A few days ago I rode the Chuck Huckleberry Loop from Valencia Road to Tanque Verde Road. A couple of days ago I picked up where I left off and rode along the Rillito River Parkway a few miles west and back.
I accessed the Loop Trail via a short spur along Sabino Canyon Road from Udall Park, a large park named after a former congressman and presidential candidate. Near the entrance to the park and over the connector trail is this most awesome piece of public art. It is wasted on a terrible site framing a nice view of a stop light.
Like most of the Loop Trail, this section follows one of the dry wash beds through the urban and semi rural area. This makes for a mostly level ride with generous buffer zones along the way. That’s Tanque Verde Ridge, a place I have hiked, in the background.
The trail crosses small side washes and drainage ditches on numerous and mostly unique bridges. Some of the route of the trail is surprisingly rural.
For much of the ride, the trail is bordered by small horse farms and desert preserves. I even had an encounter with a coyote near this spot. He refused to sit still for a portrait.
There was a lot of public art along the trail including this mural on a retaining wall. It looked a lot nicer than the graffiti I saw on some other blank walls.
Along most of the twelve miles or so I covered, there were bike trails on both sides of the Rillito River bed. At the two exceptions the route was well signed and either dedicated trail bridges or wide sidewalks on the roadway bridges connected the rider to the side they needed to be on.
I used both banks on my round trip where I could for the variety of scenery. Generally the south bank was the more developed side and the north more rural and suburban.
About half way on my out bound ride I passed by this old racetrack that is now a Pima County Park. It’s always nice to see a glimpse of the past. To the north behind the grandstands is Mount Lemmon, the highest point in the area.
There was more public art at this park.
The desert landscaping for the most part is really well done along the trail.
At about twelve miles in I called it good and repeated the ride this time mostly on the other side of the wash.
Bicycling on the Chuck Huckleberry Loop is mostly a pleasant experience, at least on the sections I have ridden on so far. There was only two at grade crossings with roads on the entire ride and both were lightly traveled.
Even through the scenery along the dry washes is alright, after a while it does all start to look the same. The only other downsides to the ride is the overabundance of spandex clad baby boomers all apparently practicing for the Olympics and an excessive amount of homeless encampments in the scrublands on the wash bottoms.
Dodging abandoned shopping carts is kind of a pain in the ass. If most grocery store chains required a deposit for using shopping carts the problem would be solved.
The bicycle loop around Tucson is well used and a great amenity for the community.
The trail connects many parks along the way and provides access to them for the people who live and visit here.
I hope to ride additional sections of the Chuck Huckleberry Loop during my stay in the area. If I do, look forward to more bicycling posts. It’s not going to be cycling weather in the Inland Northwest when I return.
The Greater Tucson area has a comprehensive bike route network of trails that encircle and connect the city to it’s suburbs and rural areas. Most of this 137 mile long network is managed by Pima County. A loop of about fifty four miles in length is the core of this network.
I started todays ride at the Valencia Road Trailhead. Valencia Road is currently being widened at this location and I assume the project will impact the trailhead soon. The trail continues south and connects to the Julian Wash Trail about five miles away. Today I headed north on the Harrison Greenway.
The first three miles of the Harrison Greenway follow the unrealized route of a section road between a desert preserve and Davis Monthan Airforce Base.
To the west, the trail is bordered by the security fence for the base. To the east there are expansive views across the desert to the mountains. The land east of the trail has been developed in to a mountain bike park with over sixteen miles of dirt trails mostly aimed at beginners and provides well made trails right in town.
After crossing Irvington Road at a signalized intersection, the trail continues to the north paralleling Harrison Road.
For most of the next mile and a quarter, the trail maintains excellent separation from the busy road as it travels downhill to Pantano Wash.
The route then turns in to one of the few on street sections utilizing lightly traveled Stellarole Street to make the half mile connection to the Pantano River Park. Here the trail passes through a semi-rural area with small ranches and horse farms.
At the Pantano River, the trail turns in to a greenway following the dry wash bed towards the northwest. There are numerous parks and trailheads along the route. At this point across the wash is one of the larger stands of palm trees I’ve seen in the area. They seem to mostly be found in older developments.
To the west is the dry river bed and to the east for a mile of so you are still in an area dominated by small ranches and horse farms.
This greenway portion of the bike loop is well maintained, well used and has lots of amenities along it as it enters a more urban area of Tucson.
The view from one of the parks along the way. The Pantano River Park section of the trail has no at grade crossings with roadways.
A particularly nice section of the bike trail is sandwiched between the Pantano River and the Pantano Parkway as it cuts through a very nice residential area.
The reason there are no at grade crossings is because at the major roads that cross the wash, the trail is routed under them with spurs leading up to street level. This is the road I take to one of the best hiking spots around, Sabino Canyon.
