
The trail was opened early this year, the entire mountain was dry and in some cases dusty. Better get up there quick before they close it back down because of fire danger due to the dry conditions.

Recommended Route:
Main Tiger Mountain Road -> Preston RR Trail -> East Side Road -> NW Timber Trail.