Palouse to Cascades Trail Coalition
Information
The Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail (PTCT) stretches 289 miles across Washington from Cedar Falls near North Bend to the Idaho border south of Spokane. It is a rail trail that passes through a 2.3-mile-long tunnel, crosses over the Columbia River, over the land scoured by the Ice Age Floods and through the wheat fields of the Palouse region of Washington.
We have divided our description of the route into two sections, West of the Columbia River and East of the Columbia River. This is because they are significantly different in terms of services, access from public roads, and cell coverage. Travelers east of Renslow need to be prepared with water, supplies and have endurance. There are also many detours required at this time, so researching the detour maps is important.
Rules
The PTCT is managed by the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission. There website for the PTCT is https://parks.wa.gov/find-parks/state-parks/palouse-cascades-state-park-trail. It is open to non-motorized uses such as hiking, biking, and riding horses. It is also used for cross-country skiing, horse drawn wagons, running, bird watching, exploring railroad history, exploring geology, and traveling crossing Washington. There is no camping allowed in the State Park except at the five designated campsites. On the east side of the Columbia River an online registration is required for use. No hunting or shooting is allowed on the trail.
Services
There are limited services along the PTCT. The names on the accompanying maps in some cases are the former railroad station locations and there is no community there at all. Many of the small communities have very limited services for the traveler, with indoor accommodations only available at Snoqualmie Pass, South Cle Elum, Cle Elum, Ellensburg, Kittitas, Othello and Ritzville.
Distances
The chart below is an estimate of the distance between places along the PTCT. It is based upon the original railroad mileposts and the recommended detours. The milepost values are posted along the trail on white markers that say “Chicago”. Sections of the trail dead end due to either a missing trestle or private property thus resulting in detours.
PTCT Cautions
General
The PTCT is a wonderful place for adventure. But there are some limitations that travelers need to understand.
This is a State Park that is still in the process of being developed. The park agency was provided with the raw land from a former railroad, but it included many issues to be resolved. While technically most of the PTCT is a “rail-trail” it is not like many well developed rail trails elsewhere. Much of it has the original large rock ballast from the railroad. A section goes through an Army training ground, there is an active railroad half way through, and there are private property ownerships interrupting the continuity. These require significant detours.
Trestles: There are a number of very high trestles along the PTCT. While these now have railings, if you are afraid of heights, you may not feel comfortable crossing them. In most places there is no easy detour.
Tunnels: There are three short tunnels east of Hyak. There are NO detours available around these tunnels, so if you don’t like tunnels you need to reconsider. The Snoqualmie Tunnel is 2.24 miles in length. It is VERY dark inside and cool even on the hottest day. Because icicles form on the ceiling in the winter it is closed, usually from November 1st to May 1st.
Camping: Camping is only allowed at the five designated campsites all of which are west of Thorp. Check the State Parks website for reservations.
Water: The only water provided by State Parks is at the Hyak Trailhead. There is no water between Ralston and Malden, a distance of more than 60 miles.
Gates: There are about 100 gates across the PTCT over it’s length. The purpose of these gates is to keep motor vehicle traffic off of the trail. There are some people who have permits to drive on the PTCT, but not many. These gates are LOCKED. In most cases there is a gap of varying width between the gate posts and other obstacles so that a person can walk or push a bicycle around the gate. But not in every place. This could be a problem for people with trailers, trikes, wheelchairs, and anything wider than a bicycle without panniers.
Along the Trail
Cedar Falls Trailhead: There is a significant climb from the parking area to the actual railroad grade. It is not smooth compacted gravel and is eroding.
Hyak: There is a nice large trailhead and restroom at Hyak. But the trail going west to the tunnel is not accessible for wheelchairs or trikes.
Lake Easton: Camping is allowed at the Lake Easton State Park. But the location of the camping is not adjacent to the trail itself. You must take a dirt path through the woods to get to a road which takes you to the camp area where there are two tent camping sites. It is easy to miss the little sign in the dark woods for the turnoff.
South Cle Elum: The first two miles going east from South Cle Elum are covered with large round loose rock which is difficult to ride a bike through. As the trail enters the canyon going east the surface becomes quite nice.
S Cle Elum to Thorp: There are two gates across the trail in this section. They need to be kept closed and require a little effort to open and close.
Yakima Training Center: The Army owns and controls the land from the south side of the Renslow Trestle over I-90 to Huntzinger Road next to the Columbia River. This area is used for live ammunition practice for the Army. The Army grades a portion of it each spring to remove large rocks from “cuts” in the rock. But they do not regularly maintain other parts of it. The first section from Renslow to the tunnel is soft sand that is sometimes churned up by galloping horses. The Bolyston Tunnel is closed requiring climbing up and over the top of it on a very rugged and rocky “route.” It is 22 miles between the Renslow Trestle and the Beverly Bridge. There are no intersecting roads and rarely any Army personnel out there.