Many spur trails provide access for local residents.
There are a few bridges over ditches and small washes that feed in to the Pantano River.
Beyond 22nd Street the area becomes more urbanized. From Broadway to Tanque Verde, the Pantano River had bike trails on both sides which partially explains the discrepancy between the total mileage of the trail system and the length of the loop.
The trail passed under Golflinks, 22nd, Broadway, Speedway, Sabino Canyon and Tanque Verde Roads. I called it good at Tanque Verde. and made my way back to Valencia. At all of the underpasses signage warned the bicyclist to not proceed during flash flood events.
I ended up riding about a ten mile section of the loop out and back for a total of twenty miles. I spent a lot of time stopping and taking pictures. I covered all of the Harrison Greenway and most of the Pantano River Park sections of the trail. I can’t wait to explore more of this wonderful bicycle loop.
One of my pet peeves with bicycle trails is how little use they get for the money the taxpayers invest in them. That doesn’t seem to be the case with the Chuck Huckleberry Loop. It was hard to get photos without lots of other bicyclist and pedestrians in them. In general the trail surfaces were excellent and access was easy. This is definitely one of the best urban trail systems in the nation.
Today I rode the Prairie Trail, The Centennial Trail and along the Spokane River on the trail in Atlas Park through the City of Coeur d’Alene.
I started my ride in Atlas Park, a City of Coeur d’Alene riverfront park that in addition to having restrooms, a playground, swimming beach and waterfront dog park also has over a mile of riverfront with a paved bike trail on it.
This riverfront trail is on the old easement for the BNSF railroad line that used to serve several lumber mills along the river. The last couple of mills have been replaced by mixed use development. This riverfront trail is planned to continue to Mill River Park and on into Post Falls in the near future.
I thought this spruce tree next to the trail and the Spokane River with extensive Virginia creeper vines wrapped around it looked like a preview for the Christmas season.
Near Atlas Park the North Idaho Centennial Trail splits off from the Prairie Trail just before the old railroad bridge under Interstate 90. In addition to the twin highway bridges, the trail passes under Seltice Boulevard and Appleway Street making for four bridge crossings in a short section of trail.
Under the Seltice bridge is some really nice artwork.
The four miles of the Prairie Trail to Huetter Road was open to the public sixteen years ago. The last mile or so was completed two years ago. This five mile spur links extensive newer residential development in the northwest area of the city to the riverfront and ultimately to downtown Coeur d’Alene.
Beyond the Interstate overpass, the Prairie Trail passes next to the Kroc Center, a large community recreation center operated by the Salvation Army and then borders Ramsey Park, one of the city’s largest sports complexes with five softball fields, a baseball field, two playgrounds, tennis courts and picnic shelters. Across the park there is a nice view of Canfield Mountain on the eastern edge of the city.
After leaving Ramsey Park the trail crosses Kathleen Avenue at a signalized crossing and passes right next to Woodland Middle School. Across the road is a Forest Service nursery that specializes in growing blister rust resistant Western White Pine seedlings. Through their efforts more and more forest areas are having Western White Pines reintroduced in to them. This species was once the most common tree in North Idaho.
Beyond Kathleen Avenue the Prairie Trail cuts a path through the city diagonally from the southeast to the northwest. After crossing Atlas Road at another signalized crossing the trail runs through a large area of recently developed and still under construction residential neighborhoods.
At Huetter Road their is a small trailhead. Beyond this roadway the trail leaves the city limits but is still managed by Coeur d’Alene’s Parks and Recreation. The last mile or so of the trail on the Rathdrum Prairie has a much more rural feel. In the background is Rathdrum Mountain, a great place to hike.
At Meyer Road the trail comes to an end, at least for now. Soon it will be extended State Road 41 and connect to the bike trail recently built on the east side of that highway creating a continouse bikeway from downtown Coeur d’Alene into the rapidly growing suburb of Rathdrum.
Now it was time to turn around and enjoy slightly different views on the way back. That’s Canfield Mountain in the distance.
Between the Forest Service nursery and Ramsey Park there is a nice railroad cut followed by an impressive berm that allows the rider to look into the back yards of some of our neighbors.
South of the Interstate and the junction with the west branch of the Centennial Trail along that highway, the trail is officially part of the North Idaho Centennial Trail. Approaching Atlas Park the trail curves to the southeast again and the high ground in the distance is Blackwell Hill across the river from the city.
From Atlas Park the trail follows along the Spokane River into downtown but first you get to ride through this little gem. Riverstone Park is adjacent to Atlas Park but was built and opened to the public seventeen years ago. It is centered around a five acre manmade pond with several water features, It has a stage for live music, a playground, a picnic area and lots of artwork.
Here’s one of the pieces.
Seventeen years is enough time for the trees to achieve decent size. Oh and the autumn foliage in this park is some of the best around.
