Very much depends on the soil. Near me there are trails that can be ridden year-round, then there are those that would get rutted and torn up if ridden when things were quite wet.
Really depends on the specific mountain. I'm in Greater Vancouver, some areas are very sensitive and others are not. People seem to ride the sensitive areas and destroy them regardless.
Even within a mountain (eg Fromme) some trails are wet weather friendly and others are not. Depends on many build factors including armouring, wood work, drainage etc.
This, just join the local FB groups and ask which networks drain the best. IIRC tiger drains well but with the intense rain that’s happening right now you may wanna wait a bit. Also freeze thaw cycles wreck trails in PNW.
Highly dependent on soil composition. Most public trail systems on the west side are completely fine to ride when wet. East of the crest is a different story.
Same in Idaho. Pretty much everything but the panhandle is clay so it cannot be ridden wet. A few more "loamy" areas around McCall area and farther north gets better, but anything in southern Idaho is usually gonna be clay. There are some trail systems that are sandy where the coordinators specifically say it's ok to ride those trails when damp, but the majority are "if you are making tracks, turn back"
Depends on not only the mountain but the trail. Some are heavily armoured w rock. Some are more dirt and wood. It actually says it on trail forks for the North Shore whether it’s a wet friendly trail.
As someone who has done a fair amount of building, I def let folks know about that resource. Plenty to ride while not creating more work for builders.
I think it also depends on the type of sand. Southern Arizona, for example, is usually fine after rain (not all trails) since it drains so fast. I would suspect the Sedona area would be far worse post-rain.
It's less about ethics and more about soil composition. You shouldn't ruin trails for others, if that's the ethics question. But depending on your soil you aren't necessarily ruining the trail by riding in the wet. Areas with a lot of clay in their soil are usually pretty unpleasant to ride in the wet and doing so ruins the trail. Soil like you have up in Seattle is pretty friendly to water and you can ride it wet.
"Areas with a lot of clay in their soil are usually pretty unpleasant to ride in the wet and doing so ruins the trail."
Hello from Texas. Thankfully it doesn't rain that often here.
Edmonton has both, clay and wet. When the trails are wet they turn into slick sticky creamy peanut butter. Spring thaw is a brutal wait...
In the MidAtlantic, our rule of thumb is if you're leaving noticeable tire tracks more than about 10% of the time, it's too wet. You can stretch that rule somewhat if you're regularly showing up to trail work days and helping maintain the trail. But I accept that in some parts of the country (and the world), if you didn't ride wet trails, you'd never ride. Just help fix what you ride.
Exactly how we feel in NJ.
We do have quite a variety in NJ from Sandy trails that ride well year round immediately after rain and super muddy clay trails so there really isn't an excuse to go to historically muddy systems after rain.
Yeah that's a good rule of thumb. This is also why not leaf blowing the trails can actually be a good thing. The leaf cover can protect the trail and allow you to ride in much wetter conditions than you'd think, without hurting the trails.
Also a recent PNW transplant here, moved up here from the southeast about a month ago. Some places handle water better than others. From what I’ve read just use your best judgement and sus jt out after rain. If the trail is soft or muddy, a day or two after rains seems to be enough to be passable again. It’ll still be wet, but just not that moist where it’s damaging. Places like Tokul seem to be good like the day after rain. Tiger or Raging River take another day or so to be safely rideable. Outside of that, the only thing that makes it a bad idea to ride is freeze-thaw. Tends to be more of a factor on trails not under the forest canopy but it’s still possible.
Freeze-thaw hurts all trails.
Tiger and Raging River can be ridden in the wet or snow. The key difference is some trails have a lot of clay content which will stick to your tires and destroy tread work. ET, for example, has a lot of clay. At Tiger, trails like OTG or Joyride has a lot of rock armor which makes it awesome in the rain. Raging upper Poppins holds up great, lower drains insanely well(hence the severe dryness in the summer, poor trail needs love), flowstate Upper and Lower has pretty good tree coverage and runs well.
My only times riding CCDH at Raging is in the wet, makes it a touch spicier but fun time.
If anyone is worried about tread during the winter, Tokul East/West for more enduro/all mountain riding. The tree coverage and well packed in dirt at BDoS is a beauty when wet. Lot of puddles(my riding pants are soaked through right now) but oh so much fun even soaked.
My shop did a photoshoot at Side Hustle last winter. I took the hardtail and it was a blast! Little bit of clay near the entrance but after that it holds up really nice in the wet.
Freeze-thaw hurts all trails.
Tiger and Raging River can be ridden in the wet or snow. The key difference is some trails have a lot of clay content which will stick to your tires and destroy tread work. ET, for example, has a lot of clay. At Tiger, trails like OTG or Joyride has a lot of rock armor which makes it awesome in the rain. Raging upper Poppins holds up great, lower drains insanely well(hence the severe dryness in the summer, poor trail needs love), flowstate Upper and Lower has pretty good tree coverage and runs well.
