There are few things as thrilling as launching off a finely sculpted dirt take off and watching the landing come closer as you soar through the air. Touching down with all the grace of a swan landing on a glossy lake on the backside of the landing and getting all the speed you need for the next lip. Well, it doesn’t always go quite that smoothly, but I think we can all agree that buttering the jumps on your local trails is just about the best thing ever. If you want to come to Bellingham and hit the best jumps around, here’s my list of the best jump trail on Galbraith Mountain so you can spend less time checking the map and more time throwing whips.

In case you’re more of a visual learner and want to check out a video of these trails, we’ve got a YouTube video riding every single one of the trails we talk about in this article. In the video, I’m riding my Transition Spire with some of my favorite components we carry here at The Lost Co, including the incredibly neon MT7 Raceline brakes, RockShox Super Deluxe Coil Ultimate, and DT Swiss 511 rims paired with the Industry Nine 1/1 hubs.

Suspension is an infinitely personal thing, but no matter who you are, all riders can benefit from adapting their settings to the trails they’re riding. Most of the time, our bikes are set up for all the technical trails we usually ride, but jumps are a different beast and with just a little tinkering, our bikes can become a lot more capable at getting air born, which is why I use RockShox’s new 2023 ZEB Ultimate and Super Deluxe Coil Ultimate to easily tune my dampers to the jumps we’re about to ride. Adding a click or two of Low Speed Compression to both the front and the rear will help the bike stay supported on the lips and give a bit more pop by staying higher in its travel. Adding a click or two of rebound can also make the bike more responsive off of lips, but be careful, as increasing your rebound can make the bike more unpredictable when launching off of poppy lips.

Starting with the most classic jump lines at Galbraith, Cedar Dust is home to some great options for everyone, ranging from a rider hitting their first jump ever to doubles that will make some pro riders quake in their boots.

While it might not be in the video, the Cedar Dust Green Line is a fantastic blend of nearly untouched corners and a couple of small tabletops sprinkled in there to add a bit of spice. These jumps are great for anyone looking to dip their toes into the world of getting air, and enjoy some beautiful corners along the way.

Next up is the Cedar Dust Blue Line, with a seemingly unending lineup of tabletops, this trail is perfect for anyone trying to get maximum reps on low stakes jumps. Pair those jumps with a few corners that are infamous in Bellingham for being the most “Schralpable” corners, everyone can find something to keep them entertained on this trail.

While tabletops are great for just about everyone on two wheels, doubles make for a more exciting and hair raising experience, so let’s check out the Black and Double Black lines at Cedar Dust. Doubles are certainly the stars of the show on both of these trails, but I’d be doing the trail builders a disservice if I didn’t mention the beautifully shaped corners linking everything together. The Black Line features a blend of straight jumps, shark fins, drops, and hips for a creative trail that funnels you down the hill.

Stepping up to the Double Black/Pro Line, the theme continues but the size of the jumps increases dramatically. Since we filmed that video, the line has since been revamped and made to be nearly slopestyle sized lips and gaps that have just about everyone second guessing themselves before dropping into the biggest jumps they’ve ever hit. But once they hit the first lip, their doubts fade away as the perfectly built takeoffs and landings feed into the next, hit after hit until the bottom of the hill.

Maybe those Cedar Dust jumps are getting a bit boring, and you’re ready for the big leagues, then it’s time to pedal a bit further up the hill to the famous Blue Steel jumps. Shaped by Nico Vink, these booters attract riders from far and wide to push their limits and send these Fest Series style jumps that have you flying further and higher than you ever have before. Featuring two big shark fins to set you up with the perfect speed for the entire line, this line of jumps is the home of Hannah Bergemann’s HangTime event for female freeriders to push the envelope and progress the sport year after year.

Not every jump line is dedicated to just sending the biggest gaps you can wrap your head around, some are also just good ol’ fashion fun trail with some jumps sprinkled in there for good measure. SST is arguably the most famous trail on the hill, but its lesser known cousin Alt SST, right next door, has some of the best doubles that walk the line between booters and casual table tops. If you like high speed corners with jumps in and out of them, then Alt SST should be towards the top of your list. Something to note is that the trail is also called Golden Spike, which is how it’s labeled on Trailforks and out on the trail signs.

From the top of the south side of Galbraith, Mohawk is the premiere jump line with a ribbon of 40 jumps from top to bottom and a choice between tabletops and doubles the whole way down. Bellingham’s finest trail building company Shire Built designed the trail and all of its finely shaped lips, landings, and corners. With a bunch of optional bonus lips and tabletops, there’s nothing to complain about on Mohawk. As you get down to the bottom of the trail, there’s a split with the biggest jumps on the line off to the left and a continuation of the same theme of jumps to the right. In the video, you can check out what it’s like to go through the famous Mohawk hip and shark fins before we look at the last trail on our list, Unemployment Line.

Unemployment Line, or “U Line” as we usually call it, is the most popular jump line at Galbraith because of how approachable every single jump on the line is. Even if it’s your very first time riding a mountain bike, just about everyone is going to have a great time either jumping or rolling the tabletops and zipping around the corners. With one of the nicest overlooks towards the bottom of the trail, it’s no surprise that everyone comes back to this trail time and time again.

For those of you who want to get the full tour and pick your way through all the jumps we covered here, I’ve built a TrailForks route that follows the exact ride I took in the YouTube video accompanying this blog. The ride starts at the South Side Galbraith parking lot, and travels 16 miles through Galbraith while hitting all the best trails along the way. Enjoy!

That’s everything we covered in our YouTube video, but if you’re looking for even a little extra on top, Grasshopper is another jump trail at Galbraith that is phenomenally fun when it is open, but with how often the trail is closed, I can’t guarantee that you’ll be able to get a lap on it! With the most manicured and beautifully handcrafted lips, riding this work of art is a treat that I always take advantage of when I hear the red tape has been taken down.

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