Lyle Cherry Orchard
This little-known gem of a hike on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge offers spectacular views of the Columbia River, amazing spring wildflowers and an old garry oak forest of gnarled old trees. This stunning preserve is owned by the Friends of the Columbia Gorge and tops out in an old cherry orchard with a few surviving trees.
The cherry orchard part is sweet, but the way to it is even sweeter. Start your hike at the unmarked trailhead just east of the tunnels near the town of Lyle. There's a parking area to the north. The first quarter mile of trail are quite steep, but once the views begin, you may not notice the incline as much. Within a half-mile the Columbia River reveals itself fully and stays with you as you climb through a diverse meadow of wildflowers (in the spring): death camas,grass widow, larkspur, glacier lilies, shooting star, locoweed and balsamroot to name a few. At about 1.5 miles, enter a garry oak forest and meander upward until you reach a junction with a dirt road. Head to the right to find the remnants of the old cherry orchard and more views over the Gorge. After your hike, be sure and check for ticks.
Driving Directions:
From Vancouver, take Hwy 14 east through the town of Lyle. Just east of Lyle, you'll drive through two tunnels. The trailhead is at a turnout on the left side of the road, just past the tunnels. Recent Trip Reports
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Day hike
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Lola and I continue on our quest to hike all the trails in Craig Romano's new book Day Hiking in...
Lola and I continue on our quest to hike all the trails in Craig Romano's new book Day Hiking in the Columbia River Gorge. We joined with Kate from the Friends of the Gorge to check out the lower section of the Lyle Cherry Orchard where WTA may be able to do some trail work.
The views were spectacular even though we only made it about a mile and half up the trail before turning back. Kate pointed out the route by which they hope to build a connector trail to the town of Lyle and some switchbacks that need to be repaired. Along the way we saw two rattlesnakes, but they made a quick getaway as soon as we approached. There was also abundant poison oak, but we didn't see any ticks on us. I carried Lola in the Ergo so it wasn't technically "hiked by kids" but I'd bring her back to hike it when she's older. Th lupines were very pretty and the green leaves on the oak trees were incredibly vibrant and new. After the hike we stopped at the Country Cafe in Lyle for some pie; cherry would have perfect, but they were out so we got raspberry with vanilla ice cream. Day hike
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Wildflowers blooming
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The unsigned TH begins at a large gravel parking lot about 1.4 miles east of Lyle. Directions and trail description...
The unsigned TH begins at a large gravel parking lot about 1.4 miles east of Lyle. Directions and trail description are accurate in Craig Romano's new book, "Day Hiking Columbia River Gorge". One gains 450 feet the first 1/2 mile on a sometimes rocky uneven tread which has been re-routed since our last visit about 10 years ago. Fiddleneck, bi-colored cluster lilies, and prairie stars were among the flowers in this section. At 1 mile you reach a bench with views of the Columbia River. Here one can explore the meadows of the bench or proceed uphill 700 more feet to the orchard. This section of trail has also been re-routed since our last visit. It begins with wide switchbacks across green meadows with flowers to slow your pace. The trail soon begins ascending steeply on a sidehill and then flattens as it enters a garry oak forest where the larkspur, buttercup, a few puccoon were blooming. There were some fading shooting stars and even fewer grass widows. When you reach an old road at about 2.3 miles, turn right to soon reach the old cherry orchard. 3 trees are still "weakly" standing and budding! Bob found 2 very small ticks on his pants as we were eating our lunch. This is a very pleasant hike. Desert Parsley is in full bloom. The Balsam root and lupine are just starting. We saw only one lupine in bloom.
Day hike
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Fall foliage
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Fall color was peaking among the maples and Oregon white oaks on this sunny autumn day -- probably the last...
Fall color was peaking among the maples and Oregon white oaks on this sunny autumn day -- probably the last warm day of 2010. Without much wind, it was warm enough (68 degrees) to hike in short sleeves.
The Lyle Cherry Orchard trail is on private land that is open to the public. It abuts DNR land, so there is plenty of space to roam. Our hike was about 6 miles and 2,000 feet of elevation gain. We started from the trailhead on SR 14 and climbed to the upper plateau. From here, we went cross-country higher up the ridge above the "Lyle" sign on the hillside. Then we went straight up the ridge and followed it east through oak woodlands until we met a jeep road. We followed the jeep road as it climbed up and down over several ridges until it took us down to the Cherry Orchard. Most of the cherry trees on this abandoned homestead are barely hanging on to life, but they also sported fall color. We lunched in the sunny grassland then looped around through more woodlands above the cliffs and eventually back to the official trail, which we followed back to the trailhead. As we hiked back, we watched groups of red-tailed hawks, ravens and bald eagles flying above. We looked forward to returning next spring when wildflowers will again bloom in these prairies and woodlands. Day hike
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Wildflowers blooming
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Wow!!!!
Guidebook author Craig Romano, WTA's Susan Elderkin and I hiked the Lyle Cherry Orchard within the Columbia River National Scenic...
Wow!!!!
