Hikes in Washington: The Pine Lake Loop Trail

BASIC INFORMATION

• Name: The Pine Lake Loop Trail
• Where: Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge
• Distance: 1.1 miles
• Elevation Gain: 34 feet
• Maximum Elevation: 2,269 feet
• Time: 30 minutes
• Difficulty: Easy
• More Information: Day Hike! Spokane, Coeur d’Alene, and Sandpoint

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Google Earth Map of the Trail

Directions

This hike is located at the Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge.  To reach the refuge from Spokane, take I-90 West about 15 miles and then exit onto Highway 904 to the small city of Cheney.  Drive through downtown Cheney and on the south side of town take a left on to the Cheney-Plaza Road.  Follow this road for about 5 miles to the entrance of the Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge located on S. Smith Road.  Drive down this road to the self admission station where vehicles stop to pay for entrance into the refuge.  Those with a National Park pass can enter for free.

PARKING

After the entrance station continue to drive down the road until you see the Pine Lake Loop Trail sign and park in the paved parking lot on the left side of the road.  The parking lot has room for about 10-15 vehicles.  If the lot is full there is more parking available at the visitor center just a short distance down the road.

Narrative

The Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge is a beautiful forest and wetland preserve located just outside of the small town of Cheney, Washington.  At the trailhead parking lot there is a good display that discusses the history of the refuge:

The refuge is part of the Channeled Scablands that was carved out by Ice Age floods that impacted the region 12,000 to 15,000 years ago.  The floods carved out the basalt rock that was formed by lava flows that occurred millions of years ago:

Most of the Channels Scablands is now dry and arid, but the Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge is a great place to explore the portion of the scablands that the floods transformed into a robust wetland.  There are a handful of trails to explore the refuge, but easily the most popular one is the Pine Lake Loop Trail.  It is a short paved walk through the central section of the refuge.  The trail begins across the street from the parking lot where there is a spotting scope available for people to look at birds in the wetlands below:

From the spotting scope the trail descends off of the bluff and follows a paved path adjacent to Winslow Pool:

Winslow Pool is named after former refuge manager Ralph C. Winslow:

After passing Winslow Pool the trail then begins it route around Middle Pine Lake:

From Middle Pine Lake there is a small creek that flows to Lower Pine Lake a short distance away.  Lower Pine Lake can be seen by completing a hike on the adjacent Stubblefield Lake Loop Trail:

As the paved trail continues around Middle Pine Lake many birds can usually be seen wading in its waters during the warmer months:

Here is a closer look at some of the birds:

Ducks are particularly popular at Turnbull which this sign explains this different types of:

The Pine Lake Loop Trail next comes to a smaller pool known as the Ice Pond:

From the Ice Pond the trail then passes by a small basalt rock outcropping which provides evidence of the volcanic past of this area:

Finally the trail passes in between Middle Pine Lake and Winslow Pool:

In the distance across Winslow Pool the Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge headquarters can be seen.  The headquarters has a small visitor center and gift shop that is worth checking out during a visit:

Conclusion

For people in the Spokane region a trip to the Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge is well worth checking out.  It has a number of easy to moderate trails to hike with the Pine Lake Loop Trail being the best one to explore.  The trail is paved and provides a great view of a small lake usually filled with wildlife.  If you are lucky you may even spot a moose that the refuge is well known for.