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.