Hikes in Washington: The Pine Bluff Loop Trail

Basic Information: 

• Name: Pine Bluff Loop Trail
• Where: Riverside State Park, WA
• Distance: 7.8 miles
• Maximum Elevation: 2,174 feet
• Elevation Gain: 956 feet
• Time: 4-5 hours
• Difficulty: Medium
• More Information: Day Hike! Spokane, Coeur d’Alene, and Sandpoint

Topographic Map of the Pine Bluff Loop Trail

Google Earth Map of the Pine Bluff Loop Trail

Directions

This hike is located in the expansive Riverside State Park located north of Spokane.  To reach this trailhead travel north on Highway 291 from Spokane to the small village of Nine Mile Falls.  From Highway 291 make a left hand turn across the hydroelectric dam.  Immediately after crossing the dam make a left on to Carlson Road.  Follow Carlson Road for a short distance along the Spokane River until the parking lot comes into view on the right which is the start point for the hike.

Parking

The parking lot off of Carlson Road is quite large and was no where near capacity the weekend I hiked this trail.  The lot also has a clean outhouse for visitors to use as well.  Since this is a state park, a Washington State Discover Pass is needed to park in the lot.

Narrative

Riverside State Park north of Spokane is a huge chunk of public land located along the banks of the Spokane River.  A great trail that takes in a good portion of the park is the Pine Bluff Loop Trail that begins near the Nine Mile Dam.  The trailhead for this hike is located across Carlson Street from the trailhead parking lot:

Just below the dirt trail, the paved Centennial Trail can be seen.  The Centennial Trail is extremely popular with bicyclists and runners which I saw a few of as I began my hike up the dirt trail adjacent to it:

From the trailhead the hike begins by entering into a forest of ponderosa pine trees:

A major negative with this hike is the route finding challenges.  There are a lot of not only numbered trails in Riverside State Park, but also social trails going off in various directions.  The first turn I made on this hike was about a half mile into it when I made a left on to Trail #25:

Trail #25 is one of the most well marked trails in Riverside State Park that most of this hike follows:

As I continued up the trail I continued to follow the Trail #25 signs:

Trail #25 slowly ascends its way up towards the base of the bluffs that border the river:

About 1.5 miles into the hike I had to take a right to stay on Trail #25:

This is where the trail makes a some what steep ascent up to the top of the bluff:

It was along this section of the hike that I passed a number of huckleberry bushes which were now in season:

As I was ascending the trail, it came to a lookout that offered some amazing views of the area:

From the lookout I could see the Spokane River and the Nine Mile area of Riverside State Park:

In the distance to the north I could see the Nine Mile Dam located near the trailhead of this hike:

Down below me I could see basalt rock formations that I would hike through later in this hike:

From the lookout I still had a short hike to reach the top of the appropriately named Pine Bluff:

When I reached the top of the bluff I came upon some large power lines:

The power lines extended down and across the Spokane River.  Later in the hike I would actually pass under the power lines again but this time down by the river:

From the top of Pine Bluff my views were initially obscured by all the pine trees:

However the trail did eventually come to a viewpoint with a bench:

From the view point I had views looking east across the Spokane River:

Far out to the east I could see the 5,883 foot Mt. Spokane:

To the southeast I could see the 5,209 foot Mica Peak:

From the first bench I continued to hike down the trail as it ran parallel to the cliff line.  In a short distance it came to a second bench:

The trail next came to a third and final bench.  From this bench there was again a nice view over the Spokane River:

I could also once again see the Nine Mile Dam out in the distance:

From the third bench, I then began to follow the trail that descends down the bluff:

The trail led to yet another intersection where I continued to follow Trail #25 downward:

The trail eventually leveled off and traveled below Pine Bluff in a southernly direction:

Above me I could occasionally see the basalt rock that composes most of the bluffs that rise around the Spokane River:

The trail next came to Pine Bluff Road:

At the road I made a left and walked a short distance until I saw another Trail #25 marker:

The marker pointed towards a grassy field where some very large power lines crossed:

As I walked across the grassy field I could hear the electricity crackling in the lines above my head:

The trail next crossed over the dry creek bed of Coulee Creek:

Here is the view looking down Coulee Creek back towards Pine Bluff:

From the dry creek bed I continued to follow the Trail #25 signs:

The trail again crossed over the Pine Bluff Road and into the parking lot for the Pine Bluff Trailhead:

From the parking lot I followed a dirt road trail that ran adjacent to Coulee Creek:

The trail eventually does a steep descent into a canyon:

