Trail Overview
Milk Creek Trail is a fun and scenic single-track through the Wenatchee National Forest near the Manastash OHV Trail system, but it is situated farther away from most of the popular trails in the system, so it gets less use and goes through a unique forested terrain with rolling clay hills. The trail is a steady incline from west to east, gaining 1,700 feet over 3.6 miles. The west end starts gradually meandering through a forest floor and rolling hills. It has several steep climbs up loose clay hills that sometimes have loose rock and big root bands across the trail. Some of these climbs are pretty rutted. The trail is generally pretty wide throughout much of the route, with frequent embedded rocks, boulders, and roots, but it gets really narrow in the final climb as it side-hills up an exposed hillside up to Milk Lake. The beautiful Milk Lake is a vibrant milky green color and really unique to see. There are a couple of viewpoints around the lake that make for great stopping points. The single track continues for another half mile around the north side of the lake and eastward through a gradual and easy forest terrain until it ends on the Milk Creek 4WD Trail.
Difficulty
This trail is a solid intermediate route, with frequent steep hill climbs, small roots, loose terrain, and embedded rock. The hill climbs can be rutted and very loose, making it important to maintain traction and commitment. Riders should also use caution in a few spots with mild exposure. The trail requires lots of tight maneuvers through roots, rocks, and trees.
