Umtanum Creek Canyon — Saturday, Jun. 25, 2022

As others have mentioned, there’s plenty of parking in a large lot at the trailhead, even on a busy summer Saturday when lots of people were using the lot to park while paddling and rafting on the river. The electronic kiosk for the $5 BLM day pass was easy to use.

As for the trail, we were disappointed. The Umtanum Creek canyon is lovely, but the quantity of brush you have to push trough really detracted from the enjoyment for us. The grass and aspen brush are head high in several places, and sometimes for decent stretches. We didn’t have difficulty following the trail, but you find it with your feet more than your eyes. Just shy of 1.5 miles in, we hit a patch of thistles and turned around. Just didn’t feel worth it. I would happily hike this trail again after a clean-up, but in its current state, it was disappointing.