Hikes in Washington: The Mica Peak Loop Trail

Basic Information

• Name: Mica Peak Loop Trail
• Where: Mica Peak Conservation Area
• Distance: 9.5 miles
• Elevation Gain: 2,269 feet
• Max Elevation: 4,829 feet
• Time: 4-5 hours
• Difficulty: Medium
• More Information: Spokane County website

Google Earth Map of the Mica Peak Loop Trail

Elevation Map of the Mica Peak Loop Trail

Directions

Getting to the trailhead is very easy and it is all on paved roads.  Just take Highway 27 south from Spokane Valley.  About 10 miles south of town there is a manufacturing facility and a big green sign that says Mica.  Make a left here on to E. Belmont Road and cross the train tracks.  Continue to follow E. Belmont Road all the way to the Mica Peak Conservation Area Trailhead.

Parking

There is a huge parking lot at the Mica Peak Conservation Area trailhead.  I hiked this trail on a Saturday and saw only two other trucks.  I doubt parking is ever a problem here.

Narrative

The city of Spokane has two distinctive terrain features that rise over the city.  The first is the the 5,883 foot Mt. Spokane to the northeast of the city.  The next major terrain feature is the 5,209 foot Mica Peak to the southeast of the city. These two terrain features bracket both sides of the Spokane River valley that the city of Spokane is located in.  I had previously hiked to the summit of Mt. Spokane and Mica Peak was one my next hikes this summer I wanted to complete.

Mt. Mica has a two different approaches, one from Liberty Lake near the Idaho border and the other from the newly opened Mica Peak Conservation Area.  Since the conservation area has only been open a couple of years I decided to go and check it out.  The drive out the Mica Peak Conservation area was a short, but really nice drive with good pastoral views:

At the trailhead there is a map of the park and plenty information about the Mica Peak Conservation Area:

There is also a sign that explain the biological information about the area:

From the trailhead the hike begins at a locked gate up an old logging road:

Almost immediately from the road there is a beautiful view of Mica Peak:

On the top of Mica Peak I could see the radar facility that is maintained by the FAA:

The FAA facility used to be the Mica Peak Air Force Station before the military handed the facility over to the FAA to manage in 1979.  Since the summit of the mountain is a government facility, hikers cannot access the true summit of the mountain because it would be trespassing.  That is why the trail at the Mica Peak Conservation area ends right below the FAA facility.

From the viewpoint, the dirt road continues up towards Mica Peak at a very gradual incline and has trail markers every 1/10th of mile to keep people on the dirt road:

This is because the first mile of the hike travels through private property.  That is why some areas on the side of the trail appeared to have been cleared or used for other purposes:

Something interesting I read about Mica Peak is that back during the Prohibition timeframe illegal distilleries sprouted up on private property on Mica Peak.  The illegal alcohol brewed here became known as Mica Moonshine.  Unfortunately I did not see any Mica Moonshine on this hike; what I did see was the last trail marker of the day which designated the end of the one mile walk through private property:

The sign also did say that the California Creek Viewpoint was 3.8 miles ahead.  I figured there must be more trail signs ahead that point the way to the viewpoint.  I was wrong because there were not any more trail signs.  This is something that needs to be worked on because there are many old logging roads and side trails on Mica Peak that could confuse people.  I just continued to follow the main dirt road up the mountain:

As I ascended in elevation I began to see a lot of nice meadows filled with wildflowers:

The dirt road next passed by a power line:

Shortly after the power line the dirt road comes to a y-intersection.  I continued to stay on the main dirt road, but for those looking for a shorter hike, making a left here will take a shorter path to the summit, while going straight makes this a longer loop hike.  The dirt road travels south for about a mile through heavily wooded terrain:

Before the dirt road switchbacks in the opposite direction further up the mountain it comes to a large clearing:

The clearing has been logged which provides open views:

From the clearing I had a great view of the Palouse hills that dominates the horizon to the south:

I could even see the 3,612 foot Steptoe Butte that rises out of the middle of the Palouse in the distance:

Behind me I could see the top of Mica Peak that I was heading towards:

