Porter Creek At Capitol State Forest

Location: South of Olympia (travel time from Seattle about two hours).

Length: 22 miles (ride time: 3 to 7 hours).

Skill level: Advanced.

Terrain: Loop on single-track trails with a few dirt-road sections. Numerous long, sustained climbs.

Other users: Equestrians, hikers.

More information: Department of Natural Resources: 360-748-2383. DNR's Capitol Forest Map is recommended.

Overview: Capitol State Forest contains some of the best mountain biking in Western Washington: miles of dirt trails and roads through lush forest. Some trails are rough, technical and at times muddy, but the full-day "Cap Forest" adventure is almost always fun and rewarding. Ongoing logging operations can radically change the trails, so be prepared to alter the route if needed. The Capitol Forest map is helpful for this purpose.

Porter Creek trailhead: From the picnic parking area, go east up B-Line Road. At .3 mile, the road forks; take the right fork on Road B-1000. At .6 mile, Green Line Trail No. 6 exits the road on the left. Take the trail. Less than a quarter-mile further, the trail divides again. This time take the right fork toward Wedekind Camp and immediately ford the North Fork of Porter Creek. Just after the creek crossing, meet Road B-1000 again and turn left. When the road forks at 1 mile, take the lesser fork on the right. This wide trail stays low, next to the creek. At 1.6 miles, just as the wide trail seems to end abruptly, find a trail on the left that traverses over

rocks to a bridge at 1.75 miles. After crossing the bridge, bear left and pedal up Trail 6 along Iron Creek. From here, follow the signs toward Camp Wedekind. From the camp, take Trail 40 and then Trail 8 back to Porter Creek Camp. (Note: from the top at Camp Wedekind, you can return to Porter Creek Camp via the C-Line Road.)

To get there: From Interstate 5 about 16 miles south of Olympia, take Exit 88. Take Highway 12 west, past Rochester and Oakville, to the hamlet of Porter (an easy town to miss). At Porter, turn right onto Porter Creek Road, following the signs to Porter Creek Campground. Proceed 3.1 miles and take the left fork. At a four-way intersection, 3.5 miles from Highway 12, follow the signs (an easy left) toward Porter Creek Camp, which is located on B-Line Road about a mile further. Park at the picnic area in the second camping loop.

John Zilly is author of "Kissing the Trail: Greater Seattle Mountain Bike Adventures."