Inside the canyon I had to cross Deep Creek that flows into Coulee Creek:

Here is the view looking down Deep Creek:

On the other side of the dry creek bed the trail ascends up and out of the canyon:

The trail then comes to a dirt road.  At the dirt road I followed the signs to the Deep Creek Overlook Trailhead:

There were a few vehicles parked at the trailhead when I arrived.  At the trailhead I continued to follow the dirt road passed a white gate:

After passing the white gate I was now on the Deep Creek Overlook Trail:

I next came to a marker that showed that from the Deep Creek Overlook Trail I could access Trail #25 again that ran into the canyon:

I walked down to the edge of the Deep Creek Canyon to take a look:

There wasn’t much to see due to all the trees:

I went back up to the dirt road and continued to follow it towards the Deep Creek Overlook.  Along the way I passed under some power lines.  Looking across the canyon, I could see the top of the Pine Bluff that I had been on earlier in the hike when I passed under the power lines there:

Towards the end of the dirt road I then came to the Deep Creek Overlook:

The overlook is accessed from the dirt road by a side trail that leads to the top of some basalt rocks:

The overlook is pretty high up above the canyon and someone built a wall composed of lava rocks to keep people from the edge:

The view from the lookout of the basalt rock formations in this section of Riverside State Park was pretty impressive:

Eastern Washington is covered in a cap of basalt lava rock that is believed to have occurred about 16 millions years ago when the Yellowstone Hotspot erupted.  Over the centuries erosion has caused the basalt rock along this section of the Spokane River to be carved into the unusual shapes that can be seen today.  From the lookout I could actually see the Spokane River flowing just below me which would be my next destination:

From the Deep Creek Overlook I followed a paved road down towards the Spokane River:

In about a quarter mile I found myself on the Centennial Trail that follows the bank of the Spokane River:

If I wanted to, I could have followed the Centennial Trail for about 1-mile back to the trailhead.  Instead I decided to take a longer and more challenging route back to the trailhead via the Deep Creek Interpretive Trail.  To access this trail I had to walk about a quarter mile on the Centennial Trail to the Deep Creek Bridge:

From the bridge there were some nice views of the Spokane River:

Here is the view from the bridge looking up the Deep Creek Canyon which I would soon go and explore:

After crossing the bridge I spotted a bench which is where I made a left on to the Deep Creek Interpretive Trail:

At the trailhead there was a container that was supposed to hold trail guides, but there was none available the day I visited:

The trailhead also had an information board which surprisingly had no information about the Deep Creek Interpretive Trail:

From the information board I followed a trail up into Deep Creek Canyon:

Above me I could see the large basalt rock formation which is where the Deep Creek Overlook is located:

From within the canyon I found the basalt rock formations to be even more impressive than I had previously thought:

Eventually there was no trail I just followed the canyon floor:

The trail became narrow in some sections:

I also had to cross logs at various points that had washed down the canyon from flash floods:

Something else I found on this trail is that the large rock pictured below is where rock climbers go to practice climbing:

The dry creek bed next became very rocky as I tried to spot a trail that would lead up the opposite bank to return to the trailhead above:

I went too far down the canyon and had to backtrack back towards the rock climbing area to spot the trail going up the opposite side of the canyon.  This trail was very steep and required me to use my hands to pull myself up using rocks, trees, and shrubs as handholds:

For people not comfortable with climbing up a steep trail like this, I recommend just taking the paved Centennial Trail back to the trailhead for this hike.  I was fine with the steep climb and after successfully climbing up the steep section, I came to a trail that crossed through the basalt rock formations:

Here was the view from the trail looking directly down the steep slope I had just ascended from Deep Creek Canyon:

Ahead of me I followed a trail through the lava rock:

This trail intersected with another trail which is where I made a left and followed the trail up and around a huge basalt rock formation:

Here is a view looking back down the trail I had just hiked up:

I then came to yet another trail intersection.  Unlike most of the hike, this time I did not follow Trail #25 and instead made a right and followed Trail #411:

Trail #411 led out of the basalt rock area and back into the forest:

Along the way I passed this Interpretive Trail sign:

The trail then once again came to an intersection with Trail #25:

I followed Trail #25 through the forest in a northerly direction towards the trailhead:

The trail soon intersected with Trail #400:

I took a right and followed Trail #400 back to the trailhead:

Conclusion

This hike is a great way to experience a lot of the various scenery in Riverside State Park.  However it requires a lot of route finding which can be frustrating at times due to all the side trails that frequently run off in various directions.  Regardless this is still an interesting area to explore and check out in the Spokane area.