Leaving Riverstone Park the trail parallels the river through some high end residential development.
Before passing underneath the U.S. 95 bridge, the trail easement widens out and a public park is being created here with sports fields and other amenities.
This area also has some dirt cycling trails, a tunnel where another rail line crossed under this one and city owned docks that support commercial activety such as boat rentals.
Right where the trail turns into a road shoulder on Rosenberry Drive a one way road also known as Dike Road that loops around the college this impressive piece of art stands guard. The site of North Idaho College was once the principal village of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, the people who the lake and city are named after. .
The stretch of the North Idaho Centennial Trail that is located on this road shoulder is both one of the most scenic spots on the ride and one of the worst, especially in regards to safety. This roadway is extremely busy in the summer and since there is a bike lane only on one side many people ride against the traffic flow. I only ride with the traffic and use an alternative route on my return.
The shoreline on the river and the lake is public property and in the summer this stretch of sand is packed with swimmers and sunbathers. The side of the road opposite the bike lane is all parallel parking causing a lot of pedestrian traffic crossing the road and bike lane.
After North Idaho College and it’s pubic beaches, the trail continues east into and through City Park. City Park is the site of many large events including concerts and festivals. The park has two swim beaches, a large playground, a bandshell, sports courts, a softball field with a historic grandstand and a skate park.
After leaving City park, the trail passes by the Coeur d’Alene Resort through a plaza between the resort shops and the hotel tower and under the walkway that connects them. If you go straight east instead of through the plaza you will be on Sherman Avenue, the city’s main historic business district.
Next up is McEuen Park located on the lake and next to Tubbs Hill and downtown. This park also hosts concerts and festivals.
The paved bike trail ends after McEuen Park and to continue you have the option of taking the Young Street bicycle boulevard (recommended) or using the older route along Mullan Street again with a bike lane only on one side of the road. When I take Mullan, I ride with traffic on the way back to aviod oncoming cars, cyclist and pedestrians. The traffic flow is light and usually slow.
The on street portion of the trail is about a mile long and ends on Lake Coeur d’Alene Drive where it becomes a paved trail again. Most of this part of the trail is managed by Idaho State Parks as the Coeur d’Alene Parkway and was created when the main highway east of town was moved from old U.S. 10 to Interstate 90.
There are several parking areas with picnic tables and other amenities scattered over the course of parkway and really nice views of Lake Coeur d’Alene.
I turned around at Bennet Bay right before I 90’s Veterans Centennial Memorial Bridge. This is what happens when you let a committee name something. The Trail continues about another three miles to it’s end point at Higgin’s Point.
On the way back I enjoyed the view across the lake of Mica Peak and Blossom Mountain.
Finally I took my alternate route on the way back to avoid riding the wrong way on Rosenberry. A commuter trail heads north from City Park and you get to enjoy more civic art along the way. After the skate park this trail ends at Hubbard Street and a short jog on a quiet road gets the rider back to the Centennial Trail close to the U.S. 95 Bridge over the Spokane River.
There was a lot of fall colors along the way.
The total distance of this leisurely ride was twenty four miles. The Centennial Trail does continue west into Post Falls and eventually all the way to Washington where it becomes the Spokane River Centennial Trail. Currently parts of the trail in Post Falls are being impacted by major roadway improvements and I’ll wait until these are completed in a couple of years to revisit these areas.
I headed across Lookout Pass into Montana. I wasn’t sure where I was going to bike, but ended up at the East Portal Trailhead, the place 95% of visitors who ride the Hiawatha start their journey. I usually avoid the Hiawatha on summer weekends due to the crowds involved, and with good reason.
This was the sight that greeted me in the parking lot. That sealed the deal. Luckily for me another trail on the same railroad easement heads east from this same trailhead into Montana. I went that way and everyone else went through the tunnel into Idaho.
Immediately I was alone. The trail surface was just about the best and smoothest ride I ever had on an unpaved rail trail. The Olympian is another section of the Milwaukee Railroad, one of five transcontinental railroads and the only one that has been abandoned.
Heading east you are also heading down from the lines high point at the Taft Tunnel. The surface and grade are such that as grown man with fully inflated tires I had to ride the brakes a little. That made it fun going out but there’s always a price to pay on the return.
A mile or two in and I found myself high above Interstate 90. One of the only downsides of this ride is that you can hear the traffic below you for a large part of the trip. In most places the forest is thick enough to conceal the highway and it is so far below the trail as to not be a distraction.
About three miles in while descending using a loop on a side canyon I came across the Dominion Tunnel, the only one on this stretch of the trail. The Hiawatha has several. I only needed one to be happy.
The tunnel was well made and maintained. It had a slight bend but was short enough that there was no need for flash lights.