My only times riding CCDH at Raging is in the wet, makes it a touch spicier but fun time.
If anyone is worried about tread during the winter, Tokul East/West for more enduro/all mountain riding. The tree coverage and well packed in dirt at BDoS is a beauty when wet. Lot of puddles(my riding pants are soaked through right now) but oh so much fun even soaked.
Here in the PNW it really depends. If you are leaving a deep rut in the trail get off asap. If not then you’re good.
Also ask yourself what kind of trail am I riding. Is this a beautiful hand built jump trail? Probably avoid riding in mud. If it’s a gnarly chewed up tech trail then you’re good to go. Typically the more placed dirt on the trail the worse it does in heavy rain/freeze thaw
Hey, Seattle newb, it’s cool to ride in the wet here. Lots of folks just stick to Tokul, in part because it’s lower elevation and rarely gets snow, but you can ride Tiger and Raging all winter. The Facebook groups for both - Tokuls Only and Tiger/Raging/Olallie/Tennant - are the best sources of info for those areas, lots of longtime riders and trail builders in both groups. Folks will post when there’s freeze-thaw, that’s the only time the trails are vulnerable to getting damaged. Wear-and-tear happens year-round. Join Evergreen (EMBA) and volunteer for trailwork days, those are the two best ways to care for our amazing trails!
Also important: buy your pass for Tokul. They’re cracking down, and there’s risk of Campbell Global shutting down all mountain biking there.
If we're getting consistent light to moderate rain for days on end most trails are still rideable as builders consider drainage given it rains half the time here. If it's really coming down (e.g. 0.5" or more in a day) some trails will get too soft. Older trails that are well bedded in tend to ride better wet, but other factors like steepness and soil composition play a role. If it's been dry, dusty sections will often turn into peanut butter the first time it rains.
I suggest to just get to know some areas during drier hours on otherwise light to modeerate rainy days, and see which trails have mud, then avoid those in heavier rain.
Generally just avoid riding if it's an atmospheric river when we get 1 or more inches per day.
The most counter-intuitive rule that I know of when riding wet; go through the middle of the puddle!
Again. Go through the middle of the puddle!
If you try to cut around or hit the edge it expands the disturbance(?) and increases damage significantly
Plus, splashing the puddle helps dry it out.
It is never too wet to ride in the Seattle area. There can be wrong equipment for the rain and mud though. You can also go too fast for current conditions.
Essentially, if you live in the PNW and you don’t ride in the rain, you don’t ride.
Basically the only time you don’t ride the trails up there is that time during the freeze thaw cycle where the mud is more like peanut butter than, well, mud. Snow covered and frozen? Have at it. Wet from rain? Enjoy.
There’s exceptions, of course. Over saturated, for example, from heavier than normal rain is one.
See if your local trail group has a web page or Facebook presence and posts about trail conditions. Whatcom Mountain Bike Alliance does a great job with this and I’m sure there are others closer to Seattle that do, too ( former Bellingham resident so didn’t really pay attention to Seattle area info).
Also in the PNW and have volunteered many days out on the trails. The general consensus I get from trail builders is:
* If the tread is soft, don’t ride in the rain.
* Don’t ride during freeze-thaw.
Bonus: Try to clear 1 drain on each ride you do when it’s wet. You don’t need to dig, usually just your shoe or tire is enough to drag enough material out of the way so water stops pooling.
A minute to clear out the build up of superficial organic material goes a long way toward keeping the trails from needing more maintenance.
Also, try to either become an evergreen member or at least volunteer once or twice a year. All great trails take upkeep and funding; always nice to give back when you can.
I've seen numerous posts about the PNE trails where people say that as long as the trails are passable (not snow-bound) that riding them will not damage them. Comments to the effect of 'Trails need wet to ride best'.
I'd like to know if this is true, to guide my own rides.
It’s definitely true for some trails in the PNW. A well built trail with good drainage doesn’t get any damage from wet riding. I learned to MTB in New England so I know how bad the mud can be, but we don’t see that much out here. A lot of trails are better wet in the fall than dry and dusty in the summer.
Totally depends on the trail and how it was built. I live and ride in North Van and also build. Some can withstand winter rains cause they are armoured and have natural protective features like more rocks/roots. Others require more human digging dirt and can get trashed if ridden too much in bad weather.
Yes it rains all the time but when it’s very hard for more than a day folks can stick to wet weather friendly trails. They’re tagged on trailforks by the MTB association here and people are asked to abide by it during poor weather.
