ByPass Shelterbelt

Washington

1 Reviews

The ByPass Shelterbelt runs along the west side of Richland from Wellsian Way and Aaron Streets on the south end to Spengler Street on the north end. Although it parallels the Bypass Highway, the sound barrier and mature shade trees make it a very pleasant journey. There are many park benches along the way.

From the north end, one can easily access the Richland Riverfront Trail by heading east on Spengler for one mile to Harris Street. This is a residential street with very little traffic.

The Sacajawea Heritage Trail is also bike accessible by crossing the Bypass Highway at Duportail Street and following the trail past the Chamna Nature Preserve and the rock quarry.

Parking and Trail Access

To get to the south end of the trail, take the Wellsian Way exit off I-182 to Fred Meyer's department store. Parking can be found in Fred Meyer's parking lot. The trail starts at the south end of the lot next to McDonald's restaurant. Ride up the steep hill for 100 yards then cross the intersection and proceed north on Thayer Drive for a half-block. The trail is on the left. No parking is available at the north end of the trail.

Bypass Shelterbelt Trail

November 2022 ratrat4563

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.