Published: Monday, August 10, 2009
Tree farm near Stanwood a favorite secret among bikers, horseback riders
Cyclists, equestrians work with Pilchuck Tree Farm to use and maintain its forest land
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Kevin Nortz / The Herald
Chris Reed, 12, rides his new bike down a trail at the Pilchuck Tree Farm east of Stanwood.
Corrected appended.
STANWOOD — Brian Anderson, his family and his buddies like to take their mountain bikes into the woods to climb the hills and feel the breeze on their faces on the way back down.
The place they most like to ride isn't a county or state park; in fact, it's not even on public land.
Straddling the Snohomish-Skagit county line, the Pilchuck Tree Farm is perhaps best known to horseback riders and mountain bikers whose activity there is OK with the landowners, the Pacific Denkmann Co. of Seattle.
No signs on I-5 direct people to the private forestry land, but the farm's recreation association, several equestrian clubs and a number of Web sites keep horse riders and bikers informed about the farm's thousands of acres of trails.
Still, few people know about Pilchuck. Accordingly, the mountain biking folks for a while liked to slyly refer to a tract of land on the tree farm -- officially named Victoria by the landowners -- after the women's lingerie company instead.
Anderson and longtime friend Kelly Christensen, both 1975 graduates of Mountlake Terrace High School, can spend an entire afternoon biking on Pilchuck trails and rarely see more than a few other riders, even when the parking lot at the tree farm is full.
A father and grandpa from Everett, Anderson bikes on Fridays with a couple of boys from the Sunday school class he teaches.
Chris Reed, 12, and his cousin Justin Lawson, 10, probably wouldn't have a chance to ride the trails otherwise, Anderson said.
“They have a great time. They're always ready to go,” he said. “I enjoy it, too, because it's no fun to ride by yourself.”
On a recent day, Anderson loaded the boys and their bikes into the back of his pickup truck and drove to the tree farm northeast of Stanwood.
Chris, excited about the afternoon, said the best part of mountain biking is the ride downhill.
“That's the payoff,” Anderson told him, “for all the sweat you make going up.”
Anderson, 52, has a lot of bicycle experience and in years past rode a bike from Canada to Mexico and from Everett to Salt Lake City.
“I rode from my house to my friend's house,” Chris joked.
“Actually, Chris rides as well as I do,” Anderson replied.
About four years ago, Anderson read about the Pilchuck Recreation Association's management of the tree farm in a biking guide.
“There are trails in three (640-acre) sections in the tree farm and we've only scratched the surface,” Anderson said. “We haven't even seen it all.”
The Pilchuck Tree Farm is a special summertime spot for mountain bikers in Snohomish County, said Jon Kennedy, a spokesman for the Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance.
“It's well-maintained and one of the few riding spots close to urban areas,” Kennedy said. “It's rated as moderately difficult, but it's fairly easy if you have a map or go with someone who rides there regularly.”
Nonriders may have heard of the mountain biking trails on Tiger Mountain near Issaquah, but Pilchuck is still off the beaten track, he said.
Alliance members work hard to educate bikers about good trail etiquette at Pilchuck, he added.
“The owners and land manager are very gracious to allow us there,” Kennedy said. “Everybody needs to get out for trail maintenance parties and always put a few bucks in the donation box.”
The money goes to the Pilchuck Recreation Association, which maintains signs, portable toilets, a water tank for horses and parking areas on the farm.
The tree farm, owned by the descendants of founder John Hauberg, is managed by Duane Weston, the retired former chief forester on the tree farm.
Most of the trails on the Pilchuck Tree Farm lands were built by horseback riders in the 1960s. Mountain bikers began showing up in the 1980s, Weston said.
Tree-farm managers decided not to fight the trail users, but in 1999, because of the growing use of the trails, asked that a recreation association be formed to manage the use.
“We just needed a little more control for sanitation, environmental concerns and erosion control,” Weston said. “And we needed to help the horse people and the bike people get along.”
Rules for the use of the tree farm, which is open May 1 to Nov. 1, are listed at the recreation association's Web site, www.pilchuckra.org. Those who want to organize a group event at Pilchuck need to call Weston at 360-474-8736.
On summer weekends, horse trailers fill the parking lots and vehicles line the dirt road near the southwest entrance to the tree farm. Riders might have to dodge a few road apples along the way, but in the woods it's cool on a hot day.
Scott Stuart, owner of Bike Works of Lake Stevens, is one of many mountain bikers who help maintain the trails. Like many, he's also a weekend warrior at Pilchuck.
“It's a kick-ass place,” Stuart said.
Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427, gfiege@heraldnet.com.
