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I have thought long and hard about this trail/pathway but finally decided to tell the brutal truth. I had seen this trail over the 20 years I have lived here but never taken the effort to ride its length until yesterday. The weather was not a problem as the temperature was in the high 60’s and there was very little wind with no cloud cover, sunscreen was mandatory in these conditions.
The one positive for this trail is that it is generally level with little or no ups and downs.
If you’re looking for a route with beautiful river views or forested byways, then this is not a route for you. The views on this route are of distant hills which are not forested and agricultural land growing crops and raising livestock which brings about pollen issues for some and the unpleasant smells associated with agriculture. The trail has zero markers indicating directions, I had to use the map feature on my phone to locate the trail after passing through the downtown area of Grandview. Additionally, there are zero public facilities along its entire length so take plenty of water. In the urban areas you can find fast-food locations and several small local restaurants which may let you use their facilities.
The trail is in two counties; Benton and Yakima, and three cities; Proser, Grandview, Sunnyside and it is easy to tell when you have crossed from one area of responsibility to another. The trail surface in Prosser is fairly smooth and vegetation free and transitions to a Benton County section has lots of cracks in the pavement which have been sealed but still have gaps which affect the ride however, there was no vegetation growing in them. Grandview has a small section of the trail on each end and to get between these two points entails having to travel on Wine Country Road (the major thoroughfare) for approximately 1.4 miles. What trail sections which are within Grandview are fairly well maintained. Between Grandview and Sunnyside the trail is in Yakima County and could see some maintenance, like the Benton County section there are lots of cracks in the pavement, but they have not seen any sealer and thus have unmaintained vegetation growing through them (this is evident when you pass the Kubota tractor dealer on your right as you approach Sunnyside when the errant vegetation is gone). The trail in the city of Sunnyside is maintained similarly to Prosser and Grandview.
What this trail needs is one entity to be overall in charge of overseeing its condition and maintenance and able to work with all government entities involved. It needs signage of one type or another to direct users in the correct route instead of making them fumble to find their way. Restroom facilities would also be of great help for users while water may be a bigger problem as this area of Washington state is rather arid as the average rainfall is less than 15 inches. The agriculture in the area depends heavily on irrigation networks to bring water to the farms.
I started at the Prosser end and rode to the Sunnyside end and back. Starting in Prosser there is no designated trail parking, and you will have to find street parking. The actual end of the pathway is not marked so I’ll call it as the intersection of Wine Country Road and Grant Ave. The pathway is on the west side of Wine Country Road and proceeds north across the Yakima River, trail travels in a north westerly direction overall. About a block past the bridge on your left will be Chukar Cherries, a local business which specializes in coated cherries and nuts (primarily chocolate) and they usually have samples available. The pathway continues north past the local airport on your left until you reach the first cross street, Old Inland Empire Highway, which has a crosswalk but no signals. A short distance later you will come to the intersection of Gap Road and Wine Country Road, cross Gap Road (once again a cross walk but no signals). Continue north past the Love’s Truck stop taking care when crossing both of their entrances (one for cars and one for trucks).
You are now into the rural area of the county and the pathway goes in a northerly direction for about a ½ mile the pathway crosses to the other side of Wine Country Road, no crosswalk, no signals so use care. The pathway is in need of maintenance as there are lots of cracks in the surface which have been sealed at some point in time but could use attention as you can feel everyone as you ride over it. About ¼ mile you come to Johnson Road, once again the story on this route no cross walk or signals as we are out of the populated areas. The pathway veers to the right and down to pass under the rail bridge and then back up to the level of Wine Country Road. The path continues to parallel Wine Country Road until you come to an Irrigation canal where the pathway turns to the right for a short distance and then back to the left and you cross the canal on a small bridge. About 1.3 miles and you cross a small rural road, Williams Road, and continue north as you pass the WDOT/WSP truck scales and inspection station on your right. If you look to your left, there is a very good chance that you will see a crop growing on lines strung from other lines between tall posts. If you drink beer there is a very good chance this is where the Hops used in its brewing process is grown (Washington grows roughly 69% of Hops in the USA with the Yakima valley producing the majority of that).
