Hiking Guide
WTA's hiking guide is the most comprehensive database of hikes in Washington, and comprises content written by local hiking experts and user submitted information. All data is vetted by WTA staff. This resource is made possible by the donations of WTA members.
We respectfully acknowledge the lands we are visiting are the homelands of Indigenous tribes of the Pacific Northwest, some of whom have reserved treaty rights on these lands. Tribes continue to rely on and share in the management of these lands today. Please tread gently and treat these places with respect.
Results List
156 Hikes
Cleman Mountain - Waterworks Canyon Loop
Central Washington -- Yakima
6.0 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 2000 ft.
Highest Point: 3582.0 ft.
Rating:
Great views, a canyon beneath spectacular cliffs, buttresses and pinnacles of weathered basalt, wildflowers in the spring, color and wildlife in the autumn, and sunshine through most of the day in the winter make the Point 3582-Waterworks Canyon loop on Mount Cleman a great hike.
Swakane Peak
Central Washington -- Wenatchee
7.4 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 2787 ft.
Highest Point: 4297.0 ft.
Rating:
Take one of three different routes to the top of Swakane Peak for expansive views across the Columbia River and a peek-a-boo view of Icicle Ridge to the west. Two of the routes can be combined for a loop day trip.
Ancient Lakes
Central Washington -- Potholes Region
12.0 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 625 ft.
Highest Point: 1200.0 ft.
Rating:
View one of the best examples of a recessional-cataract canyon. Potholes Coulee caught the attention of J Harlen Bretz in the early 20th century, which led to his “outrageous hypothesis” of Ice Age flooding.
Douglas Creek Canyon - North
Central Washington -- Wenatchee
4.4 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 200 ft.
Highest Point: 1700.0 ft.
Rating:
A gorgeous hike through a shrub steppe ecosystem, Douglas Creek Canyon is a vibrant oasis in the desert.
Chiliwist Lookout Trail
Central Washington -- Wenatchee
7.0 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 1576 ft.
Highest Point: 3078.0 ft.
Rating:
Hiking through the sagebrush steppe is generally wide open: huge vistas of rolling hills, faraway mountains, endless sage and bitterbrush. The trail here can vary in length due to seasonal closures. Nearly the entire trail is an old roadbed which served a USFS fire lookout from 1934-58. Though the first few miles are very much a road the openness of the terrain makes this easy to forget. The last mile or more has long been abandoned and is quickly being reclaimed.
Cowiche Mountain
Central Washington -- Yakima
7.0 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 1140 ft.
Highest Point: 2970.0 ft.
Rating:
This moderate climb through wide-open country under usually sunny skies showcases lots of wildflowers and panoramic views of the surrounding shrub-steppe from an airy 2,970-foot summit.
Ohme Gardens County Park
Central Washington -- Wenatchee
1.0 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 150 ft.
Highest Point: 800.0 ft.
Rating:
In 1929, a man bought 40 acres of sagebrush in Wenatchee. Over the decades, his labor of love has turned a portion of desolate, dry rock into a fantasy world of stone pathways, waterfalls, pixie lawns, and stunning views. Today the Ohme (pronounced Oh-Me) family’s verdant imagination has turned this hillside into a playground to wander and explore. Children of all ages will delight in exploring the paths, stairs, pools, and corners.
Washtucna Coulee - Kahlotus Railroad Grade
Central Washington -- Tri-Cities
8.0 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 30 ft.
Highest Point: 900.0 ft.
Rating:
The Washtucna Coulee - Kahlotus Railroad Grade will take you past the dried basin of the ancient Lake Kahlotus and through to the eerie former railroad tunnel in Devils Canyon.
Yakima Skyline Trail
Central Washington -- Yakima
4.4 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 1446 ft.
Rating:
Bird's-eye views of the stunning Yakima Canyon, wildflower fields for days, and a line of ragged fenceposts marching all the way along the trail -- the Yakima Skyline Trail is a great conditioner, or extend it to a full day hike.
White Bluffs - Central Slope
Central Washington -- Tri-Cities
6.0 miles, roundtrip
Rating:
On this hike you’ll walk a long string of sand dunes or explore the nooks and crannies of a recent landslide, all beside the last free-flowing stretch of the Columbia River with panoramic views up and down the river, north to the Saddle Mountains, and across the Hanford Nuclear Site to the distant Cascade Mountains.
Saddle Mountain East
Central Washington -- Tri-Cities
Rating:
This National Wildlife Refuge is part of the bigger Hanford Reach National Monument. No official trails exist here, but some access roads open up the views from these ridges.
Robinson Canyon - Ainsley Canyon
Central Washington -- Yakima
10.0 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 1200 ft.
Highest Point: 3400.0 ft.
Rating:
This is a gem of a hike, providing you easy access to the best of the best of the rich L. T. Murray State Wildlife Recreation Area.
Rattlesnake Slope Wildlife Area
Central Washington -- Tri-Cities
5.0 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 1600 ft.
Highest Point: 2000.0 ft.
Rating:
Upland birds love this sprawling desert prairie. The ground-hugging birds sprint among the tufts of plants. They take refuge, and find dinner, in such glorious wildflowers as balsamroot, large-headed clover, wild onion, and canyon-bottom communities of beautiful orange globe mallow.