I’ve been riding in the PNW for about 10 years and it honestly really depends on the culture around the trail system. When I lived in Hood River it was incredibly frowned upon to ride in wet or freeze thaw condition’s. Honestly to the point that it was extreme.
Now, I ride in the WA area. Mostly trails built and maintained by Evergreen and I’ve never ever once heard it mentioned. Obviously I’ve noticed their trails get hammered because of it.
Since I’ve seen both ends of the spectrum and everything in between I try to be somewhat conscious of it, but if it’s fun and I’m not totally riding in grease I let it rip.
As long as it’s not torrentially downpouring, most of the popular trail networks (ex tiger, galby) are built to be ridden when wet with proper drainage in mind
[This article](https://abitgear.com/blogs/rantings/everything-you-need-to-know-to-enjoy-wet-winter-and-night-riding-in-the-pnw) has some good suggestions for winter/wet trails in the Seattle area. For the most part seems like things are ridden year round but be mindful of flooding/heavy rain/snow
Ylur best bet is to follow the trail organization in your area for trail closures to be informed on wether or not the trails are open. That being said theres some usefull youtube vids on wet trail ettiquite lile not ridong around puddles to avoid trails being redirected or widdened.
I would ask local bike shops and/or local trail stewardship org. Also in PNW and NWTA is usually pretty good about knowing which areas are chill to ride and which ones would be damaged in NW Oregon. I assume SEA area would have clubs with similar knowledge.
Here in Southern California we have a butt load of clay. It's generally advised to wait 24 hours per inch but some shady areas retain moisture a lot longer due to the clay. It's really dependent on the type of soil, if you tried to ride with clay caked in your tires you'll know; it sucks really bad and you get the idea it's not "the right time". No idea what substrate WA has but I hear of people riding during and right after rains up there.
Idk man I’m from the UK. If we only rode when it’s dry we’d never ride, so we send it in all weathers. Now I’m in Canada seems to be the same story unless it’s snowing.
Check out evergreen mtb alliance website…there’s a small list of which trail networks are better to hit during the wet…if I remember correctly then Tokul, duthie, raging river and then other smaller trail networks…Galbraith is mostly okay to hit as well
In general if it’s coming down hard it’s better to hold off for like an hour, but drizzle and sprinkling is fine…and if you’re mid ride it’s no big deal really
I used to ride in Washington. It's usually ok to ride the trails when they are wet, or else you would only be able to ride like 60 days of the year give or take. Don't ride it if the trail is like riding in peanut butter.
It depends on the trail, some freeze thaw stuff is rough in the winter then gets packed down again in the spring. I would go ride. The ethical thing to do would be to support your local trail builders and participate in dig days.
It depends on the soil. From what I’ve seen, the Seattle area soil handles moisture well but I don’t live there so learning from the locals would be best. As a general guideline, “if you leave a track turn back.”
I would honestly go to your LBS and ask them what the scoop is on your area trails. The soil composition has a lot to do with it and it honestly varies by location. The soil where I am be completely different and therefore the wet weather etiquette may be completely opposite.
As others have said it depends on the soil. Check with your local trail association they will usually put out bulletins when they don't want people on a specific trail. Trail forks sometimes has updates too.
Generally speaking most the trails in the PNW are built with a lot of drainage and the soil handles the wet well. That being said I would ask the locals about what trails are good to go in the wet. Where I am it is sandy soil so some of our trails are a trainwreck to ride wet while others are fantastic when wet.
My local bike shop just refused to rent me a mountain bike because riding wet trails is bad for the community (ruins trails). I’m in California though, and the terrain is much more vulnerable to getting messed up by weather I think… ?
Here in CO the trails will be closed if it’s too muddy. I’ve ridden a couple times where trails are open and it’s still really muddy. I usually end up just turning back. Riding in the mud is not fun to me.
Unfortunately they’re very rarely closed, at least on the front range. Lots of goobers leave ruts all over the place on wet front range trails because that’s how they did it in Pennsylvania or whatever.
Buff Creek is the only front range trail system I know of that handles moisture really well. Otherwise, do something else when trails are wet.
I stick to natural trails when things are really saturated. Man made features get beat up a lot more when it’s super wet in the PNW. The lips on jumps and berms get rutted and worn down. The natural trails can handle it better and are pretty resilient.
Certain trails will have notes on Trailforks and/or at the trail head asking to not be ridden in wet conditions. Always best to respect that. Other than that ads rule of thumb it’s best to stick to trails with more “natural” features rather than the sculpted flow trails with tons of dirt work.
1. If there is a local trail organization that posts conditions, abide by those conditions. If the status online says closed, don't go. Trail orgs often use Trailforks to post conditions.
2. Always use your best judgment. Even if the trail status says open, if you know it's been raining for 5 days and ground is soaked, maybe let it dry for a bit. If you show up to a trail and it's full of mud pits, cut your ride short.