Immediately after the tunnel is the Dominion Bridge, a high trestle over a creek that rivals any of the bridges on the Hiawatha.
The views were awesome and more importantly I had the view to myself. On the Hiawatha every bridge is a circus on busy weekends with dozens of people jockeying to get that perfect shot of the family. I only had to work around my bike.
I lingered to enjoy the view and solitude. At this point of the trail it sweeps far up the side canyon from the Interstate so there is no traffic noise and all you can see is the wilderness you are traveling through.
Just pass the bridge the trail is gated making this a pedestrian or bicycling only experience. Beyond this point the railroad bed is open for recreational traffic. I had maybe seven side by side ATV’s pass me on the rest of the trip, mostly close to Saltese.
The trail now heads back down the side canyon and within another mile you are again high above Interstate 90. There are nice views of the Bitterroot Mountains along the way.
Just before I made it to Saltese, a tiny Montana town, I came across this sign. I kept riding on the high grade but soon the trail surface became much rougher. It looked like from here on that the railroad was mostly used by ATV’s and dirt bikes.
I ended up walking my bike the last quarter mile or so to the Saltese high bridge which was my goal for todays ride. I didn’t want to take a chance on a bent rim since I needed my bike to carry me back up eight and a half miles to the trailhead.
From the deck of this bridge you could see pretty much all of Saltese. The community does have one of those roadside casinos found through out Montana so I guess you could take the connection to the lower grade to get a cold beverage if you wanted. As you can see in the photo by now the trail isn’t that much higher than the interstate. From what I can tell within a couple of more miles they are at the same level.
This is what the bridge looks like from below. To get to the East Portal Trailhead I had to take a detour through this town due to road construction That added ten miles to the drive but gave me the opportunity to see this bridge from below without having to ride down the side trail.
On the way back up I had more time to appreciate the scenery. Going up hill wasn’t that bad. I just put it in low gear and accepted that I was only going to make single digits as far as my miles per hour.
I didn’t run it a lot in the way of wildlife. Since I was the only cyclist on the trail the entire time I had high hopes for some animal action. I had to settle for a harmless snake.
On the way back I stopped at the Dominion Bridge again and spent a good half hour comptenplating the views. If I had a lawn chair and some cold drinks I would have stayed the rest of the afternoon. It was unbelievable to have this place to myself.
Beyond the bridge and tunnel I could make out the railroad grade across the side canyon I had recently biked up. It was a scaled down version of looking across Loop Creek on the Hiawatha.
Just before I made it back to East Portal and the crowds I had a feeling I was being watched so I stopped and returned the favor.
By the time I made it back to the trailhead for the Hiawatha folks had started parking beyond the lot on both sides of the old easement. It had to be a zoo on the Hiawatha that day. I felt like to smartest person in the room having enjoyed a scenic seventeen mile long bike ride in complete solitude while everyone else had to battle the crowds.
So the Olympian Trail continues down hill another twenty miles or so to St. Regis. I’ve seen parts of it from the Interstate during my travels and it appears to stay down on the valley floor beyond Saltese. I have no idea what the surface and use conflicts are like, but the first eight and a half miles from East Portal are wonderful. It would be nice if they had a trailhead just beyond Saltese and an improved surface over the Saltese bridge.
For my third trip this summer on the Palouse Cascade Trail, I headed west from Rosalia with the goal of making it to Malden. I fell short by a couple of miles. Better to enjoy a sixteen mile round trip than have a miserable twenty miler. Part 1 is under the hiking category as that is how I traveled it.
Rosalia is a small farming town on US-195 about thirty-five miles south of Spokane. The Palouse Cascade Trail crosses the old highway just south of Rosalia on this amazing concrete arch bridge. This bridge is a local landmark and still has the Milwaukee Railroad logo painted on it.
In addition to the old highway, this bridge crossed Pine Creek , a small stream the trail follows all the way to Rock Lake. The new US-195 crosses over the railroad easement just to the east. Rosalia is about twenty miles west of Tekoa, the town I used as my base for my last trip on the trail. The level of engineering used on the bridges give a hint that this was once one of the five transcontinental railroads in the United States.
The trail is a little hard to access from the town. Rosalia does have a small park with restrooms, but the trail is located up a steep slope from the town off of rough gravel roads. Within the first mile, a steep detour bypasses a place where an old bridge was removed over Gashouse Road. This intersection is the only thing resembling a trailhead in the area.
At the intersection their is an interpretive sign. The trail surface alternates between rough gravel ballast and soft sand. I heard the surface is far more challenging west of Rock Lake and Ewan.
The first couple of miles out of Rosalia parallels US-195 and passes though a typical mix of farmland and basalt cuts as it heads north and then northwest.
The trail passes a cemetery just outside of town. There’s one off the trail just east of Tekoa as well.