In approximately 2 miles you will come to the intersection of Wine Country Road and McCreadie Road, the cars travel through a roundabout and there is a crosswalk for the pathway on McCreadie Road but no signals. In a very short distance, you will cross an irrigation Canal and then enter a small park with a rose garden. At the other end of the park the pathway ends, and you are on Wine Country Road, travel west using the bike lane where available, I found traffic to be moderate. After about 1.2 miles you will reach the intersection of Wine Country Road, 4th Street, and Euclid Street (there is a drive-thru coffee stand on 4th Street as a reference point). You will want to cross to the other side of Wine Country Road and cross Euclid Street to get back onto the pathway, there is a light and crosswalk to assist getting across the intersection.
Once on the pathway, travel through a small parking lot (could be used as a trailhead although not marked as such with signage), continue in a northwest direction for approximately ½ mile and you will approach an unnamed intersection with a crosswalk and signal (to the right leads to I-82 on and off ramps). Once again when you get a little further along on the pathway you leave the urban area and enter into the rural county area and it is noticeable on the pathway from the needed maintenance. Almost every crack in the pavement from here to the point where the city of Sunnyside takes over maintenance had large clumps of vegetation growing in them. The road next to the pathway has now changed names from Wine Country Road to Yakima Valley Highway. After a little under 2 miles you cross Tear Road, no crosswalk or signal and continue for approximately 2.3 miles to Waneta Road. Waneta Road is the south/east I-82 access to Sunnyside and can be rather busy, there is a crosswalk and signals to help you get through the intersection. In just under ½ mile (Walmart on your left) you will reach Lincoln Road which has a crosswalk and signal to help you cross. In another ½ mile you will come to Edison Avenue (crosswalk and signal) and after crossing Edison Avenue it is only a short ¼ mile to the north/west end of the pathway where there is a small parking lot for use by users of the pathway (once again no signage).
The return journey is a reverse route back to Prosser, where you can stop at Chukar Cherries and try a sample or two as your personnel reward for enduring the trip.
As you may have noticed my least favorite portion of this trail is just north of Howard Amon Park when the trail goes up onto the levee. The trail surface is in bad shape from uplifting asphalt and hazardous to all users. Good news, the city of Richland just announced that this summer (2024) they are going to be closing this section of the trail and will provide signage for a detour while they completely redo this section to address the problems. Additionally this past winter a section of the trail just north of Sprout Road (near the WSU Tri-Cities campus) washed out and will be closed and repaired in the same time frame, detours are also to be provided.
Scenery is gorgeous, trailheads have facilities well maintained, useful signage along but... the trail surface is a coarse loose gravel that rattles the bicycle and makes the tires sink. The only usage of the trail is for fat tire bikes perhaps.
This trail had large cracks in many many areas and it abruptly turned into the city streets which were very gravelly and rough. It turned back into the path where not too far on it, there was a woman using drugs. The area off the path (Grandview) was very rough and sketchy. This was the area we saw the woman using drugs. We were very disappointed.
I rode from The Fish Lake Trailhead on the Cheney end. Because of the reviews, I rode my mountain bike with 2.8 tires. I would struggle with my road bike even with my 700cx40 tires, I think. On my mountain bike the trail was great. Beautiful scenery and wildlife (birds, turtles, marmots, chipmunks). Due to time constraints, I could only ride about 15 miles out. I will be riding the trail again, this time starting at Amber Lake to explore the conditions, probably make it a day and see how far I get. But I do recommend a mountain bike for this terrain from the Cheney Trailhead on.
This was a great find! I was originally going to skate the sacajawea trail but I've i saw it, it was pretty rough and not very flat in places so i looked for another. I find this one which mostly goes along Keene road but was fun to skate anyway. It was smooth, and very clean! The only thing i can complain about is the bumpy yellow intersection plates at the crosswalks! But they are doable -just aaannoying.annoyingenjoyed
Good for walking biking....too bumpy and not very wide to skate
I live in the area and regularly ride portions of this trail have ridden the entire trail at times. This trail is somewhat unique in that most of it is an urban greenbelt (not much green as average rainfall is less than 10”) beneath large established deciduous trees located between a freeway soundwall and residential backyards. The trail is asphalt fairly wide and in most cases in good condition with the occasional pavement upheaval caused by tree roots. The trail has no services other than the McDonalds on the south end, everything else would require a detour of the trail. As far as end points the north end of the trail is at the intersection of Spengler Street and Stevens Drive and depending upon your route the southern end has two distinct points; the intersection of Wellisian Way and Arron Drive (between the McDonalds and Arron Drive), or the north west end of Carrier Road in the Chama Natural Preserve. Off street dedicated parking for this trail is nonexistent for this trail except at Fred Meyer’s (next to the McDonalds) or at Chama Natural Preserve. I’ll start my review from the northern end heading south and split the various routes which will branch off our basic trail.