Priest Rapids Wildlife Area
Central Washington -- Tri-Cities
5.0 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 50 ft.
Rating:
The Priest Rapids Wildlife Area is a unit of 3,202 acres in the Columbia Basin Wildlife Area.
Potholes Wildlife Area
Central Washington -- Potholes Region
4.0 miles, roundtrip
Highest Point: 1050.0 ft.
Rating:
The Potholes Wildlife Area is enclosed in the nearly 40,000-acre Potholes Reservoir Unit near Moses Lake. Part of the Columbia Basin Irrigation Project, anyone who has driven cross-state has zipped through this enormous irrigation project, but few stop to enjoy the wide variety of wildlife it supports.
Oak Creek Road - Bethel Ridge
Central Washington -- Yakima
6.5 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 800 ft.
Highest Point: 2500.0 ft.
Rating:
This is a scenic, easy to moderate hike or snowshoe up a broad canyon with a good chance of spotting bands of elk.
Box Spring Canyon
Central Washington -- Yakima
9.5 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 900 ft.
Highest Point: 2300.0 ft.
Rating:
This is part of the William O. Douglas Trail, which runs from Davis High School in Yakima to Mt. Rainier. This trail is still being established.
Dusty Lake
Central Washington -- Potholes Region
6.0 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 350 ft.
Highest Point: 1000.0 ft.
Rating:
One of the Quincy Lakes, Dusty Lake is further in the backcountry, making for a good long day hike or an overnight.
Quincy Lakes
Central Washington -- Potholes Region
Rating:
Quincy Lakes is an umbrella term for the area including Ancient Lakes and Dusty Lake.
Goose Lake Plateau
Central Washington -- Potholes Region
7.0 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 200 ft.
Highest Point: 1000.0 ft.
Rating:
This wide-open grassland offers roaming, but route-finding is necessary to enjoy your time on trail here.
Frenchman Coulee
Central Washington -- Potholes Region
4.0 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 200 ft.
Highest Point: 1000.0 ft.
Rating:
Vantage is primarily a destination for rock climbers, with the fascinating rock formations of the Gorge making for a great challenge to those wishing to hone their belaying skills. But nearby Frenchman Coulee allows hikers to enjoy the same surroundings with both feet planted firmly on the ground.
Gloyd Seeps - South
Central Washington -- Potholes Region
1.6 miles, one-way
Highest Point: 1200.0 ft.
Rating:
The Gloyd Seeps Wildlife Area is part of the Columbia Basin Wildlife Area. This southern unit is disconnected from the main Gloyd Seeps area to the north. This is a popular fishing access off of Highway 17 with a short trail running along the edge of Rocky Ford Creek.
Gloyd Seeps - North
Central Washington -- Potholes Region
Highest Point: 1200.0 ft.
Rating:
The Gloyd Seeps Wildlife Area is part of the Columbia Basin Wildlife Area. This long, narrow parcel follows along crab creek through channeled scablands and shrub steppe.
Oak Creek Wildlife Area - Cowiche segment
Central Washington -- Yakima
Rating:
A short ramble through a wildlife area near Yakima.
Billy Clapp Lake
Central Washington -- Potholes Region
5.0 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 400 ft.
Highest Point: 1500.0 ft.
Rating:
Lose yourself in the land around Billy Clapp Lake. Walk lakeside, or head into the grasslands around it, and look for wildlife.
Bear Canyon
Central Washington -- Yakima
6.4 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 1130 ft.
Highest Point: 3200.0 ft.
Rating:
Follow a stream between steep sided basalt cliffs up a shady canyon in the transition zone between the Cascade Mountains and the dry shrub-steppe grasslands of eastern Washington.
Whiskey Dick Wildlife Area - Bitterroot Trail
Central Washington -- Yakima
1.0 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 185 ft.
Rating:
If you want to take a quick hike near the Renewable Energy Center of the Wild Horse Wind and Solar Facility, then this is your trail. The trail descends through rigid sage, balsamroot, buckwheat, and bitterroot which thrive in the thin rocky soil on the hillside.
Whiskey Dick Wildlife Area - Bluebird Trail
Central Washington -- Yakima
1.7 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 315 ft.
Rating:
Hike up a sheltered canyon along the Q-line turbines. Bluebirds, deer, elk, jack rabbits, and coyotes also seek shelter here, and in the spring the dry creek bed will be teeming with life.
Whiskey Dick Wildlife Area - Ridgeline Solar Trail
Central Washington -- Yakima
2.4 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 320 ft.
Highest Point: 3873.0 ft.
Rating:
High, exposed ridgelines on this trail make this steep climb a difficult one, but it offers hikers commanding views of the wind facility as well as the Columbia Basin.
Whiskey Dick Wildlife Area - Backcountry Trail
Central Washington -- Yakima
0.8 miles, roundtrip
Gain: 80 ft.
Rating:
This is a fairly flat route with views of Mount Rainier and a diverse mixture of flowers in the spring. Look for hillsides tinted pink in May as Big Headed Clover and Hedgehog Cacti bloom on the slopes.