Category: Eastern Washington

Mica Peak Conservation Area

For My Fourth of July, I hiked the Mica Peak Conservation Area outside of Spokane Washington. This 1700 acre preserve is owned and managed by Spokane County and was acquired as part of their conservation futures program.

Mica Peak at 5200 feet is a prominent landmark in the area made more distinctive because of the large radar dome at the summit which is visible throughout the region. The Federal Aviation Administration owns the site and for that reason the top of the mountain is off limits to hikers.

The trailhead for the property is located at the end of Belmont Road out of the small community of Mica which is about six miles south of Interstate 90 on State Road 27.

The first part of the hike travels on an old service road through about one mile of private property with open ponderosa pine forests on both sides. The climb is surprisingly steep and you can clearly see the mountain you’ll be walking up ahead.

The open forest with mostly a grass understory is typical of drier, hotter and often south and west facing slopes.

As you gain elevation the views open up. In this photo you can see three other hiking spots in the same frame. The high peak in the background is Mt. Spokane, a Washington State Park I visited earlier this year. The bare hills in the foreground are in Spokane County’s Saltese Uplands Preserve and the ridge to the left and in front of Mt. Spokane is Antione Peak which I recently visited and wrote about.

The variety of wildflowers along the trail was impressive.

As you gain elevation, the habitat becomes thicker with more fir trees and dense shrubs limiting views in sections. The main trail (service road) up the mountain is called Moonshine for some reason. I used the California Creek Trail, a single track, to make the nine mile loop.

This trail uses several switchbacks to climb the mountain. As usual the trails on Spokane County Conservation Areas are extremely well built and well marked. You’d have to try to get lost.

Near the high point of the California Creek Trail you hit open slopes with some outstanding views. The habitat also changes to something resembling an alpine landscape. It really isn’t one but it does look a little bit like it.

You are rewarded with big views of the Spokane Valley. Not everything out there is urbanized yet. There’s still some pretty farmland between the mountain and the city.

You can also see out to the southwest and part of the Palouse Prairie on the other side of the mountain.

This is about as close as the trail gets to the summit and the radar dome. It’s still a good half mile and two hundred feet of elevation away. A short descent from the trails high point brings you back to the Moonshine Trail and the long trip back down.

Fitting colors of some wildflowers for the day of the hike.

On the way down you pass by a couple more open ridges. Sometimes it’s nice to pause and appreciate small views too.

After this open ridge, the trail rapidly descends back through much thicker vegetation.

One more view out to the Palouse Prairie earned a look of that geological oddity, Steptoe Butte another place I have visited recently.

After four hours, nine steep miles and more wildflowers, I was back at the trailhead.

There’s considerably more trails that can be explored on this site. One trail connects to Liberty Lake Regional Park. Liberty Lake Park is a great place to hike, but I will have to wait until an extensive improvement project that is currently underway is completed.

The Fish Lake Trail

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.

Spokane River Centennial Trail update. New Pavement!

A couple of months ago I wrote a post about the Spokane River Centennial Trail, specifically the first fourteen miles and how it was going to be closed for the summer for a much needed rebuilding. Well they finished the project much sooner than originally scheduled so I checked out the results.

I rode the entire section out and back plus three and a half miles each way on the North Idaho Centennial Trail so I could get to the new pavement from my house. Here’s the trail at the Harvard Road bridge.

It was really nice pedaling on a smooth surface after all of these years. Hopefully it will stay that way for a while.

I did notice about a dozen Lime Scooters abandoned along the trail. I’m not sure why these things are even allowed on the trail. I’m not a fan of E-bikes either. They are consistently misused by many of the knuckleheads that drive them.

Since I started riding on this trail seventeen years ago many improvements have been made to it.

It’s always a thrill to watch trains pass over the trail.

Now if we can get the first four miles of the trail on the Idaho side of the state-line rebuilt. Actually I heard that this might be in the works as the local managing agencies are working with the North Idaho Centennial Trail Foundation to secure a grant for this project. Let’s hope this happens.

Antione Peak Conservation Area, the Emerald Necklace and Summit.

