5 min
Overview
After Burlington Northern abandoned this section of the rail route between Lyle and Goldendale, the Rails to Trails Conservancy purchased rights of way to the 31-mile section in 1993. Much legal wrangling and public hearings followed, interrupted by the February 1996 floods, which damaged sections of the rail bed. By the end of 2003, the Forest Service, Washington State Parks, and the Klickitat Trail Conservancy had reached a management agreement, with the USFS involved with overseeing the Lyle to Klickitat section of the trail, while the State Parks Bureau agreed to manage the Swale Canyon section. The trail offers a wonderful excursion into canyon country, with basalt rims, oak and ponderosa pine groves, and plentiful access to the Klickitat River and Swale Creek. New mile markers help you to keep track of your passage. The 13 mile Lyle to Klickitat section of the Klickitat Trail can be divided into three parts, the longest and more secluded being the middle reaches of the Fisher Hill to Pitt section. A car shuttle or hike/bike (Leave a bike at the Pitt Trailhead or the Klickitat Trailhead) is a good way to do this section. 1. Lower Klickitat section Directions: This first section of the trail runs very close to Highway 142 and thus there is little sense of isolation. However, views of the Klickitat Canyon are rewarding and the latter can be reached via foot trail leading off the rail bed. Bald eagles congregate here in January and February to take advantage of winter salmon runs. Before you leave the Lyle Trailhead, walk to the stone-walled viewpoint looking up the lower end of the Klickitat River Gorge. Then pick up the paved trail from the information kiosk at the entrance to the parking area. Although there is a plan to pave the trail as far as Fisher Hill Road, the pavement ends shortly and you cross gravel Keith Road. The rail grade runs right below Highway 14 in this section. It is lined with clumps of blackberry and plantings of ponderosa pine. Deer brush drips sprays of bluish flowers in mid-
Trail Stats
0.0 km
25 m
0 m
0 m
—
Photos
400px-LyletoKlickitatMap
400px-LyletoKlickitatMap
250px-KlickitatLyle7
250px-KlickitatLyle7
250px-KlickitatLyle1
250px-KlickitatLyle1
250px-KlickitatLyle3
250px-KlickitatLyle3
250px-KlickitatLyle4
250px-KlickitatLyle4
250px-KlickitatLyle6
250px-KlickitatLyle6
250px-KlickitatLyle5
250px-KlickitatLyle5
400px-KlickitatLyle2
400px-KlickitatLyle2