At Babb Road, the trail passes under the roadway in a newer culvert. I don’t think a train would fit through it. I’m not sure if this “tunnel” replaced a taller bridge or if the road just didn’t go through before the railroad was abandoned.
Evidence of a catastrophic wildfire from a few years ago was evident along the trail. This fire burned down much of the town of Malden and three or four bridges between that town and Pine City. Here I ran into the only other person I saw. This gentleman was nearing the end of a multiday journey that started in Cedar Falls over two hundred miles away. I was impresses. I made it sixteen and was tired by the time I finished.
Here is the first of several bridges over Pine Creek west of Rosalia. It was an impressive piece of engineering.
After the bridge, the trail passed through a couple of impressive cuts trough the basalt.
There are still old telegraph posts along the trail, some of which still had the old glass insulators. This was close to my turnaround point. I was still short of Malden by a couple of miles and the next bridge over Pine Creek was just around the bend. Sometimes a man has to know his limitations.
I saw a couple of coyotes and these white tail deer. Other than that my wildlife was limited to birds.
Most of the route of this trail is bordered by either farmland or cattle ranches. There were a few pieces of abandoned machinery along the way.
The trail passes through open range areas with gates that are the responsibility of the trail user to open and close. The State of Washington requires trail users to register on line so that they understand the rules. This process is simple and can be found here. The bovines did yield the right-of-way to me without argument.
On the way back to Rosalia I took a brief detour off trail to get a different preceptive of the bridge over Pine Creek.
When I got back to Rosalia, I ran into the same fella that I talked to on my way outbound. He was camping at the local park and we shared a couple of beers and traded stories about riding bicycle trails. Not a bad way to finish the trip.
An hour later I was back home after navigating rush hour traffic through Spokane. Between this ride and my two previous trips on the Palouse Cascade Trail I think I’ve seen most of it though eastern Washington. I would really like to explore the section through the Cascade Mountains closer to Seattle. I understand that part is beautiful and more user friendly. That might have to wait until next year.
Yesterday I tool a sixteen mile trip on a section of the Palouse Cascades Trail on my old trusty mountain bike.
I started my trip in the small town of Tekoa. It is one of the nicer towns in the Palouse and has several historic buildings including this old art deco movie theater. Across the street is a small park with a public restroom, a rare amenity out here in farm country.
The landmark Tekoa trestle dominates the local landscape. This 976 foot long and 125 foot high structure carried the transcontinental Milwaukee Road rail line over Hangman Creek, State Road 27 and another old railroad easement.
There is a trailhead off Washington Street on the east side of the trestle with interpretive signage and a picnic table. This trail is managed as a Washington State Park and extends from the Idaho state line almost to the Seattle area.
From the trestle there is a view of the town looking up Hangman Creek. In the background is Liberty Butte, one of several large hills embedded in the middle of an expanse of wheat fields.
The trail winds through miles of agricultural land alternating between cuts through the hills and embankments between them.
About three miles in you come to Lone Pine. There are the remains of an old grain loading facility here and not much else.
Wheat is the main crop here and in places they cultivate it right to the edge of the trail bed. About eighty percent of the fields I rode by were already harvested but some were still waiting for the combines.
Tekoa is in Whitman County which bills itself as the largest wheat producing county in the United States.
Amber waves as far as the eye can see. From the trail you get to see scattered farm buildings and spacious skies.
I crossed under one old bridge. The trail surface varied from rough ballast to fresh gravel and some areas of dried compacted dirt. I don’t usually ride on gravel and going sixteen miles on it was like riding forty on pavement.
I came across two places where small bridges had been removed and the state build a bypass trail.
Just before my turn around place, I arrived at the historic Seabury Bridge. I walked the bike across as some of the gaps in the decking could easily catch a bicycle tire and eight miles is a long way to walk back. There is a lot of useful information about the trail on the home page for the Palouse Cascade Trail Coalition, a non-profit group dedicated to supporting improvements to the trail.
The Seabury Bridge crossed over another railroad which is now also abandoned. Here you can see the cut of the Spokane Inland Empire branch that at one time extended all the way to Lewiston.
Here is the best view I could get of this impressive structure. It’s long way down to the bottom and the land down there is privately owned.
So here was the end of my ride. Washington State Parks put up these mile markers at the same spots the railroad at one time had them. They show the distance from the start of the railroad in Chicago.
The way back was pretty but I did have to deal with a decent head wind. Winds on the Palouse are usually out of the southwest or west. Today it was out of the northeast.
It was a relief to make it back to Tekoa. That’s Tekoa Mountain in the background looking northeast from the deck of the trestle.
The 287 mile long trail almost spans Washington. Through Eastern Washington it is lightly used. I was the only one on it for all sixteen miles. Earlier this summer I had hiked the section along Pine Creek and Rock Lake. This was the first time I rode part of it. Next time I’ll bring a couple of replacement inner tubes just in case.
