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 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
158 HikesHorse Lake Reserve
Central Washington > Wenatchee
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Length
- 5.2 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 700 feet
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Highest Point
- 2,410 feet
Horse Lake Reserve is a 1,500 acre reserve located just west of Wenatchee. Accessing this beautiful section of the Foothills is done from the north end of town on Horse Lake Canyon Road. The trailhead is three miles from where the pavement ends and the climb up the well kept dirt road offers some great views.
Manastash Ridge - Westberg Trail
Central Washington > Yakima
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Length
- 4.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 1,800 feet
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Highest Point
- 3,560 feet
Named after and built in honor of an Ellensburg wrestling coach, this trail provides the sought-after combination of great workout and big views. But its exposed; you'll want to be up here in spring or fall, because the direct sun of summer and lack of water can make this one a burner (literally).
Robinson Canyon - Ainsley Canyon
Central Washington > Yakima
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Length
- 10.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 1,200 feet
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Highest Point
- 3,400 feet
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.
Saddle Rock
Central Washington > Wenatchee
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Length
- 3.1 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 920 feet
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Highest Point
- 2,000 feet
This is an excellent location to get some conditioning in during the winter months, or to stretch legs after a long day behind a desk. Please respect trail closures for rehabilitation.
Selah Cliffs Natural Area Preserve
Central Washington > Yakima
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Length
- 2.5 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 102 feet
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Highest Point
- 1,160 feet
An easy hike up the Selah Creek canyon with views of both abundant wildlife and geological points of interest.
Manastash Ridge - Observatory Road
Central Washington > Yakima
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Length
- 4.5 miles, one-way
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Elevation Gain
- 900 feet
Observatory Road on Manastash Ridge is a popular year-round hike. In winter, it's a great snowshoe option, and in summer it offers spectacular views into the central Cascade range.
White Bluffs - Central Slope
Central Washington > Tri-Cities
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Length
- 6.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 500 feet
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.
Colockum Wildlife Recreation Area
Central Washington > Wenatchee
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Length
- 3.0 miles, roundtrip
Visit a wildlife area on the Columbia River near Wenatchee.
Cowiche Canyon Preserve
Central Washington > Yakima
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Length
- 20.0 miles of trails
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Highest Point
- 1,844 feet
The Cowiche Canyon Preserve is a small pocket of wildlands near Yakima. It includes both the canyon itself and the canyon’s southerly uplands. There are approximately 20 miles of interconnected trails open to hikers, runners, mountain bikers, and equestrians. Snowshoeing and cross-country skiing are popular when there is enough snow.
Quilomene Wildlife Area
Central Washington > Grand Coulee
The Quilomene Wildlife Area is adjacent to the Whiskey Dick Wildlife Area, the Ginkgo Petrified Forest, and the popular climbing area of Vantage, including Frenchmans Coulee. Cross-country travel is possible here, and hikers can connect to the adjacent recreation areas to create miles-long loops and traverses, or just a simple out-and-back.
Olmstead Place Historical State Park
Central Washington > Yakima
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Length
- 1.2 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 25 feet
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Highest Point
- 1,570 feet
Follow the footsteps of 19th-century homesteaders for a half mile along a scenic creek that connects historic buildings and surrounding nature to our present story.
Snow Mountain Ranch and Cowiche Mountain
Central Washington > Yakima
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Length
- 14.0 miles of trails
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Elevation Gain
- 1,140 feet
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Highest Point
- 2,970 feet
For a flat riparian ramble or a great workout to a scenic summit, Snow Mountain Ranch is a walking wonderland just outside of Yakima.
Rocky Top and Cowiche Mountain
Central Washington > Yakima
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Length
- 20.0 miles of trails
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Elevation Gain
- 1,148 feet
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Highest Point
- 2,970 feet
Many trails at Rocky Top are permanently closed. Hikers can still take the Walk N Roll trail, then cross onto the William O Douglas Trail to Snow Mountain Ranch.
Rocky Top is an extensive system of interconnected mountain bike trails open to hikers. It offers innumerable out-and back and loop options though shrub-steppe on the flanks of Cowiche Mountain as well as a scenic ridge walk on a portion of the William O. Douglas Trail to the summit of the mountain and a connection with the Snow Mountain Ranch trail system.
Palouse to Cascades Trail - Crab Creek
Central Washington > Potholes Region
Formerly known as the John Wayne Trail, this is a rail trail whose route crosses Washington, offering a nice short walk from a myriad of trailheads, or a fun, multi-day bikepacking adventure.
