Complete the Loop Coalition
Complete the Loop Coalition
Main menu:
The Complete the Loop Coalition (CTLC) is a local, volunteer corporation which has successfully advocated funding and development of public trails in the Wenatchee Valley in central Washington state since 1990. Founded by visionaries, the late Bob Parlette and Dr. Gordon Congdon, the Coalition's original mission was to create a recreational "loop" trail connecting Wenatchee and Chelan County's riverfront parks with the Douglas County shoreline across the Columbia River. Congdon and Parlette saw the potential to build the trail on publicly owned right of way and connect the east and west shorelines by bridges to create a 10 mile loop. The CTLC successfully rallied public support and funding for this concept. And when the Apple Capital Loop Trail was completed in 1994, it quickly became one of the community's most popular and valuable assets. ( For more on the HISTORY of the Apple Capital Loop Trail, click here. )
Cyclists bicycle through the Fifth Street Plaza on the Apple Capital Loop Trail where the Complete the Loop Coalition has installed a plaque (below) to commemorate Bob Parlette's contribution to Wenatchee's riverfront trail system.
"When I came to town, I wanted to go down to the river. I went to the bottom of Fifth Street, and there was a big fence there and a "Do Not Enter sign. I just couldn't believe there was no way to access the river. Now when I go down to the riverfront, it gladdens my heart to see people riding bikes and smiling at each other as they walk on the trail. For decades we had our backs to the river, and today we have turned our faces to the river. Everybody has great hope for the future of the Wenatchee riverfront."
Robert L. Parlette
Place holders
Apple Capital Loop Trail
Place holders
Thinking Outside the Loop
After completion of the Apple Capital Loop Trail, the CTLC focused on extending the trail system north and south. In 2002, with support from the CTLC, a southern extension was built from the Loop Trail to Kirby Billingsley Hydro Park. And finally, after years of effort, the CTLC was instrumental in securing the necessary permitting and funding to build the Rocky Reach Trail, a 5 mile northern extension to Lincoln Rock State Park, completed in 2015.
In 2017, CTLC approved a $15,000 grant to WA State Parks to design and plan improvements to the Rocky Reach Trail, including sun shelters, bike racks, and a vault toilet. These were completed in 2020.
Sunshelters, bike racks, and a vault toilet on the Rocky Reach Trail were funded by the Complete the Loop Coalition.
And in July 2018, the CTLC donated a Kuboda 4x4 utility vehicle to WA State Parks for use on the Rocky Reach Trail, to help with weeding in the summer and snow plowing in the winter.
July 2018 - The CTLC donates a utility vehicle for maintenance of the Rocky Reach Trail.From left to right: Ryan Layton, Washington State Parks Eastern Region Manager; Mike Sorensen, CTLC; Matt Morrison,Washington State Parks Area Manager; Brett Henkle, treasurer for CTLC; and Steve Milner, Washington State Parks Commissioner.
The CLTC was also successful in the effort to Save Peshastin Mill Waterfront Access and construct a trail on the property.
November 2019 - CTLC Chairman Mike Sorensen surveys the positioning of a rock
at the Peshastin Millsite Trailhead, to be engraved with the names of the major donors of $5000 or more.
This recognition project was funded by the CTLC.
The CTLC remains dedicated to building on the area's trail system, a nd has pursued efforts to build a trail connecting Wenatchee and Leavenworth through the Wenatchee River Valley, starting with the concept of a Wenatchee Valley Scenic Bikeway.
Starting in 2023, the CTLC is offering GRANT awards to help fund local organizations' trail maintenance, trail improvement, or trail extensions on public, non-motorized trails in Chelan and Douglas County, Washington. Click on this link for details.
Our BoardPresident - Mike SorensenVice President - Marilyn HedgesSecretary - Robbie ScottTreasurer - Brett HenkleBoard Members - Mel Henkle, Brooke Lucy(Left) Mike Sorensen, President of the CTLC, pulls goat head thorns at the 27th Street Parking lot of the Apple Capital Loop Trail, East Wenatchee.(Below) February 2014, the all-volunteer members of the Complete the Loop Coalition toast the generous donors who made funding of the Rocky Reach Trail a success. Left to right: Bill Fraser, Dolly Buckingham, Bob Parlette, Dave Jaecks, Bonnie Orr, Bill Layman, Peter Burgoon, Charity Duffy, and Mike Sorensen.