A couple of interesting thing about Richland, how were the street names determined? Answer Richland was a small community of less than 300 residents prior to WWII when the government bought a very large chunk of land for the Hanford Project (part of the Manhattan Project to build the first plutonium bomb) and built quite a large part of what is now Richland. To name streets the Army turned to prominent officers who had served the US Army Corp of Engineers. Why are many of the houses referred to as alphabet houses? When the government moved in there was a need for a large number of houses for the workers and scientists. In true government fashion the house you got depended on your position in the hierarchy and then the size of your family. The houses were built and refer to as the “A” plan/model, “B” plan/model, etc. and many of these homes still exist in the city. Most of these homes were built a duplex units and over the years some homeowners have acquired both unit and converted them into single family units.
At the intersection of Stevens Drive and Spengler you have your first chance for a detour as Spengler is a lightly traveled residential street which runs from Stevens Drive east to Harris Avenue. Although there is no designated bike lane the street is fairly wide and with the light traffic conditions should be no problem. There is a crosswalk with traffic signals at George Washington Way (Yes, that George Washington but in honor of his engineering services not as President) to make crossing the busy street easy. When you reach Harris Avenue if you turn left when you reach the first right turn (Ferry Road) you have intersected the Richland Riverfront Trail. If you continue Harris Avenue you are on the trail and headed towards the northern end of the trail. If you turn right on Ferry Road, you will find the trail at the end of the road and be heading towards the southern terminus at Columbia Point marina Park.
Heading south from Spengler Street on the trail it is rather barren with Stevens Drive on your right as you travel south. You will cross Snyder Street (crosswalk, no lights) and Saint Street (crosswalk and lights). Just south of Saint Street there is a split in the trail, keep right (the left only goes for another block and dumps you onto Jadwin Boulevard) and continue to Jadwin Boulevard (crosswalk and lights). After crossing Jadwin Boulevard keep to the right with the sound wall on your right side. You will be between the soundwall and residential backyards until you reach Duportail Street so it will be somewhat quiet, and I have never encounter more than a couple of other trail users in this area. You will cross Van Giesen Street (busy street with no crosswalk where the trail crosses however, half a block to the west there is a crosswalk and lights at the intersection of the Bypass Highway) and Swift Boulevard (crosswalk and lights) before reaching Duportail Street (crosswalks and lights).
At Duportail we can go in two directions, we will first head to the right to intersect the connecting roadway/trail located in Chama Natural Preserve. Use the crosswalks and lights to first cross Duportail and then the Bypass Highway. Once across the Bypass Highway stay on the sidewalk and just after crossing the railroad track the trail will be on your left. The trail parallels the railroad track on your left and a series of apartment buildings on your right, after the last apartment building the Yakima River will be on your left and you will descend almost to the river and with a couple of sharp turns cross under the Interstate and in a couple hundred yards be at the parking area in Chama Natural Preserve. Between the underpass and the parking area there is a trail which goes to the left, this trail will take you up to Queensgate Drive and intersect with the Keene Road Trail.