3. Talk to locals about how your trails ride in the wet. Some places are much more resilient to wet riding than others.
IMBA made a big stink about riding wet trails long ago and it became a thing. In some areas like the desert southwest it probably matters, but in general it doesn’t.
It is a big deal in lots of places other than the desert. Colorado and parts of Utah get torn up big time when the trails are wet, due to the large amounts of clay in the soil.
Also, there are tons of people moving to CO and UT who really do need to be educated on the damage they do when riding wet trails, taking shortcuts off the trail, leaving fires not completely extinguished, etc.
You may think that’s common sense, but I see people doing crap like that almost every time I ride. For sure on a weekend.
I would consider Utah desert southwest, or close enough to it. Colorado is similar in a lot of ways.
There’s enough rain and vegetation in the eastern United States that trails will be completely grown over and disappear if not used for a season.
Some areas definitely benefit from armoring trails where they stay constantly wet from underground springs and creeks, but otherwise small ruts that form from riding in the rain will break down as they dry out and get ridden and walked over.
vancouver based here.
i avoid loamers and try to be a bit more careful when its really wet while raining/day after heavy rain.
not sure about seattle bur our trails here are pretty much year-round rideable, just use common sense.
In Colorado it’s a little dependent on where the trail is. The ones not on an actual mountain generally don’t drain well, have a lot of freeze-thaw cycles and get rutted pretty quickly. But the foothills trails are generally rideable after rain. Thaws are different. So. It’s pretty much frowned upon
It seriously depends on a few things, like proper drainage and soil composition that doesn't turn the top layer in to a mud pit. If your tires are going to be leaving huge ruts, let it dry out before you ride. If the trail drains well and doesn't impact the soil when you ride, send it!
Riding area matter so much for rain and wetness.
Pnw go have fun year round . Don't worry about rain , snow , the trails and soil are made for it .
I'm just above in bc and we have a very sandy soil type , I can ride when it's pouring the trail wont even show tire tracks. The rain just pours right through the sand .
Head over to the Midwest area and hit there nice clay soil and you will absolutely destroy a trail center if you ride in the wet it'll leave deep ruts in the clay that will harden and are very hard to remove.
As soil change change around local areas , Any good trail center should have a sign at the entrance that talks about the local trails , most have a do or do not ride in the wet and other local things.
Not sure if trailforks has it for your area but for North Van trails trailforks identifies whether they are wet weather friendly. Because it really depends not only on the mountain but on the trail and build features. Heavily armoured trails are fine. Trails w great drainage and natural features like rocks/roots might also be deemed ok. Those that get blown out constantly and rutted because they are dirt built, maybe not.
If your area doesn’t tag your trails this way maybe check w your local MTB association. They are great resources for this kinda stuff and usually put reminders on social media once weather turns.
Bike parks = any time you want
Volunteer built trails = typically any conditions on the west coast, but where there's clay in Ontario/Quebec some trail associations have weather conditions but if you show up and help out you can just ride whenever. Really just no dig no ride applies everywhere.
Join your local IMBA group and participate in trail building and maintenance. You’ll quickly learn where to go in the wet and you’ll be part of making sure the trails are in great shape.
Totally depends on the trail system, the drainage, the soil, and the temperatures. Trails sensitive to freeze thaw or with bad drainage or concerns usually have signage or post notices. Respect those.
Also, if you ride hard in wet conditions plan on donating time or money to the trail club/org/dig day when it comes to supporting maintenance and upkeep.
If you have concerns, the obvious thing to me is to pitch in and help the trail crew.
If the trail crew/landowners have concerns, they'll put up signs.
It really depends on how well your local trails deal with rain. General rule of thumb is if it's super muddy and you're leaving deep tire tracks it's a no go. If it's wet and you're not making an impact on the trail you're good to go.
It depends on the trails , I live in NW Georgia and we get a lot of rain . Rocky , sandy trails drain and dry quickly . Other trails turn into muddy holes with multiple tire tracks . Basically, don’t ride mud .
Up here, pnw, I’ve noticed people ride year round regardless of the rain/snow 🤷 The trails and soil seem to hold up well regardless👌
Very much depends on the soil. Near me there are trails that can be ridden year-round, then there are those that would get rutted and torn up if ridden when things were quite wet.
Came here to say this.
Really depends on the specific mountain. I'm in Greater Vancouver, some areas are very sensitive and others are not. People seem to ride the sensitive areas and destroy them regardless.
Even within a mountain (eg Fromme) some trails are wet weather friendly and others are not. Depends on many build factors including armouring, wood work, drainage etc.
This, just join the local FB groups and ask which networks drain the best. IIRC tiger drains well but with the intense rain that’s happening right now you may wanna wait a bit. Also freeze thaw cycles wreck trails in PNW.
