Type of Hike
Day hikeTrail Conditions
Minor obstacles posing few problemsRoad
Road suitable for all vehiclesBugs
No bugsSnow
Snow free
I was excited to get out of rainy Seattle and head east to Ellensburg, seeing the forecast predicted sunny skies and warmer weather. The weather ended up being totally perfect and seeing SUN and blue skies for the first time in a while was amazing.
I was expecting this trail to be really easy to navigate and to be in great condition based on previous trip reports, but no one seems to have mentioned how confusing the trail is at the very beginning. This was our first time here and we crossed over the suspension bridge from the parking lot, under the railroad tracks and across a shallow creek. From there, things got super confusing. There are no trail markers of any kind, and the trail, if you can call it that, is extremely brushy and overgrown, and hard to follow. There are dozens of way trails that branch off from what seems to be the mail trail, though most seem to connect back to it after a while. The first 1/2 mile of the trail is really confusing. Some sections are extremely eroded and in need of repair. Eventually, you meander to old concrete building foundations with a staircase hidden in the ground. Pretty cool - not sure what this used to be. After you make your way around that area, the trail does seem to become more of an actual trail and is clear and easy to follow from that point. Aside from my frustraton at the first part of the hike, the rest of it was great.
We didn't see many people, so we had the quiet and peace of the canyon to ourselves. We didn't know where the turnaround point is (again, no trail markers), so we continued on over and around another creek crossing, past a lone tall pine tree in the rocks, then over a few talus slopes. At that point, the trail seemed to get more confusing so we turned back. Total time on the trail was a little over 3 hours. I think we did the full 6.5 miles as indicated in the trail description.
I'd go back, but next time I'll be better prepared with a map of the area. I'd love to figure out how to get up to the trail along the Umtanum ridgeline.
Comments
It was more than a year ago, so I'd guess you didn't read that far back, but I did the same thing as you… We eventually found the real trailhead when we decided to walk up the Jeep road to the south. To make the actual trailhead, you don't cross the stream, but rather go under the tracks, then take a left up towards them. A trailhead with a sign board is found just a little way from the tracks. The other side of the creek is a mess of what I guess are game trails and/or social trails, until the official trail eventually crosses the creek and hooks up.
Posted by:
ehiker on Nov 02, 2015 10:25 PM
Oh - and we probably turned around not too far from where you did. We went past the talus slope, I think I remember crossing the stream several more times. We eventually ended up on the north side and had lunch at what looked like a campsite with a big fire ring. The trail continued up the valley, but there was a sign indicating that the area above it was closed to all access for Elk mating season (I think)
Posted by:
ehiker on Nov 02, 2015 10:30 PM
Thanks for your comments - I was super confused about where to go once across the suspension bridge. There's no sign pointing you over the railroad tracks, and it just seemed logical to go under...so that's what we did. Next time, we'll try going the correct way and maybe we'll have a better experience. I wish WTA or another group would put some time into this trail because it's such a beautiful area and I definitely want to explore it more. Do you know how to get up onto the ridge? I saw something on the map about a "skyline trail" and I'd love to walk across the ridge itself.
Posted by:
Xernia on Nov 03, 2015 09:46 AM
Thanks for your comments - I was super confused about where to go once across the suspension bridge. There's no sign pointing you over the railroad tracks, and it just seemed logical to go under...so that's what we did. Next time, we'll try going the correct way and maybe we'll have a better experience. I wish WTA or another group would put some time into this trail because it's such a beautiful area and I definitely want to explore it more. Do you know how to get up onto the ridge? I saw something on the map about a "skyline trail" and I'd love to walk across the ridge itself.
Posted by:
Xernia on Nov 03, 2015 09:47 AM
At the sign board ehiker mentioned there is a trail left that climbs the canyon to eventually reach Umtanum Ridge and the Durr Road. We do this in the spring when the wildflowers are BEAUTIFUL on the hills. On Saturday we took this trail to the aspen grove at about 1/2 miles. We didn't go much farther as there was no more color to be seen. We backtracked and took a short unmarked trail at the aspen grove to walk a road/trail which parallels the trail we took to the grove. This trail climbs to a view above Umtanum Canyon, the parking lot at the Umtanum Recreation Area, and the Yakima River. You can walk this road as far as you want. It eventually heads south above the Yakima River. I wrote a trip report. The pictures might make more sense. If you had gone on the South side of the creek, the trail is in excellent condition. The first creek crossing is a little west of the concrete foundations you saw. WTA had done a lot of work in this area in the past. I hope this is helpful for you! :)! Barb
Posted by:
Bob and Barb on Nov 09, 2015 02:46 PM