I drove down to Moscow Idaho to ride the Latah Trail and the extension through Troy down Bear Creek Canyon.
The Latah Trail starts right at the edge of Moscow Idaho the home of the University of Idaho. A bike trail continues west through Moscow and on to Pullman Washington. Both towns are in the area known as the Palouse Prairie, one of the premier wheat growing regions in America.
The Palouse Prairie is in both Washington and Idaho. On our side of the state line it covers large parts of Latah and Benewah counties as well as a small corner of Kootenai County. Moscow is the largest town in the Idaho portion of this region of rolling hills and pretty farmland.
The first seven miles of the trail parallels State Road 8 on an old railroad grade south of the highway mostly through rolling farmland.
On the way, the trail crosses over several small bridges that were built to give farmers access to there fields. There is one short section were it appears that the local governments could not secure the railroad right-of-way so the trail had to be routed down the hill to the highway and along that road until it rejoined the original alignment.
The trail slopes up to a tunnel under State Road 8 and them continues another mile paralleling the highway through a landscape that slowly becomes more forested.
The underpass looked fairly new. A bridge over the old rail road had to have had a lot more clearance.
The four mile section of the trail between the underpass with State Road 8 and the City of Troy is very scenic.
A local road is crossed on what is obviously a replacement bridge.
Along the way there are still various signs left over from the trails days as an active railroad. According to interpretive signage, the railroad used to connect Moscow to Lewiston in a round about way. Moscow is about two thousand feet higher in elevation than Lewiston.
At eleven miles, the trail hits the zero mile mark at a little park as you enter Troy. Troy is a very pleasant small Idaho farming and lumber town. A one mile long connection trail continues towards Bear Creek Canyon, but it’s just as easy and more scenic to pedal through downtown.
On the south end of town there is an interpretive sign showing the four mile long extension of the Latah Trail down Bear Creek Canyon. This part of the trail is relatively new and wasn’t here the last time I biked the route.
There were several old steel frame bridges over Bear Creek along this section. The creek was barely flowing this time of the year.
The last four miles of the trail descended steeply into the canyon. The area felt extremely remote and I saw not a single other person on the trail either going out or coming back.
It was a warm and hazy day. The skies were full of high level smoke from a wildfire in Montana. At least I couldn’t smell the smoke, but blue skies would have been nice.
All in all the Bear Creek Canyon extension of the Latah Trail was very nice with smooth pavement, no road crossings and lots of scenery.
It did however come to an abrupt end. The grade down to this point was steep enough that you could coast all the way. That meant only one thing. It was going to be a climb back to town.
Four miles back to Troy, another mile through it and then two more uphill and it was nice to see this sign. This is the high point of the line. After this it was mostly downhill all the way to Moscow.
Now I was almost back to the town it’s residents purposely mispronounce the name of just to be weird. Being Idaho’s college town that’s not the only thing they do to be different in Moscow. It was surprising how hard online information from the managing agencies is to get especially as this is the home of the University of Idaho. I did a little research and am still not certain who the managing agency is.
Right at the trailhead I found a tiny piece of history imbedded in the pavement of the side street.
I ended up pedaling 32 miles on this trail. The main drawback from my point of view is that it is a ninety minute drive from my house. The Palouse is beautiful and Bear Creek Canyon remote. There is a six mile gap in this old rail line due to a washout and a private land ownership issue before another public trail, the five and a half mile Ed Corkill Trail between Kendrick and Juliaetta picks it up again.
Today I rode the twelve miles of the Spokane River Centennial Trail inside of Riverside State Park, out and back. It was the first time in at least a decade.
I tried to access the trail at the T J Meenach bridge at the base of Doomsday Hill, but a crazed meth-head was yelling at me and anyone else driving down the road so I opted to start at the Fort George Wright Military Cemetery Trailhead instead.
This is the warning sign I was greeted with. I really never see these in Idaho. There were several other cars already parked so I decided to take my chances.
The old military post cemetery was well kept by the staff of nearby Fairchild Airforce Base. This area used to be an army post named after George Wright, a man who had a controversial past as it related to his treatment of native Americans. Apparently as part of the recent movement to rewrite history, the old post and the nearby major roadway were renamed. The only reference to the original name is the cemetery.
Immediately after the cemetery, the trail descends on a screaming grade down towards the river. This is by far the steepest grade I’ve ever encountered on a bike trail. I smoked by brakes to keep from gaining to much speed to control my bike. The photo doesn’t do it justice but we’re talking about maybe a 10% grade for a half a mile.I had to walk my bike back up the hill. There was no way I could have pedaled it.
