Gifford-Pinchot Forest Service Road 25

Back in 2004, I wrote the following about a trip I did in August of that year.

Several weeks prior to the ‘Beaver Blast’ put together by my cycling club, I mentioned to one of my co-workers that I would be going to Oregon. We’d been talking about doing FR25 <sic>together for about a year, but had never figured out our respective work schedules. So this time, we figured we’ve got to go do Helens.

As I’d taken a 4-day weekend to do this trip, we were down at Mt. St. Helens on a Friday afternoon. The day was warm and over-dry, but a fair number of bikes could be seen heading up and down our subject road. We gassed up, fed, and re-stocked our liquids at Randle before heading south into the meat of our journey through the National Volcanic Monument.

Many very nice roads are to be found in this area, include WA SR7, FR99, FR90/SR503 to Vancouver, and FR90 leading east and then south down to Carson.

This is still true for the most part. Things have changed a little bit on FS25. FS25 is still a wonderland of twisty bits and wonderful sweepers, but it’s also rather dangerous now.

The Washington State Patrol and the Forest Service have started doing high emphasis traffic enforcement patrols on this road and on FS99 due to the number of sportbike riders getting themselves seriously injured here. During 2005 and 2006 it was not a common occurrence for 2-3 riders per weekend to be airlifted out.

FS25 and (especially) FS99 are still fantastic places to get views of Mt. St. Helens, but in the intervening 25+ years since the eruption, the trees have started have started to regrow.

A couple photos taken on FS25 some years ago:

The north end of FS25 / WA SR 131The north end of FS25 / WA SR 131 My riding partner doing the sweeper bits along the south end My riding partner doing the sweeper bits along the south end

FS25 has no services whoatsoever along the length except for at either end. There’s some gas stations and convenience stores and a small tavern/restaurant in Randle. There’s also a small restaurant and a gas station in Cougar. Last time I rolled through to the east on FS90 I saw a little gas station a few miles east of the FS25 junction, but I haven’t been able to find anything online or in my map software to verify it’s still there.

If you’re looking for much more than this, you’ll have to either go into Packwood on the north end or down toward Vancouver on the south leg of SR503.

  • Towns: Randle, Cougar
  • Length: 95 miles, including a trip to the overlook on FS99
  • Counties: Lewis, Skamania

Microsoft Streets & Trips file for FS25/Washington SR131

Overview Map for FS25 / SR131:

The black circle that you see below is the location for the SR99 turnoff. That is also reflected in the MS S&T map linked above.
Overview Map of Gifford-Pinchot Forest Service Road 25

Google Map:

View Larger Map

Last 5 posts in Twisties

Last 5 posts in Western WA

Twisties, Western WA | October 5th, 2007
9 Comments

9 Comments

  1. kegill Says:
    August 16th, 2008 at 10:42 AM

    Experienced FS25 from mid-point (FS90) to Randle two weeks ago. From there to FS99 cut-off, the road remains scenic and a lovely ride.

    However, North of FS99 cut-off, the condition of the road is extremely poor. There are posted 10 and 15 mph signs due to bad pavement: don’t ignore them.

    FWIW, FS-99 is closed only a few miles west of FS-25, due to road damage from winter storms.

  2. Shayne Says:
    June 23rd, 2009 at 10:23 AM

    Tried to hit this road on June 8 th of this year when I was visiting the Seattle area. The road was closed at the 10 mile mark due to washouts/slides further down. Hopefully they get them fixed this year and I can give them a try next year.

    shayne

  3. Michael Says:
    September 24th, 2009 at 1:16 PM

    I took this road this last august from randle to stevenson, curly creak road and meadow creak road are very fun. They do run through small towns though. The locals were not very happy with us.

  4. SamA Says:
    December 25th, 2009 at 10:57 AM

    FS 25 Temporary bridge may be washed out again. Late Fall 2009
    “The Forest has started work with Federal Highways on design and replacement of the bridge over Benham Creek. Completion of the permanent bridge is scheduled for 2011.” http://gis.fs.fed.us/gpnf/news/2009/documents/final-20091110a-ForestRoad25.pdf

    SamA Vancouver WA

  5. I may have had the most fun I've had on a motorcycle yesterday - Motorcycle-Journal Forums Says:
    August 2nd, 2010 at 9:14 AM

    [...] and an interesting crossing of a temporary bridge where a landslide knocked out the original. Gifford Pinchot FS Road 25 About halfway down FS 25, we hooked into FS 99, which goes up to Mount St. Helens. After riding [...]

  6. scritch Says:
    May 27th, 2011 at 9:58 AM

    Took this road September of 2010. Although the road was open the whole way, including the bridge, the pavement has really suffered over the years, and a long stretch coming down the mountain toward Randle had lots of damage due to earth settlement, especially on the downhill side of the road. My buddy and I decided we won’t return until the road gets repaved (fat chance).

  7. StormRiderCA Says:
    June 14th, 2011 at 10:22 AM

    Can anyone please send me a detailed map of the section mentioned by Scritch in poor condition? I’ll be riding down in August and would love to do the road if it is in decent condition.

  8. Chris Says:
    July 11th, 2011 at 8:39 AM

    We tried running this N -> S over the weekend (7/9/2011) but it’s STILL closed “due to snow” just south of the 99 junction. I did this run maybe five years ago and it was amazing, but the condition of the road (at least north of US99) has gotten REALLY bad, particularly in the northbound lanes. One of my buddies was on a newer Tiger and he was bottoming out his suspension on the the many ruts bumps and crags that cross the road. The one lane wood bridge is still there although some of the wood is beginning to warp and stick up up badly in spots. If that thing gets any moss on it, it will be a killer. As it is now, it’s a bit too beat up for my tastes. I’ll stick to Pacific Raceways where there’s at least an ambulance nearby…

  9. Barry K. Says:
    August 21st, 2011 at 9:34 PM

    I’ve ridden this route 4 times so far, except I go from near Lyle, WA to Carson, WA and then to the end of Forest Service road 99, AKA Windy Ridge. It is tiring for me, being 58, but is truly awesome if you like twisties. I can attest that this entire area demands focus and caution. One moment of eyes off of the road can mean serious problems. I personally saw 2 very serious accidents (cruisers) on my first run up there.

    Make sure that you have a full tank of gas, water and snacks because the average speed is lower than you might expect and it takes time to do this ride.

    Make sure to do this ride on a weekday, on the weekends, it’s a ZOO!

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