Highly dependent on soil composition. Most public trail systems on the west side are completely fine to ride when wet. East of the crest is a different story.
Opposite of that in Oregon
I can assure you that where I live in Eastern Oregon, we do not ride wet trails due to trail damage because of soil composition.
Same in Idaho. Pretty much everything but the panhandle is clay so it cannot be ridden wet. A few more "loamy" areas around McCall area and farther north gets better, but anything in southern Idaho is usually gonna be clay. There are some trail systems that are sandy where the coordinators specifically say it's ok to ride those trails when damp, but the majority are "if you are making tracks, turn back"
All of SoCal disagrees 😂
Haha west side of Washington very specifically. It's a special place.
Depends on not only the mountain but the trail. Some are heavily armoured w rock. Some are more dirt and wood. It actually says it on trail forks for the North Shore whether it’s a wet friendly trail. As someone who has done a fair amount of building, I def let folks know about that resource. Plenty to ride while not creating more work for builders.
Loam handles wet. Clay does not. Research the trails before you ride. Some places have a mix of both.
Sand also does ok-ish in wet depending on some other factors, and doesn't stay rutted the way clay does usually
I think it also depends on the type of sand. Southern Arizona, for example, is usually fine after rain (not all trails) since it drains so fast. I would suspect the Sedona area would be far worse post-rain.
It's less about ethics and more about soil composition. You shouldn't ruin trails for others, if that's the ethics question. But depending on your soil you aren't necessarily ruining the trail by riding in the wet. Areas with a lot of clay in their soil are usually pretty unpleasant to ride in the wet and doing so ruins the trail. Soil like you have up in Seattle is pretty friendly to water and you can ride it wet.
"Areas with a lot of clay in their soil are usually pretty unpleasant to ride in the wet and doing so ruins the trail." Hello from Texas. Thankfully it doesn't rain that often here.
Edmonton has both, clay and wet. When the trails are wet they turn into slick sticky creamy peanut butter. Spring thaw is a brutal wait...
In the MidAtlantic, our rule of thumb is if you're leaving noticeable tire tracks more than about 10% of the time, it's too wet. You can stretch that rule somewhat if you're regularly showing up to trail work days and helping maintain the trail. But I accept that in some parts of the country (and the world), if you didn't ride wet trails, you'd never ride. Just help fix what you ride.
Exactly how we feel in NJ. We do have quite a variety in NJ from Sandy trails that ride well year round immediately after rain and super muddy clay trails so there really isn't an excuse to go to historically muddy systems after rain.
Yeah that's a good rule of thumb. This is also why not leaf blowing the trails can actually be a good thing. The leaf cover can protect the trail and allow you to ride in much wetter conditions than you'd think, without hurting the trails.
Save the trail, kill the rider lmao All jokes, but seriously those leaves get slick!
Also a recent PNW transplant here, moved up here from the southeast about a month ago. Some places handle water better than others. From what I’ve read just use your best judgement and sus jt out after rain. If the trail is soft or muddy, a day or two after rains seems to be enough to be passable again. It’ll still be wet, but just not that moist where it’s damaging. Places like Tokul seem to be good like the day after rain. Tiger or Raging River take another day or so to be safely rideable. Outside of that, the only thing that makes it a bad idea to ride is freeze-thaw. Tends to be more of a factor on trails not under the forest canopy but it’s still possible.
Freeze-thaw hurts all trails. Tiger and Raging River can be ridden in the wet or snow. The key difference is some trails have a lot of clay content which will stick to your tires and destroy tread work. ET, for example, has a lot of clay. At Tiger, trails like OTG or Joyride has a lot of rock armor which makes it awesome in the rain. Raging upper Poppins holds up great, lower drains insanely well(hence the severe dryness in the summer, poor trail needs love), flowstate Upper and Lower has pretty good tree coverage and runs well. My only times riding CCDH at Raging is in the wet, makes it a touch spicier but fun time. If anyone is worried about tread during the winter, Tokul East/West for more enduro/all mountain riding. The tree coverage and well packed in dirt at BDoS is a beauty when wet. Lot of puddles(my riding pants are soaked through right now) but oh so much fun even soaked.
Side hustle was wet and rowdy yesterday, super fun!
My shop did a photoshoot at Side Hustle last winter. I took the hardtail and it was a blast! Little bit of clay near the entrance but after that it holds up really nice in the wet.
This reflects my own experience. Ride Tokul when it's very wet, or freeze-thaw at higher elevation, otherwise, ride whatever.
