Hikes in Washington: The Palisades Loop Trail

Basic Information

• Name: The Palisades Loop Trail
• Where: Spokane, Washington
• Distance: 3.5 Miles
• Maximum Elevation: 2,203 feet
• Elevation Gain: 874 feet
• Time: 2 hours
• More Information: Palisades Park website

Google Earth Map of the Palisades Loop Trail

Directions

From downtown Spokane take the Sunset Highway west and drive across the bridge that crosses Latah Creek.  After crossing the bridge make a right on to Government Way.  Follow the road for about a mile and then make a left on Greenwood Road.

Follow the road up the basalt bluffs and look for the Palisades sign on the right side of the road that designates the parking area and trailhead.

Parking

The parking lot at the trailhead can fit about 5 cars tightly, but across the street there is much more parking available.

The trailhead for the Palisades Loop Trail is located adjacent to the parking lot:

Narrative

On a recent Sunday there was spectacular weather for it being February in Spokane.  To take advantage of the beautiful weather my kids and I headed over to Palisades Park.  The park is located on the bluffs overlooking the west side of the Spokane River and is littered with trails that criss-cross its 700 acres of land.  At the trailhead there is a worn out map for hikers to see:

My kids and I decided to make a loop hike using the trails that circle around the park.  From the trailhead we began our hike around the Palisades Loop Trail by first following the 101 Trail:

The 101 Trail is marked with these small wooden red signs:

Due to the unseasonably warm weather over the past week the melted snow has caused areas of the trail to be swamped in water:

The areas of the trail that were not swamped were muddy for most of the hike:

The trail soon comes to a small creek that leads to Rimrock Drive which is now a walking course:

Across Rimrock Drive we spotted this park bench:

While my kids took a break I went and enjoyed the picturesque views of Spokane:

Here is a closer look at Spokane which is backdropped by snowy mountain peaks in Idaho:

Off in the distance I could see the round shape of the 5,209 foot Mica Peak that I have previously hiked up:

From the viewpoint I could also look down into the Spokane River valley and spotted the huge railway bridge that spans the entire canyon:

Speaking of bridges directly below me was a much smaller bridge created in the 1930’s by the Civilian Conservation Corps:

The bridge allows the creek we had previously followed to flow down into the canyon below:

We next hiked across the bridge and up the trail about another quarter mile to another viewpoint that provided even better views of Spokane:

Here is a closer look at downtown Spokane:

Looking to the northeast I could see the 5,883 foot Mt. Spokane rising over the city:

Directly below me I could see the historic Fort George Wright.  The old military base opened in 1899 to defend the Spokane area.  The fort remained opened until 1957 until much of the land was sold off and the post closed.  Today the old military buildings house the Mukogawa Fort Wright Institute where Japanese college students come to Spokane to learn English:

After taking in the views we retraced our steps back to the prior viewpoint and then followed a trail down into the canyon:

While we descended into the canyon we spotted this small waterfall flowing over the side of the cliff:

At the bottom of the canyon we came to the railway line:

We then spotted the next section of the Palisades Loop Trail that runs adjacent to the railway tracks:

We next passed by this concrete structure where we saw in the trees what appeared to be a homeless encampment with shady looking people walking around:

Through this section of the hike we walked pretty quickly to get away from the homeless encampment.  We soon found ourselves back at Greenwood Road that leads to the trailhead:

We crossed over the road and followed the trail that continued passed the locked gate:

Along the section of the hike there were Trail 104 signs posted:

Something interesting was the signboard we saw that explained the life of the Native-American “Spokan Garry” who lived his final days in a homesite near the trail:

There is no signs left of the homesite today other than the sign:

At this point the trail begins to follow a deep gorge:

Deep below in the gorge we could hear the flowing water of the creek:

We next came to a trail intersection where we followed the Trail 106 signs back to the trailhead:

We had one final steep section of the Palisades Loop Trail where we had to reascend to the top of the bluffs:

Once we reached the top of the bluff we could see the trailhead parking lot across the street from us:

We then walked across the street to end our hike, but not before taking in one more stunning view of Spokane:

Conclusion

The Palisades Loop Trail is an easy hike to access and has arguably the best views of Spokane.  Just that fact alone makes this trail worth checking out.  The trails are muddy, but in good shape and very family friendly.  Additionally hikes can be adjusted for shorter or longer walks depending on the ability of your kids with all the different trails that criss-cross the park. Definitely a hike I recommend checking out on a clear day for the best views.