Overview
The Raging River Trail System in Raging River State Forest is a developing system of mountain bike trails. On Rattlesnake Ridge and Rattlesnake Mountain, the Raging River Mountain Bike trails overlay a previous hiking trail up the ridge as well as several access fire roads. If you want to hike to Rattlesnake Mountain, you take the Rattlesnake Mountain hiking trail which starts at the same Snoqualmie Point Park Trailhead as Raging River does. If you want to bike then take the Raging River trails. Bikes are not allowed on the hiking trail.
For the first 1200 feet of elevation gain up to Stan’s Overlook, there is a one way up bike trail called “Upward Mobility”. A separate set of trails (“Poppin Tops” and “Flow State”) are for biking down. These have jumps and tight curves so if you’re in to something more mellow on the way down (or wider on the way up), you can simply bike the access roads.
The trail maps below provide an overview of the Raging River trail system on Rattlesnake Ridge. For an interactive map with more details, go to the Trailforks description of Raging River State Forest. The green trails are easy, blue are moderate, black hard, and red extremely hard. On the one way downhill trails expect jumps, tight turns, and some riders to come down at high speeds. The purple “trails” are access roads which give you another option to explore the area on your bike if you’re not into the hard core downhill trails.
Upward Mobility Trail
Overview
The Upward Mobility Trail is a one way uphill mountain bike trail from the Raging River trailhead (elevation 980 feet) at Snoqualmie Point Park to Stan’s Overlook (elevation 2100 feet). The total elevation gain is 1120 feet for the entire trail.
At the far end of the parking lot, there is the Rattlesnake Mountain Trailhead sign. There is also a distance signage to Stan’s Overlook, Grand Prospect, and East Peak. These are distances along the Rattlesnake Mountain hiking trail – the biking trail distances are longer.
Upward Mobility 1 (Start to the first fire road)
Proceed a very short distance, cross a fire road and come to the biking – hiking trail split. The left fork is the Upward Mobility Trail. If you are new to this area, a third option is to turn left and hike or bike up the fire road (see the maps above to find where the fire access roads go).
The trail winds gradually upward through the forest. One mile and 330 ft elevation gain up the trail is a junction. If you go left here, there is a very short cutoff to the Flow State Lower trail which is one way downhill. This would be your shortest option (2 miles round trip). Continuing up the Upward Mobility Trail, take 5 switchbacks and cross one fire road.
Upward Mobility 2 (First fire road to the second fire road)
The fire road is the Upward Mobility 2 checkpoint. Then pass through a magnificent stand of giant foxgloves (if it’s the right season), while taking 3 more switchbacks to the second fireroad crossing. You are now 2.25 miles and 550 feet up from the trailhead. This is the Upward Mobility 3 checkpoint.
Looking to the left (north) at the fire road is the first good view of the Snoqualmie River Valley and North Bend. At either of these fire roads, you have the option to go down them and return via Flow State/Poppin Tops or by the road.
Upward Mobility 3 (Second Fire Road to Dash Trail)
From here, the trail starts to climb a little more steeply and becomes UM3. In 0.4 miles and another 170 feet, reach the “Dash” trail junction. Taking Dash to the left will allow you to start descending at Poppin Tops Lower, thereby avoiding the upper expert trail which comes off of Stan’s Overlook. Turning right takes you to the fire road.
Upward Mobility 4 (Dash Trail to Stan's Overlook)
The final (UM4) stretch of the Upward Mobility trail brings you out just shy of Stan’s Overlook. At this point you are 3.19 miles and 1100 ft elevation gain from the Trailhead. Except for the break at the second fire road, it’s mostly been a ride in the forest. Coming out of Upward Mobility, you have 3 options: 1. Turn left to Stan’s Overlook and drop down the expert Poppin Tops Upper Trail. 2. Turn right and go to the fire road, or 3. Continue straight on to the Raging Ridge trail. The Raging Ridge trail is two way. If you’re looking for amazing views, you need to continue up the ridge (much more elevation gain coming). Otherwise go down either the serious biking trail or cut over to the road and descend that way.
Raging River Trail - Descending from Stan's Overlook
Stop and enjoy the view from the picnic tables at Stan’s Overlook before starting down Poppin Tops. The upper portion of Poppin Tops is labeled expert for a reason – it’s much more challenging than Lower Poppin Tops and Flow State. If you don’t think you’re ready for this, cut over to the road and back to the Dash Trail and join back in below Upper Poppin Tops.
Poppin Tops Upper (Expert - 250 foot descent over 0.4 miles)
The first hundred yards or so are slowly descending with some bumps. All of a sudden there is a sharp left turn and large steep (25%) drop (the most intense of the entire ride). This is followed by two really sharp turns and numerous bumps which bring you out at the Dash trail. It’s a 250 foot descent over about 0.4 miles.
Poppin Tops Lower
This is the continuation from the end of Poppin Tops Upper. It’s an intermediate descending trail with many fun bermed turns, small jumps, and some technical fun. It ends at the second fire road. It drops 220 feet over about the same distance (0.4 miles) as Poppin Tops Upper.
Flow State Upper and Lower
Flow State continues from the bottom of Poppin Tops. While the descent rate overall is similar, the trail gets easier as you go down. Less bumps, steep sharp turns, etc. As the name implies, there is more of a “flow”. Upper Flow State runs from the second fire road to just below the first fire road where the initial cutoff from Upper Mobility joins in.
Then the easy Lower Flow State continues the rest of the way down to the fire road. At the fire road make a left and go a short way. Don’t miss the right turn off the road over to the parking lot.
Raging Ridge Trail (2 way) on Rattlesnake Ridge
The Raging Ridge trail starts at Stan’s Overlook and runs along Rattlesnake Ridge. It is open to hikers, runners, and mountain bikers. No horses, dirt bikes or ORVs are allowed. The trail starts at the end of the Upward Mobility Trail and extends along the Rattlesnake Ridgetop. For bikers, it’s a conduit to the Raging River descending trails in the back area. For others, it’s simply an opportunity to get out on the open ridge and get some fantastic views including Mt Rainier. The trail is roughly 5 miles one way with an elevation climb of 1500 feet to the East Peak of Rattlesnake Mountain (elevation 3600 feet).
This is an intermediate level singletrack trail that starts off in tall forest and ends up running through clearcut areas with amazing views. At the far end are the advanced steep technical trails. If those are not your intention, it’s best to return back the way you came.
Raging River Trailhead Location
If you are going eastbound on I-90, take Exit 27 and instead of going under the freeway on the larger road to the Snoqualmie Casino, turn right. There are a few parking spots there. To get to the parking lot then immediately go up the hill to the left. At the top of the hill turn right into the Rattlesnake Mountain Trail parking lot. A Discover Pass is required for parking. Instead of turning right, you can go straight ahead and find a few more parking spots. However, the trailhead is at the large parking lot to the right.