Banner Forest
DO NOT park on Olverra 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.
Info
Trail System near the Southworth Ferry south of Port Orchard in Kitsap County. A series of mostly tight and technical trails built mostly by XC riders. A whole bunch of trails densly packed into one square mile. You'd be surprised at how much riding you can get out of a 1 mile by 1 mile square.
Most maintenance comes from invisible trail gnomes but they seem to be pretty active as the trails stay in good shape. If you have questions on how you can get involved, contact the Banner Forest Stewardship FB Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/1751831691762078/
Ride Reports
Mishmash, Wally World, Wormhole, Capitulate, Wired Brain, and Dr. John all running wonderfully. A little mud in some low spots, but hardly any standing water, except for Banner Slough, which is common this time of year.
hit banner, this was the first time at this loaction for me. met a few other riders. there was an alartimg abount of mug and stading water thoughtout. still a funn ride. however i would avoid; lizard king, croking frog, Dr john, and gamma. these were all realy wet. suprisingly very little blow do...
We had a awesome family ride for evergreen's take a kid mountain biking day at Banner Forest. We rode Dr . John, Lizard King, Stumps, and Banner Alley. All the trails were in great shape even for a beginner like my daughter. Sher had a great time getting out into the woods and exploring. Dirt was...
Getting there:
Take the ferry from the Seattle Fauntleroy Terminal to Southworth. Get off the ferry at Southworth. Don’t drive onto the ferry; instead, walk your bikes on with all your gear. This will only cost you $7.45. It‘s only a 3.7 mile road ride to Banner Forest from the spot...
Banner is one of my favorites. It's not particularly difficult, although you'll find enough to challeng you. It's easilly accessible from the ferry - if you're coming from Seattle, park (or bus...or ride!) at the west Seattle ferry and just ride on. Saves some money, and Banner is so close to the...
We rode Banner for the first time today. Wow, there are a lot of trails packed into this patch of land! For all the rain we've had the trails rode pretty good until we got towards the end of our ride. Sorcerer's Hollow and Cougar Knoll both had giant puddles or more like ponds n...
I live just thirty minutes away and had never ridden here. The trail surfaces were great and there is quite a network of them packed into this relatively small area. Looks like some areas are off limits to bikes and horses but there is still plenty of trail to ride. If an hour or two is all...
Just finished a two hour tour of Banner on the singlespeed. Great place. Felt like a very dense Paradise Valley. Trails were in great shape. Signs of recent blowdown clearing and shrubing on some trails. Took the map from the visitkitsap site. Map is accurate with just a few connectors missing.&n...
Oct is here and the rains are starting. If you are new to the Banner Forest trails here are my tips on trails that typically will hold water and mud for prolonged times. Avoid Foxy Deer, Donald Duck, and Banner Slough. Banner Slough can be used to connect trails but expect big standing puddles, m...
Rode it Sunday for the first time. The map available from Kitsap Parks may not be fully correct but is more then adequate for navigation around and back to the parking lot. The signs, if there, are up high so that's where to look. Took the time to remove a fallen log from Capitu...
Dry and awesome! The trails are in good shape (they get really wet in the winter) but they are completely dry right now. As always at Banner, watch out for horses and walkers. Throw your iPod on and go have fun! Banner is perfect if you want a carefree ride where you don't have to worry about get...