This is a hike for the bird lovers! Birdsong everywhere, bluebirds were the highlight for me, but the lark song was beautiful all the way up. We stayed overnight in Grand Coulee, and did this hike in the AM. It was cloudy and cool, but didn't rain until we started down. There is one 'spiderman' section halfway up that would make this unsuitable for small children. Older ones will love it! Wander around at the top and look down on the hawks and swallows hunting along the cliff face. We walked the east side of the loop for a long ways, saw the deer herd and a few marmots.

We got a fairly early start this morning, as we were camped only twenty miles away. We parked in the day use area, which is way at the far end of Steamboat  Rock State Park. There are three trailheads, one across the road from  each major camping area and one across the road from the day use area.  The three trails converge at the base of the ascent to Steamboat Rock.

As noted in Bauer & Nelson's Best Desert Hikes Washington (Mountaineers, 2004), the first 0.15 miles is a steep, rough, rocky ascent through a cleft.  The trail then levels out and crosses a broad plateau or ledge, gaining some elevation before splitting into two forks going to two different bluffs.  We went right to the easier, larger bluff, hoping to see the deer herd which lives there.

Once at the top, we circumambulated the edge of the bluff in a counterclockwise direction, first looking down on Steamboat Rock State Park below us with the inner waterways that surround the peninsula. We walked north to overlook the beautiful, intricate waterways at the north end of Banks Lake.  At about that point, we saw some pinkish flowers in clusters (buckwheat?), some right at the edge, and also a rock rose. 

We continued around the back (west) side of the plateau, which does not have a well defined edge but rolls away in grassy undulations.  The trail was very faint on this side. We saw two marmots on a rock, and we had a distant view of the main part of Banks Lake to the west.  

We thought we had gone far enough to be near the starting point of the loop, so Slow Loris checked his GPS.  He had not set a location point when we reached the top, but he had set a lap, and the GPS showed that, so we followed the arrow on the GPS through a trail which at this point was so faint that it was no more than a suggestion of matted grass, continuing until the arrow on the GPS converged with the number 1 marking the lap change.

The descent was slow, difficult, and harrowing, not only at the initial 0.15 miles, but at several stretches of trail from the very beginning of the descent.  These stretches were steep, and the trail was littered with loose gravel on powdery dirt.  We were glad we had our poles.  In places we scooted in a sitting position, always watching for rattlesnakes; younger hikers seemed to have little trouble, however! 

We enjoyed the views from the top but decided that the descent was too dangerous.  We had been curious about this hike in the past and are glad we did it this one time but have decided not to do it again. 

ah the lovely scent of sage, vanilla bark of Ponderosa pine, meadow lark song, and splashes of flowers. After our wander around the top of Steamboat, (on a hot day) a nice cool walk along the lake shore felt just right. ( past the campground, past the new RV campground being built) the trail starts next to a gated road leading to the boat in campground.... and is not well traveled. odd, unique, pollen flowers cover the pine trees, balsam root blooming, pine needle carpeted path, and lovely almost warm water to splash in......

This was the last stop on my eastern wa trip started at potholes and made my way here, love this campground! They are expanding it to include cabins, I think, it's under construction now. Snack bar doesn't open till May 1st so remember your ice! Friday night was pretty mellow here, it's prior to the busy season. Trail was in great shape except that one spot that is tricky you must use all hands and crawl up a small section and the scree rocks can be a challenge but it's worth the it to get to the top. Once there you have 600 acers to explore on top! Wildflowers are just starting to open give it a week and they will really be open. Weather was perfect.