King County opens new trails in Taylor Mountain Forest

Just in time for late spring's improving weather and longer hours of daylight, hikers, mountain bikers and horse riders will have two new multi-use trails in the Taylor Mountain Forest, managed by the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks. Nearly 600 volunteers helped construct the new trails.

The Holder Nob Trail offers great views of Mount Rainer, Tiger Mountain and surrounding valley lands, while the Whiskey Still Trail provides a link between the Holder Creek area and the Carey Creek area. The new trails have a combined length of slightly less than one mile.

"We have plans to build six more miles of new trails over the next 10 years and do a lot of restoration work," said Tina Miller, King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks volunteer and restoration coordinator. "Thanks to our strong volunteer support, we are able to extend our budgets and invest time in creating these new recreational trails."

Miller said the existing trails in Taylor Mountain Forest are not built to accepted county or state standards, and the system is in need of a complete overhaul.

"Currently, the trails are too steep, too narrow and very muddy," she said. "They're just not as environmentally sound as they should be."

Miller said these are the first new trails to be built on Taylor Mountain since a comprehensive public use plan and trails assessment was completed two years ago.

The 1,840-acre Taylor Mountain Forest is located south of Interstate 90 and east of State Route 18, between the communities of Hobart and North Bend. Taylor Mountain currently has 8.6 miles of trails and nearly 11 miles of decommissioned gravel roads that are open to passive recreation, including hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding.

The new trails were designed by King County Parks Resource Specialist Jack Simonson and constructed with the help of nearly 600 volunteers who donated an estimated 3,770 hours of work. Volunteers included the general public and a number of groups, such as the Washington Trails Association, Volunteers for Outdoor Washington, Tahoma Backcountry Horseman, Tahoma Outdoor Academy, REI, Microsoft, Boeing, YMCA Earthservice Corp, Mountains-To-Sound Greenway and others.

"It's no exaggeration to say that this trail work would not have been completed without an extraordinary commitment from our volunteers," Miller said.

King County is planning more trail work at Taylor Mountain Forest. The county has received a $40,000 grant from the Washington State Interagency Committee for Outdoor Recreation. The funds, which come from the Non-highway and Off-Road Vehicles Program, Non-motorized category, will be used to build a bridge across Carey Creek and construct 3,000 feet of new trail through the forest, to complete the 5.6-mile Carey Creek Loop Trail.

Miller said funding is in place to build a trail bridge across Holder Creek, providing recreational access to adjacent forestlands, while protecting an important salmon-bearing stream. Both bridges will be built this summer.

Elsewhere in Taylor Mountain Forest, a small timber harvest of mature red alder and maple will close access to the Holder Ridge Trail through mid-summer. Bill Loeber, DNRP forester, said the alder growing on the 73-acre parcel is dying of old age, and would be dead by the end of the decade if not harvested. Maple within the stand will also be harvested, but no conifers will be cut.

Loeber said the harvest is a good example of sustainable forestry that King County practices on approximately 3,000 acres of forest land purchased to protect it from development.

"This timber harvest sold for $273,000, and that money will be used to maintain and protect the natural resources at Taylor Mountain," Loeber said. "Sustainable working forests are an important part of King County's rural landscape. They help to ensure clean water and air, wildlife habitat and recreational opportunities, while selective timber harvests supply a local source of wood products and jobs that contribute to a healthy economy."

The Holder Ridge Trail will be relocated after the timber harvest, and the parcel will be planted with Douglas fir, western red cedar and western hemlock.

More information on the Taylor Mountain Forest is available online at
http://dnr.metrokc.gov/wlr/watersheds/samm/taylor-mountain-public-use-plan.htm.