The Klickitat River is the longest undammed river in Washington state. A logging railroad was built along the west bank in the early 20th century, then converted to a two-lane paved private log haul road in the 1950s. After Champion Lumber Company closed its mill in Klickitat in 1994, the road was abandoned. The February 1996 flood washed out sections of the road, making it impassable to vehicles. In 2007, Columbia Land Trust purchased the road right-of-way and began a fish habitat restoration program to remove the asphalt and restore the river bank to bring back salmon and steelhead habitat. The former road corridor is open to the public for hiking and mountain biking. The hike is reached by driving north from Lyle on SR 142 through the town of Klickitat. Continue about 6 miles. Just before the highway crosses the Klickitat River, look for a paved road on the left. You can drive in a few hundred yards and park at a metal gate. The first two miles of the hike are on asphalt. Pavement ends and turns to gravel for another 1/8 mile or so before the restoration begins. The road bed has been pulled back, culverts removed and the slope of the river bank restored to allow the river to flow freely. There is a 6-10 foot wide shelf along cliffs that forms the trail. In other stretches where there aren't cliffs and the road bed is back from the river, the route is on the former road now converted to dirt. At 3.5 miles, the route reaches a backwater against a cliff that is about 3 feet deep. This is a good turnaround point; otherwise, it must be waded in order to continue north. We chose this hike in search of a somewhat dry place to hike on a showery day. The weather alternated among showers, clouds and sun breaks. We had the trail to ourselves although there were lots of steelheaders on the river in drift boats or standing in the water to fish. We did talk to one angler who had caught an 8 lb steelhead. After the first 1.5 miles of the hike, SR 142 on the east bank turns away from the river. From that point on, the only sounds were the rushing water and the calls and songs of birds. We saw lots of bald eagles cruising along the east ridge line, possibly migrating south. Once salmon begin spawning, the Klickitat River will be a major gathering place for wintering bald eagles feeding on salmon carcasses. This hike is a good alternative to the Klickitat Rail Trail for a change of scenery.