White Bluffs - South SlopeHeading south from the trailhead along the old paved roadway, you can enjoy the amazing bluffs and the wonderful river views. You'll be walking along the Hanford Reach, the last free-flowing section of the Columbia. One mile down the road, look carefully for an unsigned trail that leaves the roadway on your left (a trail leads right also for more roaming out to sandstone pillar formations overlooking the river) where the roadway passes through a flat area before it goes through a deep road cut. Head up this trail, climbing into the hills, and you'll be greeted with some of the best steppe land roaming in the state. The trail leads along the base of the tremendous bluffs to the east and skirts the deep ravines cut by erosion that lead below to the road and river. Coyote sign can be found everywhere up on these bluffs as the rodent hunters have plenty of prey to feast upon. Watch for mule deer, too, as they frequent this trail system, which allows them access from the rich prairie atop the bluffs to the water in the river below. The trail continues to climb steeply to a high point and then generally remains along the ridge. We call this "The Great Valley" as the climb up reveals a vast broad valley that makes it easy to picture a wagon train passing through it in the year 1850 or so. It is an amazingly long valley with bluffs 400 to 500 feet high lining both sides. Hike the full length of it to really appreciate the quiet of the desert. The Great Valley rolls on like this for well over a mile. From that point, you can find game trails leading down through the steep gullies to the river below. This drops you back on the riverside road about 2 miles from the trailhead (though you'll have covered nearly 3 miles by making the hike up the bluffs). From here, continue south along the river for 2 or 3 more miles before moving inland a bit. This lets you return to the trailhead by hiking the flatlands between the road and the river. Return the way you came.
Driving Directions:
From Ellensburg, drive east on Interstate 90 to Vantage and across the Columbia River. Immediately after crossing the river, turn right (south) at exit 137 onto State Route 26 and continue 0.9 mile to a junction with SR 243. Turn right onto SR 243 and drive 14.3 miles, then turn left (east) onto the Mattawa Highway/SR 24 cutoff road (signed as "24SW"). Drive 13.8 miles along this straight road to its junction with SR 24. Turn left onto SR 24. Just past milepost 63, turn right onto the dirt road signed "Wahluke National Wildlife Refuge" and guarded with a huge solar-powered gate system, which closes at night. Drive 8.1 miles to the end of the road. Make use of a new circular parking area to the right of the road at a river overlook. The parking area is closed from 2 hours after dusk until 2 hours before sunrise. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife permit required. Recent Trip Reports
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Wildflowers blooming
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A stiff breeze from the southwest blew constantly on this spring day amid the White Bluffs. Raptors and swallows...
A stiff breeze from the southwest blew constantly on this spring day amid the White Bluffs. Raptors and swallows active along the bluffs. Wildflowers and greening grasses made a pleasant scene.
The game trail leading southeast off the roadbed toward the "Grand Valley" was eventually found with some difficulty. Easy ramble along the ridge and down into the valley itself. Overall a beautiful day. Day hike
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Parked at the trailhead at the end of the road for the "south" portion of White Bluffs. We proceeded...
Parked at the trailhead at the end of the road for the "south" portion of White Bluffs. We proceeded through the gate down the old road looking for a trail leading west to the river. We got just about to the end of the road and proceeded west, hoping to find the trail. Once at the river, without finding a trail we then followed the river north and found a trail runing along the base of the hills. We never could find the trail back to the road so we just had to make our way back the road as est we could along the ridges, through the valleys and up the hillside to the road. A very nice day on the warmer side of the mountains.
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I led a large group of Cascadians to the White Bluffs - South today on my 4th Winter Walk of...
I led a large group of Cascadians to the White Bluffs - South today on my 4th Winter Walk of the season. The ground was still pretty muddy over here, so I reprised an outing I took under similar conditions a couple of years ago. We walked down the old highway under mostly cloudy skies all the way to the fence and gate, then climbed to the top of the ridge overlooking what the Best Desert Hikes calls the Great Valley and followed the trail north to the high point where we had lunch. The views here are expansive in all directions. As we sat and ate, more & more blue sky appeared and finally the sun. After lunch we headed north along the ridgetop trail back to the old highway & then out to the sandstone pillar. After a few minutes here we followed the trail back to the highway and up to the cars. We had quite a bit of sun and the temperatures were mild. We didn't see any wildlife except for a couple of flocks of geese down on the river, but we heard coyotes yipping & singing and we had the place to ourselves. It was a great day.
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Nineteen members of the Fun, Fit and Over Fifty Club of the Tri-Cities explored the southern section of the Waluke...
Nineteen members of the Fun, Fit and Over Fifty Club of the Tri-Cities explored the southern section of the Waluke Wildlife unit. This is part of the Hanford Reach National Monument and is managed by the McNary Wildlife Refuge. We drove up Rd 68 north from Pasco and then 10 miles further north on Ringold Road along the Columbia RIver. There is a small area to park at by the locked gate. We took a trail up on the bluffs to the east overlooking a long valley and then proceeded up the river to some unique rock formations where we had lunch before coming back along the closed road. The total hike was about 5.5 miles. The drive to the start of the hike was in fog and a low overcast remained throughout the day. A lack of wind made for a pleasant hiking day.
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After an overnight at Ancient Lakes we hit White Bluffs. I had done North end so today we did the...
After an overnight at Ancient Lakes we hit White Bluffs. I had done North end so today we did the south. It was nice, some wildflowers just starting to show. I figure 2 more weeks should be good viewing. I think I like the North side a little better, but it's nice to see both areas.
Next stop we did Palouse Falls and camped. |
The Mighty Columbia. Photo by Kim Brown.
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