Did a short overnight trip and this place never disappoints! While the hike in is really short, there are many great places to put up a tent. Where this place shines is if you ditch the trail and climb the canyons. Be careful as rattlesnakes are out and about. I ran into one while exploring the upper canyon area. I would recommend trekking poles so you can tap around on rocks to lets any snakes nearby know you are there. Snakes want nothing to do with humans and will avoid us if possible. Great first backpacking trip for those with little to no experience.

NOTE: The creek has changed over time and has moved from where it used to be just a few years ago. When hiking the trail in, make sure you stay on the trail closer to the north wall of the canyon. There is a trail that steers to the south side and it is much harder to cross the creek. Stay to the north and you will have no issues crossing the creek.

The trail was in great condition. One creek crossing was a bit muddy, but nothing major. We saw lots of wildlife including mice, snakes, and squirrels. The last section of the hike is a very steep incline, which could cause difficulty for some hikers (it was very slick and the trail was loose). Overall, this hike was a great way to spend a Saturday. 

This is not really a trip up the canyon, but up the boot/game trail up the north side of the canyon mouth.  After crossing the suspension bridge over the Yakima River, Ethan & I crossed the trestle over Umtanum Creek and climbed this steep trail (1800' in 1/2 mile) slowly to the ridgetop (we're old men, after all), then walked northwest along the ridge for about a mile or so.  I didn't want to walk all the way to the base of the Beavertail, so we cut down through the bunchgrass until the ridge steepened enough that we could see the river below and found a nice spot for lunch among some boulders.  After an hour or so soaking up the scenery and taking photos, we traversed back along the ridge to the first major gully we came to and then descended to the canyon bottom.  Here we picked up a trail along the railroad right-of-way fence back to the suspension bridge and the car.  The day was mostly cloudy, breezy, and a little cool.  We heard lots of meadowlarks and saw a herd of at least 9 deer.  There were quite a few wildflowers, but nothing in profusion.  And though the trailhead parking lot was full, there were no other hikers out our way.  

Over in Yakima for a couple days and walked the Umtanum Creek Canyon trail Thursday morning.  Parking is easy and plentiful in the Umtanum Creek Recreation Area just off hwy 821 in the Yakima River canyon.  Parking/access is a $5 fee payable using an onsite envelope system - no issues.  Once across the really neat pedestrian suspension bridge the trail splits and weaves back and forth with many different routes throughout the bottom of the canyon.  The trails on the west side are awfully brushy, full of sticker bushes and grown over - lots of dead ends.  The route on the east side skirts the edge of the scree fields a bit off the floor of the valley, but then puts you out on the railroad tracks on the south end with the only other visible option being wading across the creek.

A word about rattlesnakes - I have never seen more on any other trail I have ever done.  I counted at least 20 separate individuals and I'm confident they are not "duplicates" as we generally did not retrace our steps.  Got rattled at several times and lunged at once.  They were generally hiding in the grass in the shady semi-forested areas - you just can't see them until you are already right on them.  I understand they play a vital part in the ecosystem - I just would prefer them not being between my feet. 

We did see eagle, raven and osprey hunting.  There is active beaver activity and one of the trails runs right next to a current, small beaver dam/pond.  A few wild flowers out, pink phlox(?), balsamroots, and little purple flower which I believe may be "Nuttall's Larkspur".  All in all a lovely walk through a beautiful creek canyon filled with sticker bushes and dozens of rattlesnakes. 

We did both of these in one day, starting with the ridge trail. Took us about 1.5 hours up and 1 hour down. It was dry and continuously uphill. Some of the steeper sections were slick, so poles could help. As noted by others, hats and sunscreen are a must. Things we saw: Mt. Adams, Mt. Rainier, Cascades, various birds (grouse, songbirds, distant raptors), sagebrush, lots of blooming serviceberry, buttercups, phlox, arrowleaf balsamroot, other small groundcover flowers. Lupines were not ready. 

Then we decided to head up the creek. The trails are braided and there are lots of options to cross back and forth across the creek. We went up the valley for over an hour before we turned around. Don't expect much of a destination or a single clear path, you have to experiment and retrace if they dead end. Things we saw: more blooming serviceberry, aspens, phlox, balsamroot, bunnies, squirrels, butterflies, birds, a female bighorn sheep, three snakes (1 rattler--careful they love the grass clumps by the side of the trails), budded gnarled old apple trees, and pink blooming shrub by the cement foundation.