The Antione Peak Conservation Area is an over one thousand acre preserve owned and managed by Spokane County. It is located on the north side of Spokane Valley and has three easily accessible trailheads. Today I hiked the entire length of the Emerald Necklace Trail with a side trip to the summit.

I started my hike at the West Trailhead off of Brevier Road. From the parking lot there is a clear view across the Peone Prairie of Mt. Spokane, the highest point in the county.

As soon as you leave the trailhead, you find your self in the “tall grass”. It appears that this part of the preserve was pasture or farmland in the not too distant past.

The trail system is very easy to follow and well maintained. At this point you’re less than a mile from the edge of suburbia but it feels like another world.

The old fields were carpeted with wildflowers.

As I gained elevation, the views opened up. To the south is the urban area of Spokane and to the west and south are views of the rural areas outside of town.

After less than a mile, the trail enters a more forested area dominated by open Ponderosa Pine habitat. This one appears to have grown out of a rock.

This part of the trail skirts to the south of the ridge line and summit. The south side of the ridges are also the sunny side.

A view looking up the hill on a clear cool sunny day.

Signage along the trail is very good. If you come to a fork with an unmarked trail it is not part of the trail system. After a little more than two miles, the Emerald Necklace Trail intersects the Summit Trail east of the peak. If you take the Summit Trail downhill, it leads to another trailhead.

A couple of weeks ago, I walked the loop from the Canfield Gulch Trail and came across this small pond.

On that trip I also came across a small moose. It is surprising how often I cross paths with these animals. I even see them swimming in the lakes when I’m paddling my kayak.

On the backside or in this case the north side of the ridge the habitat is dominated by fir trees and thicker shrubs limiting the views. In this opening there is a nice view of nearby Rathdrum Mountain in Idaho.

This little guy didn’t seem fazed by me walking past his stump.

Another opening along the trail revealed a nice view of the Peone Prairie. This area of farmland is on the way to Green Bluff, a local agri-tourist area.

The Emerald Necklace eventually reconnects to the Summit Trail and a short hike uphill gets you to the high point. Of course there’s a communication tower or more like three of them at the top.

The summit is partially forested and you have to walk around to see the views. This one is looking across the valley towards Mica Peak Idaho, AKA Signal Point.

On the way back to the trailhead I got to enjoy the meadows covered in wildflowers again. It was a very enjoyable and relatively easy hike. I estimate I got in about six miles with maybe seven hundred feet of elevation gain. It was a nice way to spend the last day of my first month of retirement.

After completing my hike, I headed over to a friends house to watch the Stanley Cup Finals. As the sunset, I noticed they have a nice view of Antione Peak from their backyard.

Spokane County has several very nice conservation areas, many of which I have hiked. Unlike state owned sites, Spokane County does not require a pass or permit. I plan on visiting some of these places this summer and hope to share my experiences hiking on them.

Bonnie Lake Washington

Today I returned to Bonnie Lake for the third time ever. This fascinating lake is located on the edge of the Palouse Prairie and the Channel Scablands about an hour south of Spokane between Rosalia and Cheney. It’s pretty much in the middle of nowhere.

I drove from Rosalia through Malden and Pine City to most aptly named Hole in the Ground Road. This is the ‘Hole in the Ground’. The gravel road lead me to a basalt canyon that as is typical in the region, runs from the northeast to southwest as is generally accepted did the flood waters when the ice dams broke creating the Channel Scablands.

Bonnie Lake shares this canyon with it’s much larger sibling, Rock lake. I posted photos of Rock Lake when I hiked a section of the Palouse Cascade Trail a couple on months ago. Unlike Rock Lake, Bonnie Lake is a destination for kayakers as well as fishermen.

The only access to Bonnie Lake is from a primitive boat launch suitable for kayaks and very small fishing boats where Hole in the Ground Road crosses the small creek that flows out of Bonnie Lake towards Rock Lake.

The winding and in places very narrow water way passes through active cattle ranches. It’s kind of fun to watch the cattle watching you.

In places the water way is a glorified ditch. In addition to cattle, the bird life is amazing, especially Red Wing Blackbirds. I tried to get a good photo of them, but paddling the narrow channel took all of my concentration.

While zig zagging up the stream, I was treated to views of the basalt canyon rim including a fairly impressive arch.