Guidebook author Craig Romano, WTA's Susan Elderkin and I hiked the Lyle Cherry Orchard within the Columbia River National Scenic Area on Sunday. This stunning trail will be included in Craig's upcoming guidebook on the Columbia Gorge hikes. The trailhead is not signed, rather it's a gravel parking lot a mile or so east of the tunnels on 114 (east of Lyle). Don't freak about about the first 50 vertical - it becomes reasonable after that first thrust. Death camas in all it's glory are blooming now, and acres & acres of woodland star. Silvery-trunked and lichen draped garry oak stud the emerald green slopes. The re-graded and re-routed trail makes nice, sweeping switchbacks before starting a fairly steep ascent. This portion is not suitable for children - the trail sidehills on a very steep slope with a long, long drop. Locoweed and balsamroot have just started to bloom here. The trail flattens and enters an idyllic garry oak forest - Vancouverites and Portlanders might think we;re silly, but this garry oak forest was a delight to us. We're not used to it! Lots of grass widow, larkspur, glacier lilies and shooting star are blooming here. In several places all these flowers are blooming together, making quite a pretty show. The trail meets an old abandoned road; turn right and continue a short ways to the orchard site. Long gone, but a few old, gnarled snags remain - still partially alive and budding! Unobstructed views of the Columbia to the east, more gorgeous green slopes - well....you'll just have to go and see for yourself. This trail is something to remember. Please visit, and marvel at the open slopes, the lichen encrusted basalt, and the Columbia River. Day hike
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Wildflowers blooming
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Oregon hiking guide author William L. Sullivan was in town for a week or so giving evening presentations. He was...
Oregon hiking guide author William L. Sullivan was in town for a week or so giving evening presentations. He was looking for something to do during the day so I organized a hike of the Cherry Orchard near Lyle, Washington. Bill Sullivan has it in his Eastern Oregon guidebook and it also is featured in "55 Hikes in Central Washington." Twenty people turned out to hike with a "celebrity."
This hiking area is unusual in that it is private land owned by the heirs of Nancy and Bruce Russell. Nancy Russell, founder of Friends of the Columbia Gorge, purchased several parcels to prevent development and welcomed hikers to use and enjoy the property. The trail leads to an old homestead with a remnant cherry orchard, hence the name. The Cherry Orchard property abuts Washington Department of Natural Resources land, so there is a vast stretch of woodlands and meadows open to the public for exploration. From the parking area at a pullout on the shoulder of SR 14, we ascended the newly reconstructed trail and then took off cross-country up the side of the ridge above the "LYLE" sign. After several steep ascents, we gained the ridgetop. Clouds obscured the views of Mount Hood and Mount Adams and wind gusts up to 30 mph practically blew us off the ridge face. Once on top however, we headed east into parklike oak woodlands following the ridgetop. Eventually we encountered a jeep road and followed it up and down over several ridges until we reached the Cherry Orchard. The remnants of the trees were in bloom. We lunched in the orchard and then completed the loop by following the trail back to our starting point. The loop we took is about 6 miles and 1,800 feet elevation gain. We did have to dodge poison oak, which is just now leafing out. It is very thick in some places, especially south facing slopes. One person found a tick on her clothing. It was not a Gorge Grand Slam, however, because we didn't see any rattlesnakes. Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
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We started the day with breakfast at the Lyle Lions Club Community Center. The Lions Club has served breakfast on...
We started the day with breakfast at the Lyle Lions Club Community Center. The Lions Club has served breakfast on the first Saturday of every month for over 20 years as its major fundraiser. It's a deal: $5 for made-to-order omelet, all you can eat pancakes, juice and coffee. Just east of Lyle, the Cherry Orchard Trail is located on property owned by the Russell Family. Nancy Russell (founder of Friends of the Columbia Gorge) and her husband Bruce purchased this property to protect it from development. They developed a trail to the old homestead and cherry orchard and invite hikers to enjoy the scenic views and wildflowers. The unsigned trailhead is located just east of Lyle, Washington, on the inside of the curve on SR 14 after the tunnel. A Washington Department of Natural Resources crew, under direction of the Chinook Trail Association, rebuilt the first mile of trail last fall. Aubrey Russell, who now manages the property on behalf of his family, intends to do more trail work as funds are raised. This hike was our first experience of the newly built trail, which reduces the grade and provides more switchbacks while climbing about 1,000 ft in the first mile. We broke away from the trail and hiked cross-country on the ridge above Lyle and then turned east through oak woodlands. The ticks were active! Several people found multiple ticks on their clothes. We dodged poison oak as best we could, finally climbing to views of Mount Hood and Mount Adams. Part of the hike was on a primitive dirt road where we saw tracks of deer, raccoon, bobcat and bear in the mud. (On a prior hike here, we saw cougar tracks in the mud!) We hiked east and descended to the cherry orchard for lunch, with views of deer on the hillside across the canyon and bald eagles flying overhead. Bev produced a cake from her backpack so we could celebrate Ken's 65th birthday. We basked in the sun and anticipated spring. A few early grass widows and Columbia desert parsley brightened the oak woodlands. Grand vistas up and down the Columbia River spread below our feet. On our return hike, we looped through the woods and eventually back to the trail. We estimated the hike at 6-7 miles and 1,200 feet elevation gain.
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Lyle Cherry Orchard. Photo by Kim Brown.
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