From the clearing I continued to follow the main dirt road as it made another long switchback up the mountain:

Along the way I had many more beautiful wildflowers to see:

In particular these reddish flowers were quite plentiful to see at this higher altitude:

Here is a closer look at this beautiful flower:

At the end of the long switchback the road came to another intersection.  This intersection is important to remember because this is the way down that makes this a loop hike after reaching the summit:

From the intersection the trail makes another switchback up the mountain.  The trail came to another intersection, but I just continued to follow the trail as it switchbacked to the right:

As I hiked up the switchback I came upon a muddy area with water flowing down half of the trail:

As I continued to slowly ascend up the switchbacking trail I began to have some better views of the area:

However, the summit of the mountain continued to seem elusive:

However, that would soon change as I continued up the trail:

After a final switchback the trail eventually turns and goes straight up the mountain:

The trail becomes steeper and steeper as it ascends up Mica Peak:

The elevation gain may have been slow up the prior switchbacks, but now I was making up for lost time powering up the steep trail:

Eventually the trail enters into a some what clear cut area:

Right above the clear cut area is where the trail ends on the side of East Henry Road that ascends to the summit of the mountain:

Just above where the trail ends I could see the radio towers from the FAA facility on the summit of the mountain:

At the dirt road my GPS said I was at 4,829 feet.  The summit of Mica Peak is 5,209 feet in elevation.  This means I was less than 400 feet from the true summit.  However, I did not want to risk being ticketed for trespassing by walking up the road to the FAA facility.  Plus I had an amazing view anyway from the road looking out across Eastern Washington:

Here is a closer look at the Dishman Hills area bordering Spokane which is a popular hiking location:

Here is a close up look at Spokane that I could see from the lookout towards the northwest:

Right below me I could see the dirt road from the trailhead that I followed towards Mica Peak:

Here is the view looking towards the west:

Here is a closer look at the view to the west where the water tower in the city of Cheney could be seen in the distance:

Here is the view to the southwest where the heavily forested Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge could be seen stretching out into the distance. The Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge is a heavily forested area that extends into the Palouse hills because of the Ice Age floods that left the lakes and wetlands that allow the trees to grow in the arid Palouse region:

To the south I could see the Palouse hills stretching out in the distance:

Here is a panorama picture of the view:

From the viewpoint I had no views looking north, so I had to walk up the road a short ways to catch a view through the trees of Mt. Spokane rising across Spokane Valley in the distance:

Below me I could see Liberty Lake which is located right on the Washington and Idaho border.  Liberty Lake is also the trailhead for another hike up Mica Peak:

I spent about 45 minutes taking in the views and eating a few snacks before deciding to head back down the trail:

I made very quick time down the very steep portion of the hike below the road:

I soon found myself back at the previous road intersection I mentioned earlier.  At the intersection I took a right and followed it to a small clearing:

Here was the view looking southwest from the clearing:

At the clearing there is a trail that leads directly down the mountain.  The trail had two fallen logs across it which made it easy to spot:

The trail does get steep and slippery in a few spots, so I had to be careful with my footing:

The steep trail ends at a dirt road where I then made a left on to:

This dirt road has black plastic barriers along it which indicates it is the right dirt road to be on:

After about a half mile the road intersects with the main dirt road that I took to hike up the mountain previously:

At the main dirt road I made a right and preceded to follow it back down the mountain.  I soon would see the sign indicating that I was leaving the park and traveling one mile through private property:

It was truly a nice day to do this hike.  Here is a panorama from the last one mile stretch of dirt road before reaching the trailhead:

A short distance later I saw the gate at the trailhead ahead of me to complete my hike:

Conclusion

The Mica Peak Loop Trail was a fun hike that packed in over 2,000 feet in elevation gain in 9.5 miles of hiking.  For those looking for a shorter hike, two miles of hiking can be subtracted from this trail using the directions I mentioned in the posting.  The poor signage within the Mica Peak Conservation Area though is a major negative of this hike.  The views from the road below the summit of the mountain are really good and worth the effort to complete this hike. This is definitely one of my top long hikes in the Spokane region.