Here’s a better view. maybe someday the proto arch on the right will break through too. A double arch would be very cool.

As you approach the lake the stream widens a little. I watched turtles bail off logs and rocks and marmots ‘rock chucks’ scramble through the basalt boulders at the base of the cliffs.

The ride through the channel is one of the highlights of this paddle. It’s maybe a little over a mile from the bridge to open water and in my opinion the most enjoyable part of the trip.

When you get to the lake itself you are are surrounded by impressive basalt cliffs.

After entering the lake if you stay to the left or west side, you pass a long section of undercut cliffs that are the home to a huge population of swallows. They make their nests in the crevasses of the basalt walls. There must have been close to a thousand nests on this short stretch.

The lake opens up and after a while I was exposed to the prevailing winds. I was looking for a safe harbor.

Around one more point there is a granite island in the middle of a basalt canyon. This place is owned by the State of Washington and is the only public property on the lake. The rest of the shoreline is owned by cattle ranches and is posted.

This is a great place to land and stretch your legs. I’m guessing the island is less than ten acres, but because of the topography and complex shoreline it can take a while to explore.

The channel between the island and the west side of the canyon usually has some of the flattest water on the lake, a welcomed respite from the waves.

There are lots of informal trails on the island and several places that people have used to camp. Unfortunately since my last visit a few years ago, someone managed to burn down most of the trees on the island. Since there’s no evidence of wildfires around the canyon I can only assume that the island fire was started by people either camping or picknicing on the island.

My original plan was to kayak all the way to the north end of the lake and then up the creek that feeds it as far as I could make it, unfortunately the weather had other ideas. As soon as I left the island the winds picked up and created white caps on the lake. Such is life in the Channel Scablands. I called it good and fought the wind back to the bridge.

I didn’t get any photos of the white caps because I was too busy trying to paddle back. I did snap one just before I returned to the ramp with my rig in the back ground.

On the way back, I checked out Steptoe Butte. It seems like a joke to have a small mountain in the middle of a thousand square miles of farmland, but that’s pretty much what it is.

I used my Discover Pass which was probably a wash with the extra fuel I used for this detour. It does give you a perspective on how amazing the Palouse Prairie is when it comes to farming. The sign at the county line proudly informs you that Withman County is the nations leading wheat growing county.

At least I can see the mountains close to my house from here.

Bonnie Lake is a completely different experience from my usual kayaking on our lakes in North Idaho. It is much more remote and the scenery is unique. It is in the same canyon as Rock Lake. The drive each way from my base in Post Falls is about ninety minutes.

Grand Coulee Road Trip, Day Two, Umatilla Rock, Deep Lake, Lenore Caves and a waterfall.


The Grand Coulee is an impressive gorge carved out by ice age floods. It is divided into an upper and lower canyon by dry falls at about the mid point. All of the coulee was dry until the creation of the Grand Coulee Dam. The upper part of the canyon was flooded to create an elaborate irrigation system in the 1930’s. The by product of this is Banks Lake. Day two was in and around the lower canyon which is much drier and is truly a desert.

I got an early start on the day and headed south through the coulee to the Dry Falls Vista roadside to get the lay of the land. Below is Sun Lakes State Park with remnant pothole lakes and interesting rock formations.

In this view you can see Perch Lake and in the middle of the coulee and Umatilla Rock, my next hiking destination just down the road in Sun Lakes State Park.

A long scenic park road brings you to the trailhead for Umatilla Rock right at the south end of that formation. A loop trail starts here.

Umatilla Rock is a maybe two mile basalt wall dividing the floor of the lower Grand Coulee in two. All you would need is a saguaro cactus or two to make you think you’re in Arizona.

The loop takes you by both Perch Lake and Dry Falls Lake.

The trail is beautiful. One of the best I’ve found. It really feels like a desert hike.

The trail winds through basalt rock formations that look like they belong on the moon. I was on the lookout but came across no snakes on the entire hike.

Definitely an interesting geology.

There were a lot of wild flowers along the hike that provided beauty on a smaller and more close up scale.

Here are a couple of photos of them.

It was a nice hike.

The only wildlife I saw was this skinny deer. Oh and the hawk that tried to attack me. If he came back for a third go at me, I think I could have got a great photo.

