Jim Bushard

Has anyone out there ever ridden to Lester? I know you have go down from it near Stampede pass or you get on the fire road off of the John Wayne trail.

aRoudy1

I used to go backpacking (about 20 years ago) up near the old town of Stampede. At that time you couldn't go into Lester because it's in the Tacoma watershed and access was limited to Forest Service workers and the one old woman who lived in Lester. She's dead now but I think the area is still restricted. If you find out it's not, I'd be interested in riding out there.

Jim Bushard

I e-mailed the Tacoma water district and this is what they said about Lester:

The public can still access Lester if they come in over Stampede Pass.
It is walk in only and once you get to the West end of Lester you will
see the Watershed boundary signs. There is still 121 inches of snow on
the pass so it will be several weeks before it is open to vehicle
traffic.

Sounds like a potential ride later this summer.

East Hill

That's very interesting to know that Lester can still be accessed.

Thanks for checking on that Jim!

East Hill