Additionally, the first two miles of the trail had just about the worst surface I’ve ever encountered on a bike trail. The bumps were big enough to throw you off the bike and the weird gaps in the trail (expansion joints?) could easily catch and pretzel a bike wheel. I thought about giving up for a minute.
So it was with great trepidation when I saw the sign that told me the bikeway was ending and that the next part was going to be on share the roads. Surprisingly the grades were milder and the pavement in far better shape.
The old park scenic drive had been segmented many years ago so that the sections that still supported automobile traffic were by and large dead ends to trailheads used by hikers and bicyclist. There was next to no traffic on them and they were well maintained.
Soon I came across an old scenic overlook. This is looking back to the east up the river towards downtown Spokane.
Looking the other way there was a commanding view of the Bowl and Pitcher rock formations. These are the most popular places in Riverside State Park, but are usually accessed from the other side of the river.
Using the zoom on my basic phone camera revealed a nice view of downtown Spokane maybe five miles to the southeast. The highlands behind it are Dishman Hills, a popular in close to town place to hike.
Looking down the river from the bluff the view was of a flood plain pine forest between dry grassland slopes.
The old park scenic road was largely built during the Great Depression by the Civilian Conservation Corps. At the trailhead, the roadway was blocked to vehicles and was truly a bikeway again, only this time with a much better surface. As it was made for cars, some of the hills were fairly challenging for a bicycle.
A little further was the site of the camp for the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps). The only reminder of this camp that supported a couple of hundred young men working on park improvements is the old fireplace from the recreation building.
At the McLellan Trailhead there was a nice map to show you where you’ve been and how far you have to go.
The trail continued along the old park road, some of which was open to vehicle traffic and most closed to it. For much of the ride, the Spokane River was near the trail with pretty views.
This one was one of the nicest. I thought it looked a little what I imagine Ireland looks like with the emerald green and peaceful water.
There are some nice rock (basalt) formations along the way. Most of the canyon carved by the Spokane River in the park is basalt.
A steep grade brought me to a place I recognized and yes, I had to walk my bike back up this one too. My brakes got a work out.
Around the bend was the bridge over Deep Creek, a place I hiked and posted about last spring. A lot of people land here in kayaks to swim and hang out.
Deep Creek here is a backwater of the Spokane River. There is no flow at all this time of year. The hike up the canyon is scenic but with it being in the mid-nineties today I rather be on a bike. It was a little on the toasty side.
In addition to the “bikeway” and sections of the old scenic park road, two short sections of the trail were share the road on public streets with generous shoulders. These parts of the trail were lightly traveled mostly by the few folks that live off of them and in really good shape. It was an easy way to get from point A to point B.
A couple of miles before the trail ends it passes by Nine Mile Falls and the dam of the same name. This hydroelectric plant is well over a hundred years old and still in use.
The last time I rode this trail this is were it ended. Since then they added a couple of miles starting behind this elementary school and continuing through pine flat woods.
The two miles of brand new pavement winds through an open ponderosa pine forest on the way to it’s final destination.
Just before the end of the trail, it descends towards the river on a series of well made switchbacks.
The trail ended at a recreation area with a boat ramp and a swim beach. It wasn’t anyplace special, but it was a place to end the trail While standing on the dock, I got one last pleasant surprise.
A low flying B-52 out of Fairchild Airforce Base orbited the lake. I used to see those regularly in Florida back when Orlando International Airport was McCoy Airforce Base. They are an impressive sight. Hard to believe a few are still in service after sixty years.
Combined with the Spokane Valley section and the urban section of the Spokane River Centennial Trail, the twelve miles or so of the Riverside State Park section makes for a forty mile long bike way from the Idaho State line to the Nine Mile Campground and Boat Launch. The North Idaho Centennial Trail continues east to Higgins Point for another twenty four miles. This twelve miles of the trail is by far the most challenging.
I recently revisited the section of the Trail of the Coeur d’Alene’s from Plummer to Harrison and back. For an earlier description of this ride check this post.
The first fourteen miles of the Trail of the Coeur d’Alene’s is located on the Coeur d’Alene Reservation and managed by the tribe. My starting point is the trailhead just off US-95 in Plummer.
Plummer is the headquarters of the tribe and the trailhead features a memorial to all of it’s members who gave their lives in defense of their country, be it the United States and also those who defended their homeland against the United States.
Plummer is located on the Palouse Prairie, an area of extremely productive and beautiful farmland. The first mile goes through a small piece of it.
Just before entering Plummer Canyon, the trail crosses an active rail line with branches to a lumber mill south of town and another that crosses the lake to St. Maries. The continuation of the line to Santa was the subject of an earlier post.
The next six miles of the trail follows Plummer Creek on it’s almost seven hundred foot descent to the lake at Heyburn State Park. For an old railroad, it is extremely steep.