If we choose the other direction at Duportail Street, cross Duportail Street and then continue south on the trail. You will have a split int the trail but it doesn’t really matter which one you take as they both end up on Thayer Drive (about a block apart). If you choose the left path when you get to Thayer Drive turn right and proceed one block to the intersection of Lawless Drive and Thayer Drive. If you choose the right path you will end at this intersection. At Lawless Drive you have to cross the street, use care, there is traffic only coming from your right but it is a freeway off ramp so cars can be going faster than expected (posted at 30 just past this intersection) and you will find the trail on the southwest corner of the intersection. Once across Lawless Drive it is a short downhill to the end of the trail at Wellisian Way and Arron Drive. Although not part of the trail it is easy to cross Wellisian Way (Crosswalk and lights) and continue east on the sidewalk which turns into a trail after crossing Goethals Boulevard (crosswalk no lights) until you reach Jadwin Boulevard. Turn right and cross Jadwin Boulevard (crosswalk no lights) heading south, after about a block and a half you will cross the railroad tracks and be at the junction of Carrier Road, turn left to connect to the Richland Riverfront Trail and the Sacajawea Heritage Trail or turn left to connect with the Keene Road Trail.
Although not a scenic trail until you get close to the river it is a good trail to get through Richland with very little traffic other than on the streets you cross. I typically will head north on the Richland Riverfront Trail and using Spengler Street and the Bypass Shelter Trail as my southerly return via a different route, so it becomes more of a loop rather than out and back.
I live in the area and ride portions of this trail almost every day and have ridden the entire trail at times. When I ride the entire trail I usually leave my car for service near the Columbia Center Mall and ride out to West Richland to stop for coffee before returning as it gives the mechanics around three hours to get every thing sorted out. As Trailbear stated in his review that trail heads are hard to find but there are ample places close by to park. Trailbear even missed the eastern end of the trail as there is a section from Bellerive Drive and Steptoe Street. This additional block (0.35 miles) runs a fenced corridor between apartments and homes behind the fences. The end at Steptoe just ends at the western side of the street, no crosswalk or any indication that is anything special. I normally begin the trail at the sme location Trailbear references as the eastern terminus of the trail but since I’m local I’m usually heading north on Bellerive Drive and make a left turn onto the trail so we’ll start or narrative at that point.
As Trailbear points out there is not a lot of activity on this trail so it’s a nice one to ride. The trail is asphalt and is wide so a short blast on my horn to make others aware (avoids the you scared me response as you go by) that I’m passing them is usually all that is required and there is room for two pedestrians and a bicycle at the same time. There are sections of this trail which are straight (good sight line for others) and have little or no others as you pass so if you want to go fast you can.
The first section of the trail has houses behind a fence on the north and a large church on the south. After 0.17 miles we come to Venus Circle which has a marked cross walk but not lights. We next pass some apartments on the left with a large hedge on our right (watch for some uneven pavement due to tree roots in this area) until we reach an earthen berm across the Amon waterway and continue to Leslie Road. Leslie Road has a crosswalk and trail user initiated flashing lights to make a safe crossing. After crossing Leslie Road we reach the first location where you could consider parking you vehicle. There is a pizza parlor with a fairly large lot (park in the northwest corner) and just the other side of the pizza parlor is a Safeway which also has a large lot. In this area can be found several small restaurants and a Starbucks if the need arises.
Continuing west the trail takes a slight bend to the right and then you are faced with a split in the trail, keep left as the right only goes up into a neighborhood plus the trail is very uneven if you go that way. On the right you will have houses and on the left you will have the backside of the businesses which face Safeway. Upon reaching Elementary Street you will notice that Keene Road is now on your left, there is a crosswalk at Elementary Street, but no lights associated with it. The trail continues to the west until you reach Badger Mountain Community Park (1.5 miles from Bellerive Drive) whereas Trailbear reported there are restroom facilities and a drinking fountain between the ballfields. To the west and adjacent to the park is Yoke’s market (good deli sandwiches) a Dutch Brothers Coffee and An Original Pancake House. Back on the trail you will then reach Englewood Drive which has marked crosswalks and lights. After crossing Englewood Drive the trail continues west and crosses Lambert Street which has a crosswalk, no lights. If on a bicycle it is a step short climb to the street but as the neighborhood it serves is a large loop the traffic is minimal. We next reach the intersection of Shockley Road (currently dead ends at the trail so no traffic). It was just to the west of Shockley Road where one morning I saw a Coyote just to the right of the trail in the scrub brush.
