Route Information
Distance:
17 miles
Difficulty Level: Advanced
Elevation Gain: 3900 feet
Suggested Maps: Green trails #52, #53
This ride combines two recently resurrected trails and some Forest
Service roads into one challenging ride. At its high point on Pearrygin
Peak, the ride features some excellent views of the upper Methow Valley
and surrounding peaks. The ride down the Pearrygin Creek Trail can be
exhilarating and somewhat gripping depending on the rider's comfort level
with sidehills.
To the Trailhead: From Winthrop follow signs for Pearrygin Lake State Park. Instead of turning into the entrance of the park continue straight onto the dirt road which leads into the Methow Valley Wildlife Area. After the road turns to dirt take the first left and follow it to Sullivan's Pond. This is Forest Service Road #100. Sullivan's Pond is a marshy pond that sits on a bench above the Valley right where the landscape turns from open sage to forest. Park at any of the numerous pullouts near the pond.
The Ride: Continue uphill on Road #100 past the intersection with Road #200. Continue onto Road #300 at the intersection with it. Follow this road all the way to its end at the Trailhead for the Pearrygin Ridge Trail. Follow the Pearrygin Ridge Trail for about 3 miles to Pearrygin Peak. This is the turn around. (It is possible to continue on the Ridge trail to Beaver Meadows and beyond, but this ride leaves that for another day.) Head back down the trail to the trailhead at the end of Road #300. Follow Road #300 for about half a mile to a left hand corner with a stock watering tank on your right. Across the road from the tank is the start of the Pearrygin Creek Trail. It should be marked with a cairn or sign. Follow the trail to near its end in the creek bottom. There are a pair of barbed wire gates near the end of the trail. At this point a steep cattle trail leads up the hillside to the right. Follow this cattle trail which will connect to jeep tracks and other cow trails that will lead you back to Sullivan's Pond and the start of the ride.