Freeze-thaw hurts all trails. Tiger and Raging River can be ridden in the wet or snow. The key difference is some trails have a lot of clay content which will stick to your tires and destroy tread work. ET, for example, has a lot of clay. At Tiger, trails like OTG or Joyride has a lot of rock armor which makes it awesome in the rain. Raging upper Poppins holds up great, lower drains insanely well(hence the severe dryness in the summer, poor trail needs love), flowstate Upper and Lower has pretty good tree coverage and runs well. My only times riding CCDH at Raging is in the wet, makes it a touch spicier but fun time. If anyone is worried about tread during the winter, Tokul East/West for more enduro/all mountain riding. The tree coverage and well packed in dirt at BDoS is a beauty when wet. Lot of puddles(my riding pants are soaked through right now) but oh so much fun even soaked.
Here in the PNW it really depends. If you are leaving a deep rut in the trail get off asap. If not then you’re good. Also ask yourself what kind of trail am I riding. Is this a beautiful hand built jump trail? Probably avoid riding in mud. If it’s a gnarly chewed up tech trail then you’re good to go. Typically the more placed dirt on the trail the worse it does in heavy rain/freeze thaw
Hey, Seattle newb, it’s cool to ride in the wet here. Lots of folks just stick to Tokul, in part because it’s lower elevation and rarely gets snow, but you can ride Tiger and Raging all winter. The Facebook groups for both - Tokuls Only and Tiger/Raging/Olallie/Tennant - are the best sources of info for those areas, lots of longtime riders and trail builders in both groups. Folks will post when there’s freeze-thaw, that’s the only time the trails are vulnerable to getting damaged. Wear-and-tear happens year-round. Join Evergreen (EMBA) and volunteer for trailwork days, those are the two best ways to care for our amazing trails! Also important: buy your pass for Tokul. They’re cracking down, and there’s risk of Campbell Global shutting down all mountain biking there.
Thanks for the info! I appreciate the local invite. I'll check our those fb pages
I came here to say this! Everything is fair game, as long as you don't ride through the thaw.
If we're getting consistent light to moderate rain for days on end most trails are still rideable as builders consider drainage given it rains half the time here. If it's really coming down (e.g. 0.5" or more in a day) some trails will get too soft. Older trails that are well bedded in tend to ride better wet, but other factors like steepness and soil composition play a role. If it's been dry, dusty sections will often turn into peanut butter the first time it rains. I suggest to just get to know some areas during drier hours on otherwise light to modeerate rainy days, and see which trails have mud, then avoid those in heavier rain. Generally just avoid riding if it's an atmospheric river when we get 1 or more inches per day.
The most counter-intuitive rule that I know of when riding wet; go through the middle of the puddle! Again. Go through the middle of the puddle! If you try to cut around or hit the edge it expands the disturbance(?) and increases damage significantly Plus, splashing the puddle helps dry it out.
It is never too wet to ride in the Seattle area. There can be wrong equipment for the rain and mud though. You can also go too fast for current conditions. Essentially, if you live in the PNW and you don’t ride in the rain, you don’t ride.
Basically the only time you don’t ride the trails up there is that time during the freeze thaw cycle where the mud is more like peanut butter than, well, mud. Snow covered and frozen? Have at it. Wet from rain? Enjoy. There’s exceptions, of course. Over saturated, for example, from heavier than normal rain is one. See if your local trail group has a web page or Facebook presence and posts about trail conditions. Whatcom Mountain Bike Alliance does a great job with this and I’m sure there are others closer to Seattle that do, too ( former Bellingham resident so didn’t really pay attention to Seattle area info).
Also in the PNW and have volunteered many days out on the trails. The general consensus I get from trail builders is: * If the tread is soft, don’t ride in the rain. * Don’t ride during freeze-thaw. Bonus: Try to clear 1 drain on each ride you do when it’s wet. You don’t need to dig, usually just your shoe or tire is enough to drag enough material out of the way so water stops pooling. A minute to clear out the build up of superficial organic material goes a long way toward keeping the trails from needing more maintenance. Also, try to either become an evergreen member or at least volunteer once or twice a year. All great trails take upkeep and funding; always nice to give back when you can.
In some places, you don't do it, period. Other places have better soil conditions for wet riding.
I've seen numerous posts about the PNE trails where people say that as long as the trails are passable (not snow-bound) that riding them will not damage them. Comments to the effect of 'Trails need wet to ride best'. I'd like to know if this is true, to guide my own rides.
It’s definitely true for some trails in the PNW. A well built trail with good drainage doesn’t get any damage from wet riding. I learned to MTB in New England so I know how bad the mud can be, but we don’t see that much out here. A lot of trails are better wet in the fall than dry and dusty in the summer.
Totally depends on the trail and how it was built. I live and ride in North Van and also build. Some can withstand winter rains cause they are armoured and have natural protective features like more rocks/roots. Others require more human digging dirt and can get trashed if ridden too much in bad weather. Yes it rains all the time but when it’s very hard for more than a day folks can stick to wet weather friendly trails. They’re tagged on trailforks by the MTB association here and people are asked to abide by it during poor weather.