The loop goes through that notch in the wall. I skipped that part so ended up doing two out and back hikes.

This is that same notch from the other side.

One of the better short hikes I’ve been on in a long time. I imagine it gets awfully hot in the summer.

Another long park road brought me to a bonus surprise. At the end was the access for Deep Lake, the nicest lake in the park. At the small boat ramp after crossing a footbridge and a grove of cottonwoods, a trail follows the shore of a beautiful lake.

This lake seems to be a popular place to kayak. If I get the chance I would love to do so, but it’s almost a three hour haul from my house.

The water was crystal clear and the colors amazing.

It looked like there was a trail on the other side that really climbed above the lake. Maybe a challenge for another day.

My last stop in the Grand Coulee was at the Lake Lenore Caves site. Here is the view across the lake from the trailhead.

The trail up the cliff side featured some elaborate steps.

The “caves” are really just rock overhands carved in to the basalt by ancient flood waters.

Here is the view from inside the largest one I found. The trail continues but it was time to head home.

Instead of wild flowers here, I had to settle for colorful lichens.

So on the return trip I took a new route along State Road 28 through farm country. A side trip brought me to one last surprise.

A waterfall in the middle of nowhere. No one else was here and they had a nice little park on the lake too.

The lake the falls drops into looked amazing with clear cool water. Numerous signs prohibited entering the water that looked so inviting.

An explanation could be found in one of the most sobering memorials I’ve seen. In 1978 I was a seventeen year old boy.

It was a beautiful place. Summer Falls as it is called, is part of the path used to move water from the Grand Coulee Dam to Moses Lake and all of the irrigated farmland around it. I imagine the site originally had a small seasonal water fall before it was incorporated in to the project.

The morning started with sunrise at Steamboat Rock at 5:00 AM. Twelve hours after leaving Summer Falls a drive through more farmland ended when I returned to metro Spokane. The Grand Coulee is an amazing place to explore and a great place for my first of hopefully many post retirement trips.

Grand Coulee Road Trip, Day One, Giant Arch Cave, a return to Northrup Canyon and camping at Steamboat Rock State Park.

The Grand Coulee is an impressive gorge carved out by ice age floods. It is divided into an upper and lower canyon by dry falls at about the mid point. All of the coulee was dry until the creation of the Grand Coulee Dam. The upper part of the canyon was flooded to create an elaborate irrigation system in the 1930’s. The by product of this is Banks Lake. Day one was in and around the upper canyon.

It’s a two hour drive east from my house to Grand Coulee mostly through what looks a lot like midwestern farm land. A lot of this farmland is made possible because of the Grand Coulee Dam and the irrigation system it feeds.

When I arrived to the town of Grand Coulee and the site of the dam of the same name, I drove up the opposite side and continued west for about eight miles until I turned south on Barker Canyon Road. The road is a steep gravel that descends into the Grand Coulee on what turns into a winding dirt road.

At this point you’re across Banks Lake from Steamboat Rock State Park. This area is managed by the State Park and a Discover Pass is required.

Ahead I caught my first glimpse of my destination, Giant Arch Cave. Arches like these are common on the side walls of the Grand Coulee but this is maybe the largest one. You can see it across the lake from Steamboat Rock and I always wanted a closer look.

A dirt double tracked trail leads towards the arch. I drove my truck as far as I dared to shorten the walk. It was a very rough trail and I don’t want to beat up my ride too much. I ended up walking the last mile and a half.

The last few hundred feet to the cave involved scrambling over basalt boulders and was extremely steep. Even though the walk was short, the last part of it was difficult enough to make it quite the workout.

Here’s the view I came for. There’s no real cave at the back of the arch, just an enormous overhang.

On the way back I came across several snakes including these two intertwined on the road. None of them had rattles on the ends of their tails. Numerous signs are posted through out the area warning of the danger of rattlesnakes. Glad I didn’t come across any of them.

So I retraced my trip to the dam and then headed south on State Road 155 towards my next destination. By now the wind had really kicked up and I was glad I left my kayak at home. The drive along this road is one of the most scenic ones in Washington with lots of pull outs at view points. This one is at Northrup Point.

