Trail:Banner Forest
From Evergreen Trail Guide
|
| |
| Name | Banner Forest |
| Tech Rating | 
|
| Grunt Rating |
|
| Singletrack | 95% |
| Fire road | 5% |
| Paved | 0% |
| Total trail | 20+ mi. |
| Alt. change | 35 |
| Latitude: | 47.4891514879959 |
| Longitude: | -122.545838356018 |
| Nearest medical: | Port Orchard on Tremont St on right |
| Page adopted by: | Mark Fisher |
| Get Directions | |
Trail Overview
1 square mile packed full of fun. Some tight and technical, some open with nice flow. 20 or more miles of trails. Cool wetlands, moss, and few invasives make for some great riding. A great place for beginners, kids, and single speeds!
How to find it
From Tacoma: (this route is easier than Sedgwick Rd.)
Exit Mullenix Rd off rt 16, go right. COntinue to stop at Ollala Valley Rd, go left. Continue to stop at Banner rd, go left. .75 miles on left to main parking area. Another parking area is near white gate on Ollala Valley rd. Sign boards at both locations.
From Seattle:
Leave your car in West Seattle and take the ferry to Southworth. From Soutthworth take Sedgewick Road past church and school, turn left on Banner Road. West Seattle ferry is served by Metro bus # 54 or pasenger only ferry (weekdays) from downtown to Vashon then car ferry to Southworth.
Typical Conditions
Puddles and mud in winter on some trails. Some trails stay well drained. Stay out of middle during the wet months and you'll find well drained trails with minor puddles.
Current Conditions
- 07-05-2010 A few puddles from recent rain otherwise good. More new log rides. Bear seen in area.
- 04-13-2013 A few puddles on trails in the middle. The trails on the corners are well drained and fast. Mishmash is incredible as usual.
Turn-By-Turn Guide
One of the best maintained places to ride. Best tech trails: Capitulate, Sidewinder, Stumps, Bloviate, San Fransisco, Oakland, Greek System. Small area, but you'll be working. Trails are well signed (look for carved vertical wood signs in the trees) at the entrance and exit.
Many riders enter the park and chain together trails circling around the park. Enter via the fire road, take PR2, Curve Ball, follow Mishmash all the way through, stay right and take Foxy Deer, loop through Bonzer (tight and twisty), roll down Sashay and through Oakland. These frequently drop back to the fire road for convenient places to orient yourself again.
- Latest Banner Map (this map was done by MarkHL)
- Older map - from kitsapgov.com
These maps have significant differences. If you visit Banner and discern the relative accuracy of these two maps, please post annotations to this page.
Local Points of Interest
- Silver City Brewery
Misc. Information
Park in the main lot on Banner road. Options are at the gates on Banner and Ollala Valley rds. Never block the gates. DO NOT park on Overra Rd off of Banner. This is a private road and you may get towed. Not an off leash area for dogs. Please pull any holly trees you find, they are invasive. Please carpool if you can, parking is limited and the horse people need room.
Night-riding is restricted to groups with a permit. We get the permit for Thursday and Friday night rides in dark months.
Advocacy Information
Locals are in very tight with Kitsap County Parks. The trail gnomes are always active here. See kiosk for work parties.
For more info and to contact locals see Kitsap Mountain Biking
