What a treat this trail is! Yes, we hiked it midday, and yes, it was in the mid-90s, but Cowiche Canyon is well worth a visit. We parked at the eastern end of the trail and walked through the canyon, then turned around and walked back. Despite the heat, we saw magpies, cliff swallows, hawks, vultures, a covey of quail, and a Bullock's oriole, a gorgeous orange, black, and white bird. No snakes, darn it, but plenty of coyote scat. And several somewhat hot-looking marmots scooting between burrows to keep cool. We saw one marmot lying in the cool grass underneath a lawn sprinkler (the trail passes several private homes).
The canyon narrows at a few places where the walls press in, but the trail is wide, flat, and gravel-covered. We stuck to the main canyon trail, which follows year-round Cowiche Creek, but there are several intriguing side trails, including one to a winery (mentioned in other trip reports) and some to the canyon rim, where you can likely get a great view of Mt. Adams. Other than one other intrepid hiker and a mountain biker, we saw no one on the trail, probably because most folks hike it in the cool of the morning or evening. That wasn't possible for us, but we're really glad we did this hike. Many thanks to the Cowiche Canyon Conservancy for their work to make this area accessible to all!
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