The three mile section of the Palouse Cascade Trail from just east of the boat ramp on the south end of the lake to the point were it is closed to the public at an old railroad trestle is about three miles. As this section of the trail is a dead end it is seldom visited by cyclist or hikers. I decided to check it out anyway.
The old easement for the Milwaukee Railroad crosses Rock Lake Road about three miles north of the tiny village of Ewan. A section of the old rail bed south of Rock lake Road reverted to private ownership and is closed to the public. At the old railroad crossing there really isn’t anyplace to park so I settled for a gravel road shoulder just wide enough to get my car off the pavement.
From the road, a steep incline got me up to the second of two gates. For gate combos and trail rules go to the official site and register there. There must have been a bridge or an embankment here when the railroad was active. Now an abrupt cliff on the south side of the road leads to the old railbed that is now closed to the public.
Near the beginning of the hike the trail passes by Lavista Lake, a small body of water just east of Rock lake itself.
Washington State Parks places these markers so you know how far west of Chicago you are. They do correspond with the original markers used by the railroad.
Along the old railroad bed many of the old telegraph posts complete with some of the wires and glass insulators line the route. It’s nice to see a little bit of railroad history.
Less than a mile in I came to gate number three. Apparently this one stays open all the time.
The trail from here on followed the shore line of Rock Lake. Last year I hiked a section of the trail on the north end of the lake to the point is was closed to the public. Here is the post of that adventure.
For most of the route in addition to the lake on one side of the trail. The opposite side was flanked by relatively steep and impressive bluffs.
While researching Rock Lake I came across stories about lost rail cars full of Model T cars, stories about a lake monster and warnings about submerged rocks that have ripped the bottom off of boats piloted by the unwary. I wondered if these could be them.
Rock Lake sits right at the boundary between the Palouse Prairie and the Channeled Scablands. It is dry here and most of the trees are Ponderosa pines, an extremely drought tolerant species.
At three miles in I came to my turn around point. Another mile or so down the line another section has reverted to private ownership and is closed off anyway.
I held my camera above the chain-link to get a photo of the old bridge. I have to go with Washington on this one. I’ve walked across some sketchy railroad bridges before but I wouldn’t cross this one even if it wasn’t blocked off.
From the end of the trail there is a nice view of the lake. Rock Lake is the largest natural lake in eastern Washington at over two thousand acres in size. It is also very deep, over a hundred feet deep almost everywhere and over three hundred in places.
I took one last look at the old bridge and began my return trip. The supporting structure of the bridge looked okay to me but the deck was rotted almost down to sawdust.
As far as wildlife goes I saw plenty of deer and turkeys but they didn’t let me get close enough for decent photographs. That’s fine as I know what they look like anyway.
It is lonely country out here. I saw not a single other person on my six mile hike except for some fishermen in boats out on the lake.
This is the fourth trip I’ve made to hike or bike a section of the Palouse Cascade Trail. I find the old railroad history is fascinating. I’ve ridden the sections west of Tekoa and west of Rosalia on previous occasions.
The Milwaukee Road was once transcontinental railroad. It was the last one of the five completed and the first and so far only one to be abandoned. Other sections of the railroad are now used as trails like the Olympian in Montana and the Hiawatha in Idaho.
Four hours and six miles later I was back to where I started. I was relieved to find my car still intact on the side of the road.