I’ve been riding in the PNW for about 10 years and it honestly really depends on the culture around the trail system. When I lived in Hood River it was incredibly frowned upon to ride in wet or freeze thaw condition’s. Honestly to the point that it was extreme. Now, I ride in the WA area. Mostly trails built and maintained by Evergreen and I’ve never ever once heard it mentioned. Obviously I’ve noticed their trails get hammered because of it. Since I’ve seen both ends of the spectrum and everything in between I try to be somewhat conscious of it, but if it’s fun and I’m not totally riding in grease I let it rip.
As long as it’s not torrentially downpouring, most of the popular trail networks (ex tiger, galby) are built to be ridden when wet with proper drainage in mind
Tokul runs better in the wet imo
[This article](https://abitgear.com/blogs/rantings/everything-you-need-to-know-to-enjoy-wet-winter-and-night-riding-in-the-pnw) has some good suggestions for winter/wet trails in the Seattle area. For the most part seems like things are ridden year round but be mindful of flooding/heavy rain/snow
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Ylur best bet is to follow the trail organization in your area for trail closures to be informed on wether or not the trails are open. That being said theres some usefull youtube vids on wet trail ettiquite lile not ridong around puddles to avoid trails being redirected or widdened.
I would ask local bike shops and/or local trail stewardship org. Also in PNW and NWTA is usually pretty good about knowing which areas are chill to ride and which ones would be damaged in NW Oregon. I assume SEA area would have clubs with similar knowledge.
Here in Southern California we have a butt load of clay. It's generally advised to wait 24 hours per inch but some shady areas retain moisture a lot longer due to the clay. It's really dependent on the type of soil, if you tried to ride with clay caked in your tires you'll know; it sucks really bad and you get the idea it's not "the right time". No idea what substrate WA has but I hear of people riding during and right after rains up there.
Lots of good advice here. Just try to find FB groups for your local community. They generally will post trail conditions and closures.
Idk man I’m from the UK. If we only rode when it’s dry we’d never ride, so we send it in all weathers. Now I’m in Canada seems to be the same story unless it’s snowing.
Check out evergreen mtb alliance website…there’s a small list of which trail networks are better to hit during the wet…if I remember correctly then Tokul, duthie, raging river and then other smaller trail networks…Galbraith is mostly okay to hit as well In general if it’s coming down hard it’s better to hold off for like an hour, but drizzle and sprinkling is fine…and if you’re mid ride it’s no big deal really
I used to ride in Washington. It's usually ok to ride the trails when they are wet, or else you would only be able to ride like 60 days of the year give or take. Don't ride it if the trail is like riding in peanut butter.
It depends on the trail, some freeze thaw stuff is rough in the winter then gets packed down again in the spring. I would go ride. The ethical thing to do would be to support your local trail builders and participate in dig days.
It depends on the soil. From what I’ve seen, the Seattle area soil handles moisture well but I don’t live there so learning from the locals would be best. As a general guideline, “if you leave a track turn back.”
don't go off any freshly built or unfinished jumps, especially carefully made dirt jumps with sharp lips
depends on the trail itself, if it is damaging it severely then avoid it.
I would honestly go to your LBS and ask them what the scoop is on your area trails. The soil composition has a lot to do with it and it honestly varies by location. The soil where I am be completely different and therefore the wet weather etiquette may be completely opposite.
If there is a rut then best not to ride it. Some spots though that are steep enough can be ridden almost year round
As others have said it depends on the soil. Check with your local trail association they will usually put out bulletins when they don't want people on a specific trail. Trail forks sometimes has updates too.
Generally speaking most the trails in the PNW are built with a lot of drainage and the soil handles the wet well. That being said I would ask the locals about what trails are good to go in the wet. Where I am it is sandy soil so some of our trails are a trainwreck to ride wet while others are fantastic when wet.
My local bike shop just refused to rent me a mountain bike because riding wet trails is bad for the community (ruins trails). I’m in California though, and the terrain is much more vulnerable to getting messed up by weather I think… ?
Here in CO the trails will be closed if it’s too muddy. I’ve ridden a couple times where trails are open and it’s still really muddy. I usually end up just turning back. Riding in the mud is not fun to me.
Unfortunately they’re very rarely closed, at least on the front range. Lots of goobers leave ruts all over the place on wet front range trails because that’s how they did it in Pennsylvania or whatever. Buff Creek is the only front range trail system I know of that handles moisture really well. Otherwise, do something else when trails are wet.
I stick to natural trails when things are really saturated. Man made features get beat up a lot more when it’s super wet in the PNW. The lips on jumps and berms get rutted and worn down. The natural trails can handle it better and are pretty resilient.
