A Biking Paradise

You're on a roll when looking for excitement in the Tobacco Valley, and one place to look is on the trail - with your bike.

The rapidly growing sport of mountain biking on the national forests now includes five designated mountain bike trails on the Rexford Ranger District. These vary in difficulty from easy to strenuous, and are anywhere from 8 to l4 miles in length.

The Swisher-Gateway trail is 9 miles of rated easy biking and tracks through the Ponderosa forests along the Lake Koocanusa. The trailhead begins at the Swisher Lake trail.

The Kootenai Trail is approximately l4 miles round trip and sends the riders along the old railroad grade along the Tobacco River to the Rexford Bench Campground. This trail is labeled easy also, but there are a few fences to contend with and the trail is overgrown with weeds in a few places.

The Camp 32-Black Butte Lookout Trail takes off from the Camp 32 campground off Highway 37 and follows Forest Service Road #7185 to the Black Butte Lookout. This trail, particularly the Black Butte side, is fairly steep and calls for a strenuous rating.

The McGuire Mountain Loop takes off the Road #494 west to Little Sutton Mountain, where a posted sign marks the beginning of the trail. The biking trail follows the McGuire Mt. trail to the lookout and back to the #494 road. This trail makes a l4 mile roundtrip loop and is rated moderate to strenuous in difficulty.

The Webb Mountain Lookout/Thirsty Thriller Trail begins at the gate on the Webb Mountain road, makes a loop around Forest Service Road #l92l to junction with the Thirsty Mountain Trail #98. This is approximately a 9 mile loop and is rated moderate in difficulty. Forest Service plans include reconstruction of Trail #98, which should be available for summer travelers.

As always when traveling in mountainous forested regions, care and skill must be used when dealing with elements like weather, wildlife, nutrition and clothing.