The next point we reach is Queensgate Village, a collection of small shops and businesses, on the right. The extreme east end of the parking lot is designated as trail parking (about ten spaces) so this is another place to park. Continuing to the west we approach Queensgate Drive and come across a location which has been featured on Food Networks Diners, Drive-ins, & Dives. In the building on our right is Ethos Bakery if you desire to stop for a treat. At Queensgate Drive we have a decision for our journey, continue on the Keene Road Trail or take the route to the Sacajawea Heritage Trail, Richland River Trail, or the Bypass Shelterbelt Trail. If we desire one of the later choices turn right on Queensgate Drive and follow the trail north crossing Jericho Road (crosswalk, no lights and almost zero traffic) and Columbia Park Trail (crosswalk to the east of the roundabout, be mindful of cars as some are not looking as they exit the roundabout). Just north of Columbia Park Trail (south end of next roundabout) the trail will turn to the east and parallel the Interstate heading east. At this same point, just before the trail bollard, there is a turnout to the east which leads over to three wineries which of course have wine tasting and some have food available. It is a fast downhill (watch for folks coming up) to the Yakima River bridge and the Chama Nature Reserve. (I’ll do a review for the Chama Nature Reserve in a separate entry as it is the key to getting between the various trails/bike routes in this area).
Back to the Keene Road Trail, cross Queensgate Drive (crosswalk and crossing lights, east end has two lights; one for the right turn lane and one for Queensgate Drive, pay attention). After crossing Queensgate Drive there is a mini mart, Taco Time, and coffee shop on the right. Continuing west we cross Jericho Road (crosswalk, no lights) and the continue across the bridge over the Interstate and come to Lincoln Landing (crosswalk, no lights). At this point we can turn right and proceed into the Vintner Square Shopping area where there are several fast food and normal restaurants available. The trail continues west to Duportail Street (crosswalk with crossing lights), right turn will also take you into Vintner Square but on a busy street. Although not as close as some of the other parking areas, Vintner Square could be a possible location to park your vehicle. After crossing Duportail Street there is a mini mart/gas station (drinks & restroom). The trail continues west to Kennedy Road where there is a Black Rock Coffee on the other side of Keene Road. Cross Kennedy Road (crosswalk and crossing lights) and continue west. From here to the west end of the trail there are no facilities available. The trail continues to Bombing Range Road (currently has a roundabout, however, the city has indicated it will be removed in the near future so should be crosswalk and crossing lights).
After crossing Bombing range Road the trail continues west crossing Highlands Boulevard and Hickory Avenue (both with crosswalks but no lights) until reaching Belmont Boulevard (the current western end of the trail) and our turn around point where we backtrack to our starting point. On the southeast corner is a gas station with a sub shop. I envision that in the future the trail will continue west to the intersection of Keene Road and Van Giessen Street as this area is developed. When I ride the entire trail I normally turn right on Belmont Boulevard and ride the trail to Kilawea Drive where I move from the sidewalk/trail to the bike lane and continue north to Paradise Way where I take a right turn heading east. On Paradise Way there will be a school on your left and just past the school is a small shopping center with a mini mart, a Yoke’s Market (good deli and where I stop for coffee) and a couple of other places for food.
If you are comfortable riding a bike lane on a somewhat busy street you can continue east on Paradise Way to Bombing Range Road where you will make a right turn otherwise backtrack your route on Paradise Way and Belmont Avenue to the Keene Road Trail. There are no lights or stop signs on Bombing Range Road and the traffic can be moderate to heavy at times but there is a well-marked bike lane to Keene Road where you will turn left onto the Keene Road Trail and proceed back to your starting point.
The description led me to believe there was a 15-mile paved "southern segment" between Ice Harbor Dam and Snake River Junction. Consulting, Google Maps, it appeared that the trail north of Levey Park would be paved (as I assumed was indicated by an unbroken, green line). Unfortunately, these assumptions led to a disappointing biking outing. Levey Park is terribly dilapidated and neglected and the trail heading both north and south of Levey Park is fairly intense gravel and not really accessible unless you have a fat tire bike and enjoy motoring through gravel. The scenery is great but it is not a biking trail.
First time on this trail. Pretty along the River but I agree with others poorly marked so we did lots of turning around and backtracking. Will definitely do it again but will start further up the line to avoid traffic areas.
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