After checking in to my site at the campground at the base of Steamboat Rock I returned to Northrup Canyon across the highway from Northrup Point to do an expanded version of a hike I posted about from last March. First on the list was the Old Wagon Road Trail that I skipped last time. It branches off from the main train just past the parking area.

This trail quickly gains elevation while climbing the south rim of the canyon and the views across to the north rim are impressive.

Although it gains a lot of elevation, the grade is very consistent and not too strenuous. Behind you are views back to Banks Lake. Steamboat Rock is the closer formation. The Giant Arch Cave would be all the way across the lake.

After a mile or so you are high above the canyon floor.

Below you can see the farmstead that is the destination of many hikers.

At the point where you finally get near the top of the canyon, the trail turns south in a draw and kind of just fades out. After awhile it looked more like a game trail so I called it good and headed back down.

Its much drier at the top with pretty much only sage brush and wild flowers covering most of the ground. It would have been nice to have the trail end at a more defined spot like one last scenic overlook.

This place will have to make do as my end point. At least it was all down hill back to the trailhead.

A two hour round trip got me back to the starting point. The views on the way down were just as nice as those on the way up. Now it was time to repeat my hike from last March to the farmstead and then push on further.

If you want to see more photos from this part of the hike, they can be found here on my post from early spring. The three mile round trip to the farmstead is very scenic, easy and family friendly.

The trail continues another mile and a half past the old chicken coop at the farmstead.

This continuation was much steeper than the rest of the trail system. In fact it gains the same elevation three and four times which is frustrating for the hiker. The trail does not seem to even try to follow a contour line.

After a steep climb leading away from the old farm, you get to go down steep grades and then get to climb them again.

At the bottom of a couple of these grades are small wetlands which aren’t that common in what is technically a desert. There is a small lake at the end of the trail down another really steep grade. I was tired of reclimbing all of these descents so I skipped the last few hundred feet.

Up high there were a couple of nice flat sections of trail through open ponderosa pine forest. I called it good and retraced my steps back to the trailhead.

On the way back past the farm and beyond I was entertained by about the thickest population of rock chucks (marmots) that I’ve ever came across.

As the day ended, I returned to the campground at Steamboat Rock and enjoyed the view of the setting sun lighting up the east wall of the Grand Coulee. This time I skipped hiking to the top of the rock. I had enough for one day.

And so ended the first day of the road trip.

The Palouse Cascade Trail, part 1 Pine Creek and Rock Lake.

Today I hiked a short but scenic stretch of the Palouse Cascade Trail from Hole in the Ground Road outside of the small community of Pine City to the high bridge on Rock Lake that has been closed by the State of Washington.

On the way I stopped outside of Rosalia to snap a picture of this amazing viaduct. The Milwaukee Road was once one of the five transcontinental railroads but was abandoned decades ago. Most of he old railroad right of way was acquired by the State of Washington and is managed as the Palouse Cascade State Park.

At the place were Hole in the Ground Road crosses the trail there is a wide shoulder that you can park on. There is signage both directions and it was nice to know how far I was going to be walking.

About half a mile in you come to Pine Creek Bridge #7. At this location a couple of rail cars derailed and are still here to this day.

The old railroad bed follows Pine Creek.

Pine Creek is a scenic little stream.

After the railroad bridge, the trail passes through cuts in the basalt rock.

As you continue, the rock walls become more impressive.

As the creek drops, the railroad bed stays level and after awhile you are far above it and the views get even better.

It wouldn’t be an abandoned railroad without a tunnel or two. A deep cut in the rocks leads you to the entrance.

The tunnel is curved and you cannot see light from the other side when you first enter it. If you persevere and walk in as far as you can see, you will come to a point where you can see light from the other end.

On the other side there are stunning views of basalt cliffs framing the Pine Creek Valley. The bottom of the valley is farmland. These over sized canyons were formed by ice age floods as the tiny creeks in them could never produce the power to carve out the gorges.

Soon you will catch a glimpse of the north end of Rock Lake. This three and a half mile walk is on the boundary of the Palouse Prairie, a rich wheat farming area with rolling hills and the Channeled Scablands, the place where ancient flood waters scoured the land down to bedrock.

