⏵ Course guide · Bavarian Cascades skyline race
Leavenworth Trail Fest sends its 50K field up the ridgelines north of this Bavarian-themed Cascades town twice, about 7,500 feet of climbing on a course so nice, as the race puts it, you'll do it twice. I will walk you through the double-loop format and terrain first, then give you a pacing and fueling plan built for repeating the same climb, with free calculators along the way to dial in your own numbers.
The May 29, 2027 date comes from the official UltraSignup registration listing for this race; the organizer's own event page did not print a year next to its schedule at the time this guide was written. Confirm the current year, cutoffs, and aid stations before you commit. Race logistics change year to year.
The 50K "Ski Hill" course runs two full loops of the 25K Skyline route, redesigned in 2026 into a loop on the north side of Tumwater Mountain. Every lap climbs the same ridgeline, so this is a race decided by how you manage a repeated grind, not by surviving one defining ascent.
The course showcases the ridgelines north of Leavenworth, mixing alpine terrain near the high point with fast, flowy forest service roads that drop toward the Eastern Cascades’ dry, high-desert landscape. From the high point, the course descends and traverses toward Freund Canyon on smooth, fast downhill trail, opening up expansive views of that drier terrain, before a final climb leads to one last descent back to the finish and festival area.
Mountain Running Races crowns a Vert King, Queen, and Monarch, the fastest runners to the high point of the course, a nice touch that rewards the climb specifically and not just overall finish time. If the grind up is where you feel strongest, it is worth knowing that effort is recognized on its own.
The 50K route carries seven aid stations, generous support for a mountain course this size. Back at the base of the ski hill, the race turns into a genuine trail festival: a mountain running expo, a Trail Family Food Tent with a free meal for 25K and 50K finishers, live music, and a kids race, so plan to stick around after you cross the line rather than heading straight for the car.
Ten hours to cover roughly 7,500 feet of climbing across two identical loops means the split between loop one and loop two is the whole pacing story here.
Because you run the exact same climb twice, a fast, aggressive loop one borrows directly from the legs you need for loop two. A grade-adjusted pace target for the climb gives you an honest number for what effort you can actually repeat, not just survive once. You already know exactly what loop two holds after finishing loop one, which is a real advantage over a point-to-point course, so use that knowledge to hold back rather than to chase a fast opening split.
Your loop-one split is real data: a vert-aware finish prediction built off that actual time, doubled and adjusted for accumulated fatigue, is far more honest than any flat-course estimate. Check that projection against the 10 hour cutoff as soon as you finish loop one, while you still have room to adjust your effort on loop two.
⏵ Free tools to pace this course
A 7:00 AM start on Cascade ridgelines usually means a cool opening and a warmer afternoon by loop two, especially on the exposed high-point sections.
Aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour, and use the seven aid stations on the 50K route to keep intake consistent rather than front-loading loop one and running short on loop two.
Early loop-one miles in the cooler morning can sit toward the lower end of 300 to 500 mg of sodium per liter. As the day warms through loop two, especially on the exposed alpine sections near the high point, push toward 500 to 700 mg per liter.
⏵ Build your fueling plan
Get a carb, sodium, fluid, and caffeine plan per hour built for your weight, your goal time, and a warming Cascade day with the free ultra fueling calculator. Browse the rest of the free running tools at the tools hub.
⏵ Train for it with Summit Line
Get a race-day plan built around YOUR fitness, this exact double-loop Ski Hill course profile, and your projected loop splits. Summit Line reads your real training, builds a plan for repeated Cascade climbing, and rehearses your fueling so race day is something you execute, not guess at.
The 50K, called the Ski Hill course, is genuinely a double mountain challenge: it runs two full loops of the 25K Skyline course for about 7,500 feet of total climbing, on ridgelines above Leavenworth that mix alpine terrain with fast forest service roads. Doing the climb twice instead of once is the real test here, since the second loop hits the same grinds on legs that already ran them once.
The 50K carries roughly 7,500 feet of total gain across its two loops of the 25K Skyline course. Mountain Running Races redesigned the 50K in 2026 into a loop on the north side of Tumwater Mountain instead of the old out-and-back on Ranger Road, so expect double the vert and double the views compared to running the 25K once.
Late-May Cascade weather can swing from cool mountain mornings to warm afternoons at elevation. Aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour on the 50K, and sodium in the 300 to 700 mg per liter range, leaning higher if the day turns warm on the exposed ridgeline sections. Seven aid stations line the 50K route, which is generous support, but build a per-hour plan rather than relying on aid alone. Build your numbers with the free ultra fueling calculator before race day.
The 50K has a 10 hour cutoff from its 7:00 AM start. With roughly 7,500 feet of gain spread across two loops of the same climbing terrain, pace the first loop conservatively so you have legs left for the identical climbs on loop two, rather than banking time early and paying for it on the back half.
The course runs the ridgelines north of Leavenworth, mixing alpine terrain near the high point with fast, flowy forest service roads on the descents. Expect sweeping views of the Eastern Cascades and the dry high-desert landscape around Freund Canyon on the way down. Mountain Running Races builds the course to reward runnable, flowy trail as much as raw climbing, so this is technical enough to respect but not a rock-scramble.
With about 7,500 feet of climbing packed into two identical loops, this is a legitimately demanding 50K for a first ultra, more mountain race than beginner-friendly loop course. If you have trained specifically for sustained Cascade-style climbing and descending, the repeated-loop format has an upside: you know exactly what loop two holds because you already ran it once, which makes pacing more predictable than a point-to-point course would be.
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<a href="https://runsummitline.com/guides/leavenworth-trail-fest">The Leavenworth Trail Fest course guide</a><iframe src="https://runsummitline.com/embed/race/leavenworth-trail-fest" style="width:100%;max-width:420px;height:180px;border:0;" loading="lazy" title="Leavenworth Trail Fest course guide by Summit Line"></iframe>This guide is independent and for planning only. The course details, dates, cutoffs, and aid stations come from public sources and can change year to year, so confirm the current specifics with the official race before you register or run. The fueling and pacing advice is general and not medical advice.
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