The Lewis County Community Trails Association’s (LCCT) annual Ride The Willapa event took place over the weekend, and nearly 300 local cyclists hit the trails.
More than 100 cycled from Veterans Memorial Museum, the starting point, to Rainbow Falls State Park, where they spent the night before cycling back Sunday morning.
LCCT Board President Mark Dulin said that it’s the first time since COVID that they were able to host the campout, and he credited Rainbow Falls, local volunteers, and his colleagues with the LCCT for being able to make the event a success.
“It’s probably the most celebrated thing,” Dulin said of the campout. “The biggest thanks to our volunteers … They’re super collaborative.”
In addition to the campout, there were other routes available for cyclists to take, including longer and more difficult routes for advanced riders, and the first Family Fun Ride.
That ride was a five-mile family-friendly ride to Back Memorial County Park in Adna, where there was pizza, games, and T-Shirts for the kids.
Dulin said that the family ride was meant to be similar to the “C-to-C” ride, a ride that went between Centralia and Chehalis that was put on by the city parks.
With the event being a success this year, Dulin says he anticipates growth next summer, and he’s hopeful for a similar volunteer turnout.
“Just a super big thank you to the volunteers and locals who come together to make it fun,” Dulin said.