*Correction, Aug. 10, 2009: The headline of this article originally misidentified Pilchuck Tree Farm.
STANWOOD — Brian Anderson, his family and his buddies like to take their mountain bikes into the woods to climb the hills and feel the breeze on their faces on the way back down.
The place they most like to ride isn't a county or state park; in fact, it's not even on public land.
Straddling the Snohomish-Skagit county line, the Pilchuck Tree Farm is perhaps best known to horseback riders and mountain bikers whose activity there is OK with the landowners, the Pacific Denkmann Co. of Seattle.
No signs on I-5 direct people to the private forestry land, but the farm's recreation association, several equestrian clubs and a number of Web sites keep horse riders and bikers informed about the farm's thousands of acres of trails.
Still, few people know about Pilchuck. Accordingly, the mountain biking folks for a while liked to slyly refer to a tract of land on the tree farm -- officially named Victoria by the landowners -- after the women's lingerie company instead.
Anderson and longtime friend Kelly Christensen, both 1975 graduates of Mountlake Terrace High School, can spend an entire afternoon biking on Pilchuck trails and rarely see more than a few other riders, even when the parking lot at the tree farm is full.
A father and grandpa from Everett, Anderson bikes on Fridays with a couple of boys from the Sunday school class he teaches.
Chris Reed, 12, and his cousin Justin Lawson, 10, probably wouldn't have a chance to ride the trails otherwise, Anderson said.
“They have a great time. They're always ready to go,” he said. “I enjoy it, too, because it's no fun to ride by yourself.”
On a recent day, Anderson loaded the boys and their bikes into the back of his pickup truck and drove to the tree farm northeast of Stanwood.
Chris, excited about the afternoon, said the best part of mountain biking is the ride downhill.
“That's the payoff,” Anderson told him, “for all the sweat you make going up.”
Anderson, 52, has a lot of bicycle experience and in years past rode a bike from Canada to Mexico and from Everett to Salt Lake City.
“I rode from my house to my friend's house,” Chris joked.
“Actually, Chris rides as well as I do,” Anderson replied.
About four years ago, Anderson read about the Pilchuck Recreation Association's management of the tree farm in a biking guide.
“There are trails in three (640-acre) sections in the tree farm and we've only scratched the surface,” Anderson said. “We haven't even seen it all.”
The Pilchuck Tree Farm is a special summertime spot for mountain bikers in Snohomish County, said Jon Kennedy, a spokesman for the Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance.
“It's well-maintained and one of the few riding spots close to urban areas,” Kennedy said. “It's rated as moderately difficult, but it's fairly easy if you have a map or go with someone who rides there regularly.”
Nonriders may have heard of the mountain biking trails on Tiger Mountain near Issaquah, but Pilchuck is still off the beaten track, he said.
Alliance members work hard to educate bikers about good trail etiquette at Pilchuck, he added.
“The owners and land manager are very gracious to allow us there,” Kennedy said. “Everybody needs to get out for trail maintenance parties and always put a few bucks in the donation box.”
The money goes to the Pilchuck Recreation Association, which maintains signs, portable toilets, a water tank for horses and parking areas on the farm.
The tree farm, owned by the descendants of founder John Hauberg, is managed by Duane Weston, the retired former chief forester on the tree farm.
Most of the trails on the Pilchuck Tree Farm lands were built by horseback riders in the 1960s. Mountain bikers began showing up in the 1980s, Weston said.
Tree-farm managers decided not to fight the trail users, but in 1999, because of the growing use of the trails, asked that a recreation association be formed to manage the use.
“We just needed a little more control for sanitation, environmental concerns and erosion control,” Weston said. “And we needed to help the horse people and the bike people get along.”
Rules for the use of the tree farm, which is open May 1 to Nov. 1, are listed at the recreation association's Web site, www.pilchuckra.org. Those who want to organize a group event at Pilchuck need to call Weston at 360-474-8736.
On summer weekends, horse trailers fill the parking lots and vehicles line the dirt road near the southwest entrance to the tree farm. Riders might have to dodge a few road apples along the way, but in the woods it's cool on a hot day.
Scott Stuart, owner of Bike Works of Lake Stevens, is one of many mountain bikers who help maintain the trails. Like many, he's also a weekend warrior at Pilchuck.
“It's a kick-ass place,” Stuart said.
Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427, gfiege@heraldnet.com.
*Correction, Aug. 10, 2009: The headline of this article originally misidentified Pilchuck Tree Farm.
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• Stanwood • People • Biking • Family • IssaquahLearn more
More information about biking at the Pilchuck Tree Farm at www.pilchuckra.org or www.evergreenmtb.org.
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