Statewide, Central Washington's best-known mountain bike ride is arguably the Devils Gulch Trail. What is little known is that, from the upper trailhead of this best-known ride, there are a half dozen excellent hikes to enjoy. Some of these hikes may appeal to family members accompanying mountain bikers, but all are worth walking for their own sake.

Maps: Topo maps for any of the routes mentioned below can be found at the links we've supplied. Note: use ‘Print Preview’ before printing to properly scale this map to a full sheet of paper.

Activity: Hiking, Mountain Biking, Trail Running
Nearest Town: Wenatchee
Skill Level: 2 - Several of these hikes are poorly signed and require reasonable map-reading skills.
Fitness Level: 2 - Most of these hikes require intermediate fitness.
Recommended Season: Most of these trails are shaded and provide good summer options when it's hot down in the Wenatchee Valley. The area is also very beautiful in autumn when the grasses and vegetation yellow. 

Access:
--From Wenatchee: Drive up Squilchuck Road toward Mission Ridge. Follow the Squilchuck Road 1 mile past Squilchuck State Park and turn right on Forest Road 9712 (Beehive Reservoir Road). Drive this road about 4.3 miles to the Devil's Gulch Upper Trailhead.
--From Cashmere: Exit Highway 2 at the westernmost Cashmere stoplight. Cross the bridge into Cashmere and at the main intersection in town (flashing light) go straight (you’re on Division Street). In a few hundred yards the road bends to the right around the schools and becomes Pioneer Avenue. Shortly after this bend, turn left on Mission Creek Rd. Go roughly .5 mile and turn right at the T intersection. Cross Mission Creek and turn left at the next road, which is Mission Creek Road. Now drive 7.5 miles to a Y in the road near where the pavement ends. Near the end of pavement and around this Y in the road, the property bordering the road is private, strewn with dead cars and junked appliances. No trespassing signs are visibly posted making, it seem as though you can’t drive the road. Ignore them. Take the left branch and follow Road 7100 along Mission Creek for about 2.75 miles to the lower Devils Gulch Traillhead.
---- Now to reach the upper lot, drive 2.25 mile to a fork and go right staying on Road 7100. At 8.6 miles from the lower lot, remain on Road 7100 by going right at a 5-way intersection. In about another mile Road 7100 ends, turn right on Road 9712. About 11.2 miles from the lower lot, turn off Road 9712 into the upper trailhead (el 5,000 feet). 

Trip Instructions:
Most of the links to the route descriptions below have been pulled out of our mountain biking guidebook, and make reference to riders rather than hikers. Sorry. Also, these guidebook descriptions don't always use the upper trailhead of Devils Gulch as their starting point so you'll need to perform the mental gymnastics of starting and ending you’re hike at a different spot. If you can't handle this, go back to school.

1) The Beehive Trail provides a 4.2-mile (roundtrip) forested walk with some views. This hike starts to the right of the kiosk at the Devils Gulch upper parking lot and runs parallel to the Beehive Reservoir Road (Road 9712) for a half mile before crossing Road 9712 and heading downhill (toward the Beehive Reservoir) through some older forests and through some logged forests. The hike is most enjoyable if you go out and back on the trail. For variety, however, you could walk down the trail and return to the start on Road 9712. View our topo map.

2) The Devils Spur Trail can be done as a 5-mile out-and-back walk. The first half mile is the same as the Beehive option described above. This route traverses some exposed, open slopes with beautiful vistas. View our topo map.

3) The Pipeline Trail is a flat 5.5-mile (round trip) out-and-back walk to the Mission Ridge Ski Area. View our topo map.

4) The Clara Lake Loop is a 6.5 mile loop with some steep descents. Starts by walking 1.2 miles uphill from the Devil’s Gulch Trailhead along Road 9712. From a small pullout on the left (no signs) take the Squilchuck Trail over to the Clara Lake Trail, descend that trail to the Pipeline Trail, turn left and walk two miles along the Pipeline Trail back to the start. View our topo map.

5) The Mission Ridge Trail is a longer, harder walk paralleling the Devil's Gulch Trail. View our topo map.

6) The Upper Mission - Upper Devils Gulch Loop is a varied 9-mile hike with views, basalt flows, and forests. Walk 1.85 miles uphill from the Devils Gulch Trailhead along Road 9712, take the Mission Ridge Trail downhill for 3.9 rocky miles until it intersects the Devils Gulch Trail, turn right and follow the Devils Gulch Trail (uphill) about 3.1 miles back to the start. View our topo map.

Misc: Most of these routes are dry--bring plenty of water.
Fees/Permits: As of 2007, a Northwest Forest Passes was NOT needed at the upper parking lot.

Leave It Better Than You Found It: This should be every outdoor user’s goal. Pick up trash left by others, pull noxious weeds along your route, disperse old fire rings (they encourage more fires), throw branches over spur trails and spurs between switchbacks (make it harder to do the wrong thing than the right thing).

Important Disclaimer: Treat this information as recommendations, not gospel. Things change, conditions change, and those contributing these reports are volunteers--they may make mistakes, fail to give complete information, or may not know all the issues affecting a route. So forget about finger pointing: If things go wrong, you are completely responsible for yourself and your actions. If you can’t live with that, you are prohibited from using our information.