Posted on Apr 13, 2022
Riding or hiking across Washington state just got easier with new bridge over Columbia River
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The Columbia River has long divided the two halves of Washington's cross-state Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail. Now, a rebuilt rail trestle over the river south of Vantage connects the two sides making it easier for cyclists, horse riders and hikers to undertake a spectacular east-west journey.
The Palouse to Cascades Trail stretches for 285 miles from the outskirts of North Bend, Washington, to the Idaho border, including a 2.5 mile tunnel under the Cascade Crest. Fred Wert of Winthrop has traversed the full length once and biked and walked it in sections many times. He sometimes calls it the “invisible trail” because it is not well known.
“I try to tell people this is a secret way to get across the state,” Wert said. “One of the beauties of it, it’s away from everything else in general. It’s open year-round. It goes from the deep forest to the wheatlands of the Palouse. It’s a challenging, but fascinating journey to take.”
The Palouse to Cascades Trail stretches for 285 miles from the outskirts of North Bend, Washington, to the Idaho border, including a 2.5 mile tunnel under the Cascade Crest. Fred Wert of Winthrop has traversed the full length once and biked and walked it in sections many times. He sometimes calls it the “invisible trail” because it is not well known.
“I try to tell people this is a secret way to get across the state,” Wert said. “One of the beauties of it, it’s away from everything else in general. It’s open year-round. It goes from the deep forest to the wheatlands of the Palouse. It’s a challenging, but fascinating journey to take.”
Riding or hiking across Washington state just got easier with new bridge over Columbia River
Posted from kuow.org
State of Washington
Hiking
Horses and Horseback Riding
Trail Riding
Posted 2 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel Nice share Brother. I once walked from Chicago to Detroit! No rivers to cross but a lot of bad area I passed through.
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Thank you for this information I have ridden across the state using the Cascade Trail and it is pretty but has some pretty dangerous stretches. If I had known about this route I would have used it. Now I have to go back to Washington and ride this trail.
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."The Palouse to Cascades Trail stretches for 285 miles from the outskirts of North Bend, Washington, to the Idaho border, including a 2.5 mile tunnel under the Cascade Crest. Fred Wert of Winthrop has traversed the full length once and biked and walked it in sections many times. He sometimes calls it the “invisible trail” because it is not well known.
“I try to tell people this is a secret way to get across the state,” Wert said. “One of the beauties of it, it’s away from everything else in general. It’s open year-round. It goes from the deep forest to the wheatlands of the Palouse. It’s a challenging, but fascinating journey to take.”
The mostly gravel rail trail still has a bunch of gaps necessitating detours. The wide Columbia River presented one of the most troublesome barriers for trail riders because the next closest public crossing was the Interstate 90 Vantage Bridge, which has no sidewalk or shoulders. Through-hikers and riders typically would need to hitch a ride in a vehicle to get across."...
..."The Palouse to Cascades Trail stretches for 285 miles from the outskirts of North Bend, Washington, to the Idaho border, including a 2.5 mile tunnel under the Cascade Crest. Fred Wert of Winthrop has traversed the full length once and biked and walked it in sections many times. He sometimes calls it the “invisible trail” because it is not well known.
“I try to tell people this is a secret way to get across the state,” Wert said. “One of the beauties of it, it’s away from everything else in general. It’s open year-round. It goes from the deep forest to the wheatlands of the Palouse. It’s a challenging, but fascinating journey to take.”
The mostly gravel rail trail still has a bunch of gaps necessitating detours. The wide Columbia River presented one of the most troublesome barriers for trail riders because the next closest public crossing was the Interstate 90 Vantage Bridge, which has no sidewalk or shoulders. Through-hikers and riders typically would need to hitch a ride in a vehicle to get across."...
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