Friday, March 29, 2024

The Washington Outdoor Report - week of May 17

Riding the Cascades to Palouse Rail Trail!

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Good news from Washington State Parks. The Cascades to Palouse State Park Trail now offers 100 miles of virtually unimpeded access for bicyclists, horseback riders and hikers between North Bend and the Columbia River near Beverly. This comes about with the recent renovation of the Renslow Trestle, crossing Interstate 90 east of Kittitas, along the old Milwaukee Road rail line that has been converted to a multi-use recreational trail.

 

Formerly known as the John Wayne Pioneer Trail and Iron Horse State Park, this old rail line was acquired by the state after Milwaukee Railroad went out of business in the 1970’s. Over time, trestles, tunnels and other sections have been repaired. This spring, for the first time, the full 100-mile length of the trail to the Columbia is available for use, with the exception of a small stretch of street travel between Water Street and the Kittitas County Fairgrounds in Ellensburg.

 

The trail begins at Rattlesnake Lake just outside of North Bend and a slow grade, no more than 2.2 percent, goes up towards Snoqualmie Pass where you’ll want to have a flashlight or headlamp to navigate the 2.3-mile-long Snoqualmie Tunnel. Emerging from the tunnel at Hyak, you’ll continue east past Lake Easton and along the Yakima River to Cle Elum and Thorp. There are a number of campsites along the trail throughout this stretch and according to the Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance, the path is well compacted and smooth for bike trail to Snoqualmie Pass. After that the trail surface is variable, with some potholes and loose in places becoming more so the closer you get to the Columbia River. That’s why fat or wide bike tires could be a good bet for cyclists traveling from Ellensburg to the Columbia River.

 

A couple of other things about traveling this trail are worth noting. First off, you’ll want sunscreen and plenty of water for the trail east of Thorp because the terrain is open with little shade available. The final stretch east, from the Army West trailhead just past the Renslow Trestle to the Army East trailhead near the Columbia River, is land owned by the U.S. Government. It’s part of the Yakima Training Center, land primarily used by the U.S. Army. Fortunately, the Army has agreed to allow visitors to use the trail as they traverse the northern end of this military area. However, you have to self-register to do so at the Army West (Renslow) or Army East (Doris) Trailhead. You also have to stay on the trail and no camping is permitted in this section. A Discover Pass is also required to park your vehicle at any of the State Park developed trailheads accessing the Cascades to Palouse State Park.

 

After the Columbia River there are additional sections of the trail that will take you all the way to the Idaho border but right now some of the rail line (between Royal City and Othello) is still active and other stretches (like the bridge over the Columbia River) require significant detours. Eventually, Washington State Parks plans to have a complete 250-mile multi-use rail trail open to the state line and to link it in with the Great American Rail Trail, an ambitious project that hopes to establish a trans-continental rail trail across the nation.

 

You can find out more about the Palouse to Cascades Trail from Washington State Parks at parks.state.wa.us/521/Palouse-to-Cascades . Information about the Great American Rail Trail can be found at railstotrails.org .

 John Kruse –northwesternoutdoors.com and americaoutdoorsradio.com

 

 

 

 

 

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