Route of the Hiawatha Scenic Mtn Bike Trail — Attraction in Wallace

Can't say enough good things about this place! Grouse, Mule and White tail deer, all up close and personal. Stunning views, and high quality historical kiosks dot along the trail giving interesting back ground to the area.

Be advised, Verizon has zero reception up there, from about the Taft turn-off at I-90. This means no GoPro login or google maps (not that the latter is needed on the trail). Plan accordingly!

I've only biked it, but there are certainly plenty of folks hiking it. I have taken backpack babies (with a helmet) along with tagalong children several times with no problem. Everyone needs a helmet and a flashlight to bike on the trail, and bring jackets even on the hottest day because the tunnels are quite literally 45degF (its nice for a few hundred feet, but by the far end it can be bone chilling); there is a fee for the trail, and even a yearly pass, both of which I found affordable. It is the biking equivalent of downhill skiing with only one ski lift ride in the form of a shuttle bus ride at the end. The bus operates every 30 minutes and requires a marginal fee (few bucks per person), but only delivers folks to Roland, which is at the bottom side of the long border crossing tunnel, just downhill from East Portal where most folks park. Be advised that this means a couple mile hike/bike, most of which through the 1.5mi long tunnel, to get back to your car after being dropped off at the end of the day. Many of the bus drivers are well versed in local area history and trivia, which makes the journey quite enjoyable. I advise bringing your own water, but most times there is water along the trail provided by trail rangers which was a God send a time or two when I ran low.

We've been there several times, and what we prefer to do is to drive to East Portal with a lunch picnic prepared. I drop the family and all their gear at East Portal, then drive down to Pearson. Be advised that the roads are "rustic", and you have to be mindful of shuttle buses around every turn of the single lane roads. All in all, it is trivial enough so long as you respect that it isn't a freeway with clear sight lines. Once at Pearson, I lockup, take my bike and catch a portage bus back up to Roland. Its a bit cheaper this way, but mainly it saves on time and ensures that we aren't racing to get down the last few miles before the shuttle buses shutdown for the day (as early as 4-5p). Also, then the entire family doesn't have to trek back up through a long dark tunnel from Roland back to East Portal at the tail end of the day. Once dropped off, I can make short work of traveling up through the tunnel by myself, and rejoin the family as they're finishing a lazy, unhurried lunch -- plan for at least 1.5hrs, unless the shuttles are on-time and lines are reasonable (the earlier in the day, the shorter the line). We can then take our time without worrying about shuttle bus time tables. Once all packed up at the end of the ride, we take a leisurely drive through the back roads directly to Wallace (with the help of GPS), and eat at one of the charming local restaurant to finish off the day; there's an awesome outdoor antique machines museum exhibit in Wallace too (look for the Wallace Chamber of Commerce on google maps).

One of the better day trips, to be sure, and it is almost in...

(For reference, we brought our own bikes and equipment and are avid cyclists) Look, I get the 5 star reviews. The best parts of this ride are that the views are amazing, the bridges and tunnels are fun and the staff was friendly and seemed helpful. (we didnt really need help but the staff we encountered always engaged in question and conversation) But as an avid cyclist (Road/Gravel/Mountain) it's hard to give this ride 5 stars.

1st - The trail is not a maintained bike path. It's a rock covered dirt road. Some 5/8 chipped gravel would do wonders here. Not an expensive feat for the number of riders paying (I'd estimate they are bringing in 5-10k a day in trail fees alone in the busy summer months) but its obvious that no money is being spent on the trail. It will rattle you. Best option is to let some air out of your tires to soak up the bumps.

2nd - At the start of the trail is a tunnel just less than 2 miles long. For most this is an exciting adventure. This is not for all. The tunnel is very wet, muddy and cold. Bring fenders if you have your own gear, the people we met with rentals did not have fenders. Again, unmaintained. Small packed gravel would make a big difference. Also, Make sure you bring good lighting. If you have a hard time seeing at night or if you are not young with good eyesight and very adventurous a 15$ light might not cut it.

3rd - It costs over 20$ per person for our group. That's pretty pricey for a trail that's not maintained. There are hundreds of beautiful trails for free or the price of a state park pass that are much better than this trail. An example of this is the Snoqualmie Tunnel and Iron Horse Trail for the cost of a WA state discover pass (5$ for a day, 20$/yr for our entire group) Granted you are not getting a ride back up, but even with that the bus fee here was pretty steep. Typically we would have ridden back up but there were some in our group who were not up for that so we all took the bus. It was about a 45 minute wait for us on a Thursday afternoon with school in session. I have read reviews where they were short drivers and people had to wait hours. Just be forewarned if you are headed out on a holiday weekend.

4th - The rental area is 5 miles up the hwy from the trail. Plan on spending some time driving out to rent or buy passes before driving back down to the trail to start the ride. Also if you have a large RV and are towing a car or pulling a 5th wheel it's best to leave it at the rental center up at the ski lodge and drive down to the trail with the bikes.

It's a fun bumpy ride with great views and scenery, tunnels and trestles. And dont get me wrong, I dont mind paying the money. It just doesnt feel like you are getting your money's worth for what...

This was a bucket list item -- and now going back and doing it again is on my bucket list. The first thing you need to know about this trail is that it is literally right on the line of two time zones -Pacific and Mountain. If you google “Lookout Pass time zone” which is where you’d rent a bike, it shows that it’s in the Mountain Time Zone, but the trail itself is nearly all Pacific Time, and that is the time zone for rentals, etc. You may be thinking I know this from the experience of sitting there waiting for an hour to rent a bike first thing in the AM, and you’d be right. =) We wanted to get there early to beat the rain that was threatening later in the day, and we eked through, just got rained on at the very, very end. The trail itself is absolutely wonderful! Amazing scenery, (especially looking down across the valley at the trestles to come) a sense of adventuresome creepiness in the muddy-but very rideable-1.6-mile-long, dark tunnel you meet right out of the gate, the trestles, the shorter tunnels, the wildlife, the old school bus shuttle that takes you back to the parking lot…all just a truly wonderful experience. E-Bikes and regular bikes share the trail and since the trail is literally all on a very mild downhill, I can’t imagine using pedal assist outside of 1. We met some E-bikers who were going back up, although most of them took the shuttle back to they parking lot. I don’t think the rent out e-Bikes but it's nice to know they are allowed. Supposedly you're supposed to disable your throttle, but why would you even want to use a throttle?? Anyway...- we just rode regular bikes. We went ASAP on a Monday and many times we were the only ones in sight. Then when we got to the bottom and were waiting for the shuttle, we realized how many people were out there behind us! Everyone was obviously enjoying themselves. The entire day (renting bikes to when we got back to our vehicle) took about 6 hours. We didn't rush. Plan at least that much time (more if you have smaller bike riders) to truly enjoy the experience. It's very family friendly but I could see how smaller kids might get a little scared in the darkness of the longest tunnel (of course you have or will be renting bright bike lights). Total cost for two people w/ our own helmets - we paid for passes, & bike rental: approx $150. Extra cost if you need a rental bike shuttled to the...