Washington Trails Association has just released its 2025 roads report, highlighting 10 key roads in Washington that are crucial to outdoor recreation and, in turn, Washington’s public health and economy.
The featured roads include the Chiwawa River Road and the notorious Silver Star Road in Lewis County. The report also includes a request to fund road maintenance to prevent loss of access to public lands. Like trails, roads require annual maintenance to provide access to Iconic recreation areas.
The report is timely, given the recent reduction in Forest Service staff by thousands. Staffing cuts will severely impact our public lands, leaving trails and roads less safe and under-resourced when they are growing in popularity.
Access to public lands has decreased over the years as U.S. Forest Service funding has decreased. Roads require significantly more funding than trails to keep them serviceable. The U.S. Forest Service has just 15% of the budget to maintain the 90,000 miles of forest roads in Oregon and Washington. As budgets are cut, road damage piles up faster and more severely, increasing the likelihood that favorite areas are rendered inaccessible.
This lack of maintenance funding results in road conditions that discourage public use. Some roads are left undrivable, cutting off access to trails and entire trail networks in our national forests and putting pressure on other trails that remain accessible.
“We cannot access the majority of Washington’s incredible outdoor places without forest roads. The roads that get us to trailheads are an integral piece of the outdoor recreation that our state is known for, a sector that supports local economies and also the physical and mental health of our communities,” said Andrea Imler, WTA’s advocacy director.
Ninety percent of Washington state residents use trails. Trails contribute over $8.2 billion to Washington state’s economy each year and support more than 81,000 jobs. Trail-based recreation is responsible for more than $390 million in health savings annually. Investing in our public lands benefits Washington’s communities, economy, and environment.
The public can also review the report and join WTA’s Trail Action Network, which helps keep people who love the outdoors updated on issues and opportunities to advocate for public lands.
[Information provided by the Washington Trails Association]