The views of Rock lake open up. This is a fascinating body of water. The largest natural lake in eastern Washington it is over four hundred feet deep and almost surrounded by steep cliffs making access very limited.

Opposite from the lake the cliffs seem to get even bigger.

Rock Lake has a vibe. There is even a legend about a lake monster and stories of derailed railcars on the bottom. Due to it being orientated with the prevailing summer wind, the lack for sheltered bays, limited places you can even land a boat and submerged basalt pinnacles boaters are strongly cautioned and kayaking discouraged.

It is hard to relate just how big these cliffs are and how big the waves can get when the scabland winds blow over miles of lake water.

This is an epic landscape. It is amazing they built a railroad through here a hundred and twenty years ago. The Milwaukee Road failed largely due to it being routed through such remote country. The railroad through Montana, Idaho and Washington was abandoned in 1980.

Near the end of the passable part of the trail impressive cliffs with basalt arches dominate the far shore.

This bridge is fenced off and posted by the State of Washington. I crossed it about seven years ago and it was sketchy back then. A second tunnel is just beyond and another mile or so down the line a section of the railroad easement reverted to private ownership and it is blocked at that point. I raised my camera above the chain-link fence to get a decent shot of the bridge.

So I turned around and walked the three and a half miles back to my car. That’s when I read the sign. The sign on the other side of the road mentioned that the trail was closed that direction due to the decks of four bridges being destroyed during a devastating wild fire a few years ago. It would be nice to get those rebuilt along with the deck of the bridge I had to stop at.

The Palouse Cascade Trail spans the entire state of Washington and ends just a few miles from the Trail of the Coeur d’Alene’s which almost spans the Idaho panhandle. The Hiawatha Trail is also an abandoned section of the Milwaukee Road. I hope to check other sections of the Palouse Cascade Trail in the near future. The section I walked today is one of the most beautiful and interesting trails I have ever explored. I went back recently and more photos can be found here.

Mt Spokane State Park, Quartz Mountain Lookout and the Vista House.

Yesterday, I visited Mt. Spokane State Park for the first time in over a decade. This state park located about an hour from my house and forty-five minutes from downtown Spokane has three peaks over five thousand feet the tallest of which is Mt. Spokane, the the highest point in the county at 5883 feet above sea level.

I started my hike at the Selkirk Lodge and headed away from Mt. Spokane towards Quartz Mountain, the third highest summit in the park. As I left the trailhead, there were nice views of Mt. Spokane behind me complete with communication towers and snow fields.

The trail was for the most part a service road to the fire look out with several parallel Nordic ski trails for those looking for more solitude. The climate up here is close to a temperate rain forest.

Being spring, there are plenty of wild flowers to appreciate along the way.

Near the summit you will pass by evidence that miners searched the mountain for gold. Gold is often found with quartz and there is a lot of quartz near the top. I don’t think they ever found gold through. I saw a couple of shafts and tunnels on a side trail.

At the top there is an old fire look out tower that is now rented by the state park for campers. The stairs were gated and locked. The view was a little disappointing as the trees east, north and west of the top were just tall enough to block it. It would have been nice to be able to climb the ten feet or so to the balcony.

The view towards the south however were very nice towards Newman and Hauser Lakes. The prominence in the center of the horizon is Mica Peak Idaho, AKA Signal Point close to where I hiked yesterday at Cable Creek.

The quartz boulders made for a pretty foreground with the Spokane Valley far in the distance.

A better view of Newman Lake with Mica Peak Washington in the background. Spokane County has large conservation holdings both on the north end of Newman Lake and on Mica Peak.

The trip was only about four and a half miles with maybe five hundred feet of elevation gain. Not quite enough to justify the hour long drive.

So I decided to walk to the top of Mount Spokane itself. The first mile or so was on a very nice single track through some old growth forest.

Parts were steep and the trail took me out to the main park road at a campground which was closed for the season. I continued up the main park road.

So a wise guy asked me why I would walk up the mountain when they have a perfectly good motor road to the top and ski lifts as well. Well it is spring time in the Inland Northwest so ski season is over and the road is still closed to vehicles, so that was my only option. It was kind of nice to focus on the views and not worry about driving a vehicle.

