Weekend in Winthrop: Methow Valley Gravel

September 21, 2025 by Piotr

First things first:

• Methow: pronounced met-how
• Pearrygin: pronounced pair-a-gin

It’s September, for all I know one of the best times to visit Winthrop – snow is gone, it’s not too hot anymore, and the smoke from the fires is mostly gone too. The big plan for the day is Winthrop Valley Loop – 25 mile loop with 2400ft of elevation gain.

The slow wake up & Pearrygin Lake Loop Run

We visited on September 20-21. It gets bright before 7am, but you get to see the sun from behind the mountains after 7:30. The views were amazing. 

Every parent needs some solo time – for me it was a run around Pearrygin Lake. Since the family decided to sleep in, a morning run around Pearrygin Lake sounded like a good option. It’s about 5.5miles, give or take. Sunrise was mindblowing! 

Winthrop Valley Loop – The main event

Kids ages: 5 & 8
Total time taken: 5h 40min, Moving time: 3h 43min, Avg Speed (moving): 6.7mph
Trailhead: Mack Lloyd Park
Start time: 11:30 am
Map

Day earlier our younger kid graduated to a bike with gears – 6 speed 20″ Guardian. We were hoping that the gears will help him climb. Unfortunately, I did not anticipate that he will have trouble shifting gears (gotta change the shift cable+housing), plus the grades exceeded his abilities. The 5 year old turned around after climbing some 600-700ft of elevation. But the older guy (8 yo) continued climbing! (He also got a new bike – Trek Wahoo, with 8 speed derailleur — this bike is pretty light and the granny gear is pretty kids friendly – he only got off the bike 2 or 3 times during the entire trip).

There were ups and downs on the trip, 8-year-old wanting to turn around at some point. But PBJ (and his new invention – PBN – Peanut Butter Nutella sandwich) kept him going, along with the trail mix (nuts + mms mixed together). We also drank plenty of water, he must have gone through 3 or 4 750ml bottles of water and/or electrolytes. In total, we ended up the ride with a 2 liters of water remaining, after going through 5 or so. The first part of the ride had little shade – but the second one was way more shady.

Also, on the aptly named Grizzly Mountain, 2 bear cubs crossed our path. That was both a pretty scary and an exciting experience — we didn’t see the bear mom, so we tried to give the cubs the space and we waited it out – using our bells and voices to make sure the mom doesn’t get surprised. 

The town

The BLM fire engines from Arizona were stationed in Winthrop that day, and Heniek got to see some of them. Unfortunately, Antoni did not (he will need to wait for the next day). We went for a walk in town, eating some chocolates and ice cream, basking in the local vibe. However, come 6pm, it was the last hour before the sunset. 

The solo ride – Bear Creek Rd /  Pearrygin Lake Loop

9.5 miles, 700ft gain.

This is a scenic way to get to Pearrygin Lake State Park from Winthrop, and definitely a highlight of the entire trip for me. There was only one climb (700ft), and then downhill from there. The first few miles were paved, and the remainder was mostly unpaved. The climb wasn’t bad at all, and sunset was definitely the time to do it!

Day 2 – The lazy day

It was supposed to rain all day – but it wasn’t! It rained over night, but by the time we got up, the tent was almost dry. 

Pearrygrin lake loop + fish hatchery 

Both kids wanted to do more biking, so we went on a 7 mile bike ride (300 ft?). It was a mix of gravel road, single track and paved road. The beginning was pretty much identical to the run on the first day.

The ride ended at a fish hatchery, where the kids got to feed the trout, and we got to see tiny salmons 🙂 

We also stopped by the fire station again, and talked extensively to the BLM folks! They have a super cool equipment for fighting forest fires, and showed us everything, including radio, lights, compressors… Super cool of them to show it to ….ekhm… the kids.

Washington pass & Diablo lake

A mandatory stop on the way back from Winthrop is Washington Pass overlook & Diablo Lake. The views are unparalleled.

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