4 people found this report helpful
Pretty nice for a rail to trail conversion. There are some nice scenic stretches, and a good choice for winter walking when forest roads may be blocked or you want to get what little sunshine there may be. The stretch from Meskill to Ceres is nice, mostly along the river, with a variety of scenery, forest, riparian, agricultural. West of Pe Ell the trail follows Rock Creek which is very nice, though there is one short stretch where the trail is right along the highway practically on the shoulder. Trail is gravel in these areas, bridges are in excellent condition. Very few people on the trail which was good since it's mostly only 5 ft wide, sometimes less.
4 people found this report helpful
Biked this trail from Pe Ell to Chehalis on a Thursday, starting around 10:30. The trailhead at Pe Ell has flush toilets and plenty of parking. The trail varies between sunny and shaded and was downhill by going in this direction (had a bit of a headwind, though). Trail is in good condition (gravel until just after Adna, then paved to Chehalis). There are quite a few road crossings, but not much traffic to worry about. There are a couple of benches along the trail around the Meskill trailhead (a gravel lot), which make for a nice lunch stop. We did not leave the trail to Rainbow Falls State Park. The Adna trailhead has a pit toilet. The trail is paved from Adna to Chehalis and there is vegetation trying to encroach on the trail. The Chehalis trailhead has two parking lots and has a pit toilet. We saw about 10 people on the trail and most had face coverings. There were more people as we got closer to Chehalis. Nice bridges over the river and many nice areas where the trail goes along the river.
2 people found this report helpful
Scouted this hike for a longer bicycle trip in the future. The section we walked was near Rainbow Falls state park where we were camping. This is a good wide well maintained bike path. The area we were walking in was among farms which was nice. Cows said hello!
5 people found this report helpful
We biked five miles from the Hillberger Road trailhead (the one closest to I-5) and then five back. There is a small parking lot right by the entrance to the trail, and then another one a five minute walk to the left that is quite large.
The trail was a little busy for the first mile or so with walkers. After that we barely saw anyone, until we got to the next trailhead spot. We didn't see anyone wearing masks but it's really easy to distance yourself because the pavement is wide.
The first five miles was all pavement except for a few short spots (one where you have to cross a railroad track, but it's easy), and then another right before crossing a road. We stopped at five miles because the trail becomes all gravel after that apparently.
There are picnic tables to the left of the trail near the school in Adna. We ate lunch there. No garbage cans in that spot so make sure to pack a bag for garbage. The bathroom was open at the Hillberger Road trailhead.