Turned out parts of the road were still covered in snow above 5500 feet. Above the tree line the views kept getting better and better.

Not enough snow to cover the ski runs though. Mount Spokane is a winter sports destination with Nordic skiing, downhill skiing and snowshoe trails. The season ended a couple of months ago. Summer season begins an a couple of weeks when they open the road.

Areas where the snow has melted revealed a rocky alpine landscape with stunted trees.

The views from the summit are impressive. That’s Spirit Lake below, a place I enjoy kayaking with the snow capped Montana Cabinet Mountains on the horizon.

In this view you can see a sliver Upper Twin Lake and Mount Rathdrum where I hiked a week ago. I ended up walking about twelve miles with something close to a two thousand foot elevation gain. Tomorrow, I think I might give my legs a break and break out the kayak instead.

At the very top of the mountain you will find the Vista House. This is a nice place to linger and enjoy the views.

When the snow finally melts this will be a much more crowded place.

You get to enjoy the same views on the way down as you did going up. Once again I used my Discover Pass which has now very much more than paid for it self. Between this hike and yesterdays at Cable Creek I ended up walking for over ten hours, half of that up hill. Definitely looking at kayaking the next couple of days.

The Centennial Trail, the Urban Core.

The Centennial Trail is really two trails that join together at the Washington and Idaho state line. The trail on the Washington side of the state line is officially known as the Spokane River Centennial Trail as it pretty much follows the river through the entire county. A couple of weeks ago, I posted a ride from the Idaho state line to Millwood. That is my favorite stretch, however it will be closed for the near future for a much needed rebuilding. Today I opted to ride the ten miles or so through the City of Spokane. It had been a few years since I had ridden this section.

I started my adventure at the John Shields Trailhead near the base of Beacon Hill. This Spokane County park site is very popular with rock climbers and mountain bikers. For me it was just convenient.

Immediately the rider is rewarded with views of Upriver Dam, a hydro-electric facility owned and operated by Avista Utilities, the main power provider for the Inland Northwest. Avista has some competition from Kootenai Electric and Inland Power, But they are the big dogs on the block and their footprint along this trail is extensive.

The first couple of miles are underwhelming to say the least. Mostly bike lanes on relatively busy Upriver Drive. At least it’s a way to get from Point A to B.

Three to four miles in, I was treated to this curveball. The Spokane North-South Freeway is under construction and the detour was poorly marked. That being said, this is a much needed improvement to the local highway system. At least they installed a signalized light so I could cross Greene Street.

Since my last trip on this section a major improvement was made. Avista paid to remove a road and create a short parkway on what used to be one of the least pleasant sections of the trail.

This short section passes an old power substation and the kind of cool International style administration building for Avista.

I took a brief detour here over the old Iron Bridge that is now a bike/pedestrian trail in an attempt to go to Liberty Park and the Ben Burr Trail. I got discouraged by the maze of dead ends in an old industrial area so gave up.

Then I rode over the Gateway Bridge on the Washington State University Spokane campus.

After returning to the Centennial Trail you get to ride through the campus for Gonzaga University home to a noted law school and the best basketball in the west.

Next is Riverfront Park, Spokane’s signature public space full of amazing views and interesting artwork.

In 1974 this park was built specifically to host a worlds fair. Here is the site of what was the United States pavilion. The cable skeleton that supported the roof of the building is now an iconic landmark.

This used to be the location of railroad yards and other industrial buildings. They saved the clock tower from the old train station and it is now a landmark.

To be honest, I was prepared to write a negative review of this wonderful park based on my last visit there half a year ago. At that time homeless drug addicts were camping in the park and graffiti defaced many of the art pieces. Kuddos to the Spokane Parks Department and all others who cleaned up this mess.

Heading west out of Riverfront Park, the trail passes beneath the beautiful Monroe Street Bridge and enters Kendall Yards, a new urbanist mixed use development. As part of the development they preserved almost all of the river bank as public space and built a bike trail above it with amazing views.

The further you head west the better the views are.

At the 26 mile marker I turned around. I was getting close to Doomsday Hill and didn’t want to climb back up it. At that point there is still a short on road section before the trail enters Riverside State Park. I will have to explore that section soon.