Early on the trail uses an old railroad bridge to cross the creek. There is a noticeable lack of shade here.
That’s because the upper part of the canyon experienced a stand replacement fire a couple of years ago. It seem like lots of my recent trips have been through areas effected by wildfires in the last few years.
It will be interesting to see who the habitat recovers over the next couple of decades.
As you approach Heyburn State Park, Idaho’s oldest state park, you pass through an area that has been managed to restore an open canopy ponderosa pine forest. These areas did not burn during the recent wildfires.
About seven miles in the trail finally reaches the shore of Chatcolet Lake which is basically an extension of Lake Coeur d’Alene due to the water level being raised about eight feet a century ago. Across the lake there’s a nice view of the St. Joe Mountains.
The state park has a trailhead next to the park’s boat ramp.
Past the park the trail crosses the lake on a modified old swing railroad bridge. This is one of the highlights of the trip.
The original structure including the bridge tenders shack was elevated and new approaches utilizing a stair step configuration were built so that the bridge can always be open. When used as a railroad, the bridge was typically swung in an open position to allow unimpeded boat traffic and closed when trains passed over the channel.
The stair step design makes climbing to the top relatively easy and descending can be exciting. If no one is coming towards you and you feel a little reckless, you can get a little air on the way down.
The next seven miles of the trail follows the shore line of Lake Coeur d’Alene. In places some of the bays were shortened to maker the old railroad straighter. The areas inside these berms have become wetlands instead of open water.
Conversely where promontories were bypassed scenic rock cuts reveal the underlaying geology dominated by basalt.
At mile marker 15 the trail enters Harrison. Harrison is one of the oldest towns in Kootenai County and was even briefly the county seat. It is a great place to stop and enjoy an ice cream cone or an adult beverage, take your pick. I find the two of those don’t mix very well.
The best is yet to come. Now you get to recrosse that amazing bridge and then grind it up a very steep seven mile long grade usually in the face of the prevailing winds. At least you have time to appreciate the rock cuts along the way.
The Fish Lake Trail is a nine mile former railroad line that was acquired and converted in to a bike trail by the City of Spokane. It ends about one mile before Fish Lake, but the trail starts again at this point. However it is called the Columbia Plateau Trail from that point on. Are you confused yet? Good, we wouldn’t want that.
The trail starts just west of downtown Spokane at a trailhead off of Government Way under a couple of impressive railroad bridges in a really sketchy neighborhood. I’ve never had a problem here, but let’s just say I’m relieved every time I return to my intact vehicle.
Apparently that is Latah Junction above the trail, the place were the mainlines to Pasco and Wenatchee split.
Immediately after leaving the trailhead, you cross a bridge over Interstate 90 with an stunning view of downtown Spokane.
The first mile of the trail is between busy highway US-195 and an area experiencing rapid construction of much needed residential developments. For the most part they look like nice neighborhoods. Fortunately much of the trail through this stretch is located in a deep cut, screening riders from both.
The basalt rock formations and thick vegetation make the place seem more remote than it is.
Just over one mile in, the urban landscape ends and the trail takes on a more rural flavor. It’s hard to believe that this is only three miles from downtown. The traffic noise fades as the trail slowly curves away from US-195.
This is one of the very few road crossings on the trail. There’s not a lot of traffic to worry about on the ride.
The trail slowly curves towards the west. At this point it passes through an area that was effected by a recent wildfire. Wildfires suddenly seem to be a reocuring theme in many of my recent posts.
Since the prevailing summer winds here are out of the southwest, in addition to a headwind you are climbing a one percent grade. The good news is that you’re paying it forward. The return trip is all downhill and usually with a tailwind.
At a place called Marshall, the trail crosses under this impressive bridge. Two active railroad lines also pass under the bridge. For much of the length of the trail, it is sandwiched between two active railroad lines.
One of the other railroad lines passes over the trail here. One good thing about the Fish lake Trail is there is a lot of railroad infrastructure to admire.
And you get to see trains! Hey, that might be my brother grinding it up the high side heading towards Pasco.
The further you get from Spokane, the emptier the countryside gets. Towards the end of the trail it passes through this little valley.
The trail is just over nine miles long and the last mile and a half of that is a dead end. It is possible to back track to the last road crossing and ride on very bikable roads the three miles of so to the beginning of the Columbia Plateau Trail the first four miles or so of which is paved.
So here is the end. Two active lines cross each other just past this point making a safe passage impossible. Spokane would like to extend the trail, but bridging this gap would be prohibitively expensive.
It has been a couple of years since I rode this trail. The good is how easy it is to access, the true scenic beauty of the trail and for the most part a good surface. The bad is that its only nine miles long and the trailhead is in a bad part of town. When I get a chance, I’ll ride the gap from the end to the Columbia Plateau Trail and create an updated post with added material.
