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Beacon Hill covers 950 ripping acres right in the middle of Spokane, Washington. Recently, it was sanctioned as a city bike park, with terrain that makes for great singletrack XC trails of which you definitely have to earn your descents and airtime. When or if you make it to the top, you have a nearly 360 degree view of Spokane, the city of dreams. There are two sides to Beacon, one has most of the Downhill and Freeride goods, and the other, XC trails that traverse both sides of the area. Beacon Hill is the only snow-free riding area through most of the fall-winter-spring, and sees good traffic throughout these seasons. The dirt is often dry, and the temperature is hot, so in the summer everyone usually heads for more tree covered areas around Spokane. There is no shuttling on Beacon, so hiking or riding your bike is the only way to get around. The hike on the downhill side is roughly 15 minutes to the top and about 2 minutes down for a thrilling run laced with lots of fun features to session on the way.
When Freehub Magazine asked us to write a trail review, we were stoked and decided to write about one of our Sunday group downhill rides. On this particular Sunday, a bunch of friends came to visit and we decided to cover both sides of the mountain, making it a full day of shredding. This day consisted of everything from scouting new lines for the Double Down Hoe Down race in March, to practicing the new “pro only” line and hitting the biggest drop on the hill called “Girthmore”. Next we did some timed mini laps on the bermless-flat corner xc trails, and a little hiking to hit some large rock roll downs and technical lines throughout the hill. We finished the day off with a run down “The Zipper”, a fast trail with lots of big rock features. It has awesome roll downs, a big wall ride, and a steep rock chute called “Timbuktooth” ,as well as “High Lifes” in the parking lot. Beacon is a great place to gather with good people, rip some phat, and fast lines, or even get your pedal on. If you come to Spokane, make sure to stop by Wheel Sport East and get the low down on the local scene.
