Hikes in Washington: The Centennial Trail to Sandifur Bridge

Basic Information

• Name: Centennial Trail to Sandifur Bridge
• Where: Spokane, Washington
• Distance: 3 miles
• Max Elevation: 1,917 feet
• Elevation Gain: 154 feet
• Difficulty: Easy
• Time: 1-1.5 hours
• More Information: Centennial Trail website

Map of the Trail

Directions

This hike begins from the Kendall Yards neighborhood of Spokane located across the river from downtown. Kendall Yards is a newly developed part of Spokane that has quickly become one of the nicest parts of the city.  From I-90, the easiest way to get to Kendall Yards is to take the Maple Street exit and cross the Spokane River via the Maple Street Bridge.  Then make a right on to College Avenue and then another right onto Cedar Street.  At the end of Cedar Street make a left on to W. Summit Parkway into the major shopping district of Kendall Yards.

Parking

In the major shopping district of Kendall Yards there is a lot of curbside parking available.  If nothing is open then park in the large lot at My Fresh Basket.  After finishing your hike it is then easy to get a smoothy here.  From wherever you park, adjacent to Kendall Yards the Centennial Trail can be found running along the upper cliffs of the Spokane River.

Narrative

The Centennial Trail is an extremely popular place for people from Spokane to take a walk at.  The trail is 40-miles long and stretches from the Idaho border to Nine Mile Falls just north of Spokane.  A section of this trail that begins at the Kendall Yards shopping area near downtown is where I recently took my kids to, to take a short hike.  We plan to hike from Kendall Yards to the Sandifur Bridge which would be a 3-mile hike.  Kendall Yards is located across the Spokane river from downtown Spokane:

The major downtown shopping district and Monroe Street Bridge are all visible from the trail:

From Kendall Yards my kids and I began walking down westward down the Centennial Trail towards the Maple Street Bridge:

The Centennial Trail passes right over the top of the Maple Street Bridge:

Along this section of the trail there are signs warning people not to camp along the trail which seems to be effective as we saw no homeless encampments and just one couple smoking something from a pipe below the bridge:

After the Maple Street Bridge the Centennial Trail passes a very nice development of townhouses that are supposedly very popular with Millennial homeowners:

The trail next came to the Herbert M. Hamblen Conservation Area that protects a section of land along the Spokane River:

It was from here we saw across the river from us the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture that we had previously visited:

Down below us along the river, we also saw these interesting looking homes that really thin:

As we continued down the Centennial Trail we next saw the Sandifur Bridge ahead us:

As we approached the drop off towards the Sandifur Bridge I spotted across the river bend from us the high cliffs where the Palisades Loop Trail is located:

Down below us we could see the Sandifur Bridge:

From the Centennial Trail there is a paved twisting path that leads walkers down to the bridge:

Along the way there is a bench to stop at and take a rest that has a nice view of the river and downtown Spokane:

After a shot walk down the cliff we came to the Sandifur Memorial Bridge:

The bridge was built in 2004 and dedicated to the memory of C. Paul Sandifur Sr. and J.Evelyn Sandifur:

Paul Sandifur was an elderly local businessman who made millions in real estate.  He and his wife died in a tragic car accident north of Spokane in 1995:

The bridge is located in a really scenic area where the Spokane River bends in a northerly direction:

Looking to the east from the bridge we could see the old pillars of a railway bridge that once cross the Spokane River.  The pillars holding the current footbridge are from this same railway bridge:

On the opposite side of the Sandifur Bridge there is a large parking lot where people can access the bridge and the Centennial Trail from the opposite side of the river:

After spending some time letting my kids explore the area around the Sandifur Bridge we then turned around and retraced our steps back to Kendall Yards.  Along the way we stopped at a playground adjacent to the trail to let them burn off some more energy.  In total by the time we returned to Kendall Yards this end up being a nice 3-mile roundtrip hike.

Conclusion

For anyone visiting downtown Spokane and wanting to do a short three mile, family friendly hike, I recommend walking this section of the Centennial Trail. It is easily accessible, offers beautiful views, and a nice reward of exploring a cool bridge at the turn around point.  My kids enjoyed it and hopefully yours will too.