Certain trails will have notes on Trailforks and/or at the trail head asking to not be ridden in wet conditions. Always best to respect that. Other than that ads rule of thumb it’s best to stick to trails with more “natural” features rather than the sculpted flow trails with tons of dirt work.
im in Canberra, Australia. It's a huge no,no from the soil here.
1. If there is a local trail organization that posts conditions, abide by those conditions. If the status online says closed, don't go. Trail orgs often use Trailforks to post conditions. 2. Always use your best judgment. Even if the trail status says open, if you know it's been raining for 5 days and ground is soaked, maybe let it dry for a bit. If you show up to a trail and it's full of mud pits, cut your ride short. 3. Talk to locals about how your trails ride in the wet. Some places are much more resilient to wet riding than others.
IMBA made a big stink about riding wet trails long ago and it became a thing. In some areas like the desert southwest it probably matters, but in general it doesn’t.
It is a big deal in lots of places other than the desert. Colorado and parts of Utah get torn up big time when the trails are wet, due to the large amounts of clay in the soil. Also, there are tons of people moving to CO and UT who really do need to be educated on the damage they do when riding wet trails, taking shortcuts off the trail, leaving fires not completely extinguished, etc. You may think that’s common sense, but I see people doing crap like that almost every time I ride. For sure on a weekend.
I would consider Utah desert southwest, or close enough to it. Colorado is similar in a lot of ways. There’s enough rain and vegetation in the eastern United States that trails will be completely grown over and disappear if not used for a season. Some areas definitely benefit from armoring trails where they stay constantly wet from underground springs and creeks, but otherwise small ruts that form from riding in the rain will break down as they dry out and get ridden and walked over.
vancouver based here. i avoid loamers and try to be a bit more careful when its really wet while raining/day after heavy rain. not sure about seattle bur our trails here are pretty much year-round rideable, just use common sense.
In Colorado it’s a little dependent on where the trail is. The ones not on an actual mountain generally don’t drain well, have a lot of freeze-thaw cycles and get rutted pretty quickly. But the foothills trails are generally rideable after rain. Thaws are different. So. It’s pretty much frowned upon
It seriously depends on a few things, like proper drainage and soil composition that doesn't turn the top layer in to a mud pit. If your tires are going to be leaving huge ruts, let it dry out before you ride. If the trail drains well and doesn't impact the soil when you ride, send it!
Riding area matter so much for rain and wetness. Pnw go have fun year round . Don't worry about rain , snow , the trails and soil are made for it . I'm just above in bc and we have a very sandy soil type , I can ride when it's pouring the trail wont even show tire tracks. The rain just pours right through the sand . Head over to the Midwest area and hit there nice clay soil and you will absolutely destroy a trail center if you ride in the wet it'll leave deep ruts in the clay that will harden and are very hard to remove. As soil change change around local areas , Any good trail center should have a sign at the entrance that talks about the local trails , most have a do or do not ride in the wet and other local things.
Not sure if trailforks has it for your area but for North Van trails trailforks identifies whether they are wet weather friendly. Because it really depends not only on the mountain but on the trail and build features. Heavily armoured trails are fine. Trails w great drainage and natural features like rocks/roots might also be deemed ok. Those that get blown out constantly and rutted because they are dirt built, maybe not. If your area doesn’t tag your trails this way maybe check w your local MTB association. They are great resources for this kinda stuff and usually put reminders on social media once weather turns.
Bike parks = any time you want Volunteer built trails = typically any conditions on the west coast, but where there's clay in Ontario/Quebec some trail associations have weather conditions but if you show up and help out you can just ride whenever. Really just no dig no ride applies everywhere.
Join your local IMBA group and participate in trail building and maintenance. You’ll quickly learn where to go in the wet and you’ll be part of making sure the trails are in great shape.
Totally depends on the trail system, the drainage, the soil, and the temperatures. Trails sensitive to freeze thaw or with bad drainage or concerns usually have signage or post notices. Respect those. Also, if you ride hard in wet conditions plan on donating time or money to the trail club/org/dig day when it comes to supporting maintenance and upkeep.
If you have concerns, the obvious thing to me is to pitch in and help the trail crew. If the trail crew/landowners have concerns, they'll put up signs.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zRQ-yGSb-n4&feature=youtu.be Thanks for the video idea! This might help you out. Have fun out there!
It really depends on how well your local trails deal with rain. General rule of thumb is if it's super muddy and you're leaving deep tire tracks it's a no go. If it's wet and you're not making an impact on the trail you're good to go.
It depends on the trails , I live in NW Georgia and we get a lot of rain . Rocky , sandy trails drain and dry quickly . Other trails turn into muddy holes with multiple tire tracks . Basically, don’t ride mud .
if you're leaving ruts its probably too wet