Beverely Bridge: This is a beautiful bridge over the Columbia River almost ¾ of a mile in length. This area is notorious for very high winds due to the geography on both sides of the river. It is possible to have winds greater than 40mph and they could be coming from either side.
Royal City Junction: Between here and Warden the original rail is still in operation. The route uses a little used Lower Crab Creek Road adjacent to the rails going east to Othello. It is generally hard packed and not very busy with motor vehicle traffic. It ends about 8 miles west of Othello and turns onto SR 26. One route is to continue east on SR 26, a busy state highway. The alternative suggests turning off onto S Daniels Rd but this requires a short climb of about a 5% grade. Then it is relatively flat on a side road to Othello.
Othello: This is a major agricultural city with many homes, businesses, and factories. There is no easy route between Othello and Warden. The railroad grade is still active. The main canal cuts off any possible back roads. Avoiding SR 17, S Bruce Rd connects south to north. But be careful, S Bruce Road is an extremely busy road with narrow shoulders and a lot of truck traffic.
Warden to Lind: The surface is primarily rock with sagebrush beginning to intrude into the center. There are some sandy areas closer to Lind.
Lind: This requires leaving the trail at the west end of Lind, and turning onto SR 21 for 2.5 miles to the center of Lind. Then, the preferred route requires climbing a steep hill to the south to get back to the railroad grade. Going east from the trailhead the railroad grade has been bisected by SR 395. The route goes back down to the bottom of the hill and then passes under the SR 395 through three large culverts. Unfortunately, these are often plugged with tumbleweeds. You then need to climb back up to the railroad grade. This detour is not actually a built trail but more likely a cross-country route that has been used enough that you can find it. But it is rough and soft in places. There is a fourth culvert under the Lind Kahlotus Rd.
Lind to Ralston: This surface has never been improved and many people ride their bikes on the E Lind Ralston Road parallel to the trail and with very little traffic.
Ralston to Marengo: There is a missing railroad trestle over Cow Creek. There is no way down and up as there are sheer cliffs at both ends. There is NO trestle at this location. There are two detours. The one to the north goes towards Ritzville and then back down to Marengo. The final section includes two very steep although paved sections of the Marengo Rd. The alternative is across a working cattle ranch and is about 5 miles in length. The route was created by a bulldozer but it is open to use by the cattle. This does include a climb at the east side of the river valley of about 5% on dirt.
Texas Lake Road to Ewan: This detour (see map below) involves a significant climb on a gravel road to Wagner Road.
Ewan to Pine City: This is a detour around a section of private property on the old railroad grade. Both ends along the lake have been blocked by State Parks.
Pine City to Malden: This section has three bridges that burned and there is no decking on them.
Rosalia: There is a steep hill coming off the grade down into Rosalia. Most people go into town. But if you continue to follow the former railroad grade there are three missing trestles. This results in three very steep downs/ups greater than 10%.
Pandora: Located about 5 miles east of Rosalia is a missing trestle. The route people follow requires exiting the grade onto Pandora Rd., then going downhill on Wilhelm Rd and crossing private property to get back up to the grade. The climb is over 10% gradient in places and is not marked.
Missing trestles: There are missing trestles at Engel Rd, Fox Rd and the Fairbanks-Seabury Rd. Because these have been removed there are short but steep descents and climbs greater than 8% at each and very poor sightlines for road traffic.
Tekoa: At the east end of the bridge there is a very narrow post that you must pas around on a corner. Be careful.
Tekoa to Idaho state line: This section has not received any work on it by State Parks. The surface varies and there can be some muddy spots. When it rains the dirt turns to a very sticky mud which does not wash off easily.
Links to other trails
The west end of the PTCT connects to the Snoqualmie Valley Trail at Cedar Falls. This is a rail trail managed by King County that goes north to Duvall. At the east end in Idaho the railroad ROW is privately owned, but there is a bypass route that allows connecting to the Trail of the Coeur d’Alene’s in Plummer, Idaho. The PTCT also passes under the Columbia Plateau Trail (CPT) at a former railroad stop called Paxton. The CPT has not been fully developed and the surface still has the original railroad ballast.
The PTCT is also a part of the Great American Rail Trail. This is a project of the Rails to Trails Conservancy to encourage the development of a rail trail across the United States. The PTCT is a critical link in this plan.