Palouse to Cascades Trail - Army East
Central Washington > Yakima
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Length
- 8.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 500 feet
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Highest Point
- 1,500 feet
This is an 8-mile section of the longer Palouse to Cascades trail.
Palouse to Cascades Trail - Army West
Central Washington > Yakima
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Length
- 8.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 500 feet
Formerly known as the John Wayne Trail, this is a rail trail whose route crosses Washington, offering a nice short walk from a myriad of trailheads, or a fun, multi-day bikepacking adventure.
Palouse to Cascades Trail - Ellensburg Trailhead
Central Washington > Yakima
Formerly known as the John Wayne Trail, this is a rail trail whose route crosses Washington, offering a nice short walk from a myriad of trailheads, or a fun, multi-day bikepacking adventure.
Castle Rock
Central Washington > Wenatchee
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Length
- 1.3 miles of trails
Another favorite area near Sage Hills and Horse Lake Reserve, Castle Rock property provides safe, legal access for hikers, walkers, and other recreators who want adventure near the town of Wenatchee.
Lakeview Ranch
Central Washington > Potholes Region
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Length
- 5.3 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 450 feet
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Highest Point
- 1,780 feet
Lakeview Ranch is a wild and expansive former ranch set among the Channeled Scablands of Eastern Washington. Now a part of the Bureau of Land Management, the recreation area offers a network of old farm roads that are perfect for exploring seasonal lakes, sagebrush flats, and coulees between basalt cliffs and mesas.
Ancient Lakes
Central Washington > Potholes Region
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Length
- 12.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 625 feet
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Highest Point
- 1,200 feet
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.
Sun Lakes-Dry Falls State Park - Umatilla Rock via Monument Coulee
Central Washington > Grand Coulee
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Length
- 5.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 100 feet
The hike involves a circumnavigation of Umatilla Rock, a narrow rock blade that passes below Dry Falls. This area lies midway along the 50-mile Grand Coulee—one of the longest and most spectacular chasms carved out by up to 100 gargantuan Ice Age floods.
Ginkgo Petrified Forest Interpretive Trails
Central Washington > Potholes Region
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Length
- 3.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 200 feet
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Highest Point
- 2,600 feet
One of the largest petrified forests on the planet sits in the center of Washington State. The ancient trees were mineralized into rock during the great lava flows that swept the inland Northwest. In addition to petrified ginkgos (one of the oldest tree species in the world), the "rock forest" includes mineralized Douglas fir, spruce, walnut, and elm.
Pleasant Valley Snowshoe
Central Washington > Yakima
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Length
- 9.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 160 feet
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Highest Point
- 3,250 feet
Walk as far as you like up-valley on this moderate snowshoe. Enterprising hikers may consider making this a thru-hike.
Umtanum Creek Canyon
Central Washington > Yakima
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Length
- 6.5 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 500 feet
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Highest Point
- 1,800 feet
Take a pleasant hike up a spectacular canyon with towering basalt formations, a rushing creek, and a chance to see bighorn sheep. Whether you go in spring or fall, the canyon is filled with brilliant color.
Tieton River Nature Trail
Central Washington > Yakima
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Length
- 6.75 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 300 feet
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Highest Point
- 1,900 feet
This short hike is an excellent option during a visit to the Naches area in the spring and summertime. You'll enjoy a ramble along a river, impressive geologic formations, and relative solitude, though the area is open to mountain bikers and popular with rock climbers and birders.
Frenchman Coulee
Central Washington > Potholes Region
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Length
- 4.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 200 feet
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Highest Point
- 1,000 feet
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.
Rattlesnake Dance Ridge Trail
Central Washington > Yakima
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Length
- 2.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 1,250 feet
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Highest Point
- 2,646 feet
A short, steep and rough ridgeline ascent to a summit with great views up and down the Yakima River Canyon.
Cleman Mountain - Waterworks Canyon Loop
Central Washington > Yakima
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Length
- 6.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 2,000 feet
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Highest Point
- 3,582 feet
This area is closed from 12/15/22 - 5/1/23 to protect wintering elk herds.
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.
Columbia Plateau Trail - Snake River
Central Washington > Tri-Cities
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Length
- 6.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 150 feet
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Highest Point
- 750 feet
A pleasant stroll for all ages- discover the history while enjoying a variety of avian wildlife on the southern terminus of the Columbia Plateau surveying the stark, scalloped Snake River country of southeast Washington.
White Bluffs - North
Central Washington > Tri-Cities
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Length
- 7.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 500 feet
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Highest Point
- 725 feet
This is a striking, gorgeous hike -- excellent year round, whether you like snow-dappled trail or high desert. If you visit in summer, bring lots of water and a hat. There's no water available here.