Explore the best rated trails in Toppenish, WA, whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Keene Road Trail and Powerhouse Canal Pathway . With more than 11 trails covering 4045 miles you're bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
It is difficult to rate this trail. I rode the trail from Seattle to Idaho during June of 2024 and experienced extreme highs and extreme lows. The ride from Fall City to Snoqualmie Pass was AMAZING - most beautiful ride I've every done. Most of the posted reviews are from riders that have only done this section. As you do a steady uphill climb your will pass rock climbers, amazing bridges, and a beautiful thick forest. Be prepared with headlights and a rain jacket as you go through the 2 + mile tunnel at Snoqualmie Pass. Once you exit the tunnel the landscape will start to change. You will still be in a forest, but it feels like a different type of forest. As you head east, the trees will slowly start to disappear as you will start to feel like your in the wild west - still beautiful but a different kind of beauty. When you reach Ellensburg, you better load up with water and food because things are about to get very tough. The ride from Ellensburg to Beverly is very remote - you will be way off the grid in the wild west (no trees) I recommend that you have some type of tracking device because you are about to enter an area where there is no water / food / people / nothing for about 40 miles. About 10-15 miles is deep sand that is very challenging to ride. I rode with 700 X 50 tires - I would recommend tires at least this wide or wider. If your riding tires any thinner it will be very challenging. Later you will ride on very rocky roads that were created for horses - not bikes. There is a fun downhill section through cliffs. MTB skills would be a plus here because there are sandy sections that suddenly appear and large rocks the size of footballs. This section is fun, but be prepared. There was a water pump that is used for horses that was located about a mile off the trail - my friend did some research and found the water pump. Make sure you carry lots of water you will be averaging about half the speed that you normally ride at. I'm sure the sand and rocky sections vary throughout the year, but it was tough when we did the ride. I'm sure most people don't know about the water pump - so do some research. You will get excited when you see the bridge at Beverly - nice place to take pictures. I recommend after crossing the bridge to ride the extra 2-3 miles to get food and water at the gas station that is east of the bridge - there will be no water or food from here to Othello. The road from Beverly to Othello was very sandy and rocky. There were rocky sections that are unrideable even for expert MTB riders. One this day it was very hot, and my friends and I struggled to make it to Othello as we rode from Ellensburg to Othello in one day. From Othello to Idaho you will continue to ride on very, very, very, very rocky roads. You will wish you had a MTB or fatbike. There are some very beautiful sections where I felt like I was in a scene from "Dances with Wolves". But you will still be very off the road and will feel like you are a early pioneer traveling across the country by horse and wagon. This ride is not for everyone. Some people will love it, some people will hate it. I have to admit that I was cussing at the rocky roads. This ride will be like no ride you have ever done before. Be prepared if your going to ride the full trail. A little information - the group I was riding with was riding across the country from Seattle to Washington DC on bikes that where fully loaded with heavy gear.
We ( recumbent trike & e-bike) headed West from the Kiwanis park. Turned around after 9km as the surface was really tough on the trike. There’s 2 good wheel tracks for bikes, but the trike had to ride partially in the coarse trail ballast. Scenic area with farm views and a huge windmill farm in the distance.
As you may have noticed my least favorite portion of this trail is just north of Howard Amon Park when the trail goes up onto the levee. The trail surface is in bad shape from uplifting asphalt and hazardous to all users. Good news, the city of Richland just announced that this summer (2024) they are going to be closing this section of the trail and will provide signage for a detour while they completely redo this section to address the problems. Additionally this past winter a section of the trail just north of Sprout Road (near the WSU Tri-Cities campus) washed out and will be closed and repaired in the same time frame, detours are also to be provided.
We rented a car one way to Ellensburg with two bikes. Only option was Enterprise and it worked great. Trail started close to downtown. While we had a headwind on day one it made day two easy with considerable downhill. Towns especially Cle Elum were fun to visit. Excellent camping along the trail and bathroom facilities are abundant. While we did the ride in two days, recommend slowing down a bit and doing thee days of riding. Do this ride!
"THE BIKE HUB" IN SPOKANE IS A GREAT BIKE SHOPMY DERAILLEUR BROKE OUTSIDE OF TEKOA.JOHN WENT OUT OF HIS WAY TO FIX MY BIKE, AND GET ME BACK ON TRAIL.
BIKING IN THICK COURSE GRAVEL AND SAND IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE.HARD PACKED DIRT IS THE BEST.FOR THE BEST TRAIL SURFACE CHECK OUT THE "MIICKElSON TRAIL" IN SOUTH DAKOTA CRUSHED LIMESTONE
TRAIL NEEDS TO BE DRAGED WITH A INFIELD BASEBALL WIRE SCREEN,OR CHAIN THREE USED CAR TIRES IN V SHAPE AND DRAG THEM BEHIND A VEHICLE ALONG THE WHOLE TRAIL,TO SPREED OUT GRAVEL AND SAND,WHICH ARE WAY THICK IN A LOT OF SECTIONS
This trail had large cracks in many many areas and it abruptly turned into the city streets which were very gravelly and rough. It turned back into the path where not too far on it, there was a woman using drugs. The area off the path (Grandview) was very rough and sketchy. This was the area we saw the woman using drugs. We were very disappointed.
Surprised to see this amazing trail that has great bed and breakfasts along it is not noted as part of the Great American Rail Trail. It sure would help demonstrate more GART completion if it was.
