Port Gamble Forest Heritage Park: Choose a Trailhead Before You Drive

Port Gamble Forest Heritage Park is big enough that “drive to the park” is not a complete plan. Kitsap County describes a 3,493-acre park with walking, biking and equestrian trails, but visitors can enter the trail system from different sides. Your choice of Port Gamble Forest Heritage Park trailhead affects where you begin, what signs you encounter and how directly you reach the part of the park you intended to visit.

The practical move is to choose an access point before starting the car. Then save the County map, check current notices and remain ready to follow posted directions when the online information and conditions on the ground differ.

Start by deciding which side of the park you need

Kitsap County’s 2022 park framework identified five trailheads, listed from north to south:

• Port Gamble Trailhead in the historic Port Gamble town area
• Highway 104/Bay View Trailhead on the park’s east side
• G-1000/Port Gamble Road Trailhead near Port Gamble Road NE and State Route 104
• Stottlemeyer Road Trailhead in the southeast portion of the park
• Dove Family Trailhead on Big Valley Road in the southwest portion

That planning document is useful for understanding the park’s spread, but it predates subsequent access improvements. Stottlemeyer received a developed trailhead that Kitsap County announced in June 2024, including standard and ADA parking plus pull-through stalls intended to accommodate equestrian trailers. The County opened another major access point—the North Gateway—in April 2026.

Do not choose among these entrances solely by which map pin appears first. Identify your activity and the portion of the park you mean to reach, then compare that with the current County information. This guide intentionally does not prescribe a loop or promise that a particular connecting trail is usable.

What the newer North Gateway Trailhead changes

The North Gateway Trailhead opened on April 10, 2026, at 3800 NE Carver Drive. Kitsap County directs drivers there from State Route 104 via Gamble Way NE and describes it as the closest access point to the mountain-bike ride park.

The County lists 75 parking stalls, ADA parking and a restroom at the gateway. Those documented facilities make North Gateway a clearly defined option for reaching the park’s north end, but they do not guarantee a parking space, restroom availability or access to every nearby trail when you arrive.

Riders who are specifically considering this entrance can use our North Gateway parking, map and ride-park planning check for a more focused pre-departure sequence.

Know the Port Gamble trail map’s limitations

Kitsap County links a Port Gamble trail map from both the park page and its countywide trail-map collection. Downloading that map is worthwhile, but the County explicitly says it does not guarantee the accuracy of maps in the collection while new trail-map standards are being developed.

There is also a timing issue: the linked Port Gamble PDF is identified in its file name as a 2024 map, while North Gateway opened in 2026. Treat the map as planning context rather than proof that it shows every current entrance, trail designation, closure or rehabilitation area.

Before leaving, save both the map and the exact address or approach for your selected trailhead. At the park, posted signs, barriers and closure notices should take priority over a previously downloaded map. If the signs do not support your intended outing, change the plan rather than improvising a connection.

Expect a shared trail system

The park serves walkers, bicyclists and equestrians, and the County’s planning framework describes most of the established trail mileage as shared among multiple user groups. It also identifies limited trails with more restrictive uses, so a trail’s rules should not be inferred from the activity you see at its entrance.

Stay on existing or designated trails, as required by County park rules. Read signs at intersections and entrances for permitted uses, travel direction and closures. A practical shared-trail approach is to keep speeds controlled around other visitors, communicate before passing, give horses and their riders room, and avoid stopping where you block the trail. Pets should remain leashed unless an on-site rule says otherwise, and owners must remove pet waste.

Pack out what you bring

Kitsap County specifically calls Port Gamble Forest Heritage Park a pack-it-in, pack-it-out park. Bring a bag for wrappers, food waste, pet waste and anything else you carry into the forest. A trailhead having a restroom does not mean waste receptacles will be available throughout your outing.

Check closures as a separate step

An accessible trailhead is not confirmation that every nearby trail is open. The County says forest stewardship and restoration work was completed in 2025, while some ride-park trails may remain closed for rehabilitation. Its current park notice directs visitors to the Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance’s Port Gamble page for individual ride-park status.

Immediately before departure, check the official Port Gamble park page, the County Parks news page and any activity-specific status source linked by the County. Look for a dated notice that applies to the trail or area you intend to use. Older trip reports, saved screenshots and an open parking lot are not substitutes for a current notice.

Next step: choose your intended trailhead, save its approach information and the County map, and reread the official park notice on the day of your visit. That short sequence is more useful than arriving at a general park pin and trying to solve the access question from the roadside.

Previously generated AI editorial illustration reused from the Kitsap Adventures media library; it does not document a specific event, current condition, product, client, or result described in this article.