This was a great find! I was originally going to skate the sacajawea trail but I've i saw it, it was pretty rough and not very flat in places so i looked for another. I find this one which mostly goes along Keene road but was fun to skate anyway. It was smooth, and very clean! The only thing i can complain about is the bumpy yellow intersection plates at the crosswalks! But they are doable -just aaannoying.annoyingenjoyed
I live in the area and regularly ride portions of this trail have ridden the entire trail at times. This trail is somewhat unique in that most of it is an urban greenbelt (not much green as average rainfall is less than 10”) beneath large established deciduous trees located between a freeway soundwall and residential backyards. The trail is asphalt fairly wide and in most cases in good condition with the occasional pavement upheaval caused by tree roots. The trail has no services other than the McDonalds on the south end, everything else would require a detour of the trail. As far as end points the north end of the trail is at the intersection of Spengler Street and Stevens Drive and depending upon your route the southern end has two distinct points; the intersection of Wellisian Way and Arron Drive (between the McDonalds and Arron Drive), or the north west end of Carrier Road in the Chama Natural Preserve. Off street dedicated parking for this trail is nonexistent for this trail except at Fred Meyer’s (next to the McDonalds) or at Chama Natural Preserve. I’ll start my review from the northern end heading south and split the various routes which will branch off our basic trail.
A couple of interesting thing about Richland, how were the street names determined? Answer Richland was a small community of less than 300 residents prior to WWII when the government bought a very large chunk of land for the Hanford Project (part of the Manhattan Project to build the first plutonium bomb) and built quite a large part of what is now Richland. To name streets the Army turned to prominent officers who had served the US Army Corp of Engineers. Why are many of the houses referred to as alphabet houses? When the government moved in there was a need for a large number of houses for the workers and scientists. In true government fashion the house you got depended on your position in the hierarchy and then the size of your family. The houses were built and refer to as the “A” plan/model, “B” plan/model, etc. and many of these homes still exist in the city. Most of these homes were built a duplex units and over the years some homeowners have acquired both unit and converted them into single family units.
At the intersection of Stevens Drive and Spengler you have your first chance for a detour as Spengler is a lightly traveled residential street which runs from Stevens Drive east to Harris Avenue. Although there is no designated bike lane the street is fairly wide and with the light traffic conditions should be no problem. There is a crosswalk with traffic signals at George Washington Way (Yes, that George Washington but in honor of his engineering services not as President) to make crossing the busy street easy. When you reach Harris Avenue if you turn left when you reach the first right turn (Ferry Road) you have intersected the Richland Riverfront Trail. If you continue Harris Avenue you are on the trail and headed towards the northern end of the trail. If you turn right on Ferry Road, you will find the trail at the end of the road and be heading towards the southern terminus at Columbia Point marina Park.
Heading south from Spengler Street on the trail it is rather barren with Stevens Drive on your right as you travel south. You will cross Snyder Street (crosswalk, no lights) and Saint Street (crosswalk and lights). Just south of Saint Street there is a split in the trail, keep right (the left only goes for another block and dumps you onto Jadwin Boulevard) and continue to Jadwin Boulevard (crosswalk and lights). After crossing Jadwin Boulevard keep to the right with the sound wall on your right side. You will be between the soundwall and residential backyards until you reach Duportail Street so it will be somewhat quiet, and I have never encounter more than a couple of other trail users in this area. You will cross Van Giesen Street (busy street with no crosswalk where the trail crosses however, half a block to the west there is a crosswalk and lights at the intersection of the Bypass Highway) and Swift Boulevard (crosswalk and lights) before reaching Duportail Street (crosswalks and lights).
At Duportail we can go in two directions, we will first head to the right to intersect the connecting roadway/trail located in Chama Natural Preserve. Use the crosswalks and lights to first cross Duportail and then the Bypass Highway. Once across the Bypass Highway stay on the sidewalk and just after crossing the railroad track the trail will be on your left. The trail parallels the railroad track on your left and a series of apartment buildings on your right, after the last apartment building the Yakima River will be on your left and you will descend almost to the river and with a couple of sharp turns cross under the Interstate and in a couple hundred yards be at the parking area in Chama Natural Preserve. Between the underpass and the parking area there is a trail which goes to the left, this trail will take you up to Queensgate Drive and intersect with the Keene Road Trail.
If we choose the other direction at Duportail Street, cross Duportail Street and then continue south on the trail. You will have a split int the trail but it doesn’t really matter which one you take as they both end up on Thayer Drive (about a block apart). If you choose the left path when you get to Thayer Drive turn right and proceed one block to the intersection of Lawless Drive and Thayer Drive. If you choose the right path you will end at this intersection. At Lawless Drive you have to cross the street, use care, there is traffic only coming from your right but it is a freeway off ramp so cars can be going faster than expected (posted at 30 just past this intersection) and you will find the trail on the southwest corner of the intersection. Once across Lawless Drive it is a short downhill to the end of the trail at Wellisian Way and Arron Drive. Although not part of the trail it is easy to cross Wellisian Way (Crosswalk and lights) and continue east on the sidewalk which turns into a trail after crossing Goethals Boulevard (crosswalk no lights) until you reach Jadwin Boulevard. Turn right and cross Jadwin Boulevard (crosswalk no lights) heading south, after about a block and a half you will cross the railroad tracks and be at the junction of Carrier Road, turn left to connect to the Richland Riverfront Trail and the Sacajawea Heritage Trail or turn left to connect with the Keene Road Trail.
Although not a scenic trail until you get close to the river it is a good trail to get through Richland with very little traffic other than on the streets you cross. I typically will head north on the Richland Riverfront Trail and using Spengler Street and the Bypass Shelter Trail as my southerly return via a different route, so it becomes more of a loop rather than out and back.
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