Hikes in Washington: The Columbia Plateau Trail (Amber Lake to Sterling Road)

Basic Information

• Name: Columbia Plateau Trail (Amber Lake to Sterling Road)
• Distance: 5.6 miles
• Maximum Elevation: 2,551 feet
• Elevation Gain: 115 feet
• Time: 2-3 hours
• Difficulty: Easy
• More Information: Washington State Parks website

Map of the Trail

Directions

This hike is located just outside of the small town of Cheney.  To reach the trailhead from Spokane, take I-90 West about 15 miles and then exit onto Highway 904 to Cheney.  Stay on the highway and drive through downtown Cheney.  On the outskirts of Cheney take a left on to Mullinix Road.  Follow this road for about 13 miles and follow the signs to Amber Lake where the trailhead is located.

Parking

At Amber Lake there is a very large parking lot that can get busy on the weekends with fishermen.  You will need to have a Washington State Discover Pass in order to park in the lot.

At the parking lot there is a restroom facility.  The trailhead is located near the restroom facility.

Narrative

With the coronavirus locking down things around the state, one of the few things that the public can still do is go hiking as long as social distancing is practiced.  Wanting to avoid crowds, I took my kids out to the Amber Lake Trailhead of the Columbia Plateau Trail.  We planned to hike up the trail to Sterling Road and back to Amber Lake for a 5.6 mile roundtrip hike.  The day was extremely beautiful as we started our hike from Amber Lake:

The Columbia Plateau Trail is one of the very popular “Rails-to-Trails” projects in the Pacific Northwest, which means it is wide and well maintained:

The Columbia Plateau Trail is built on the old Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railroad trackbed that was constructed in 1908.  The line was eventually taken over by the Burlington Northern Railroad who discontinued using the track in 1987.  This opened the door for the state of Washington to take over the property which they did in 1992.  Since then the Washington State Park Service has continued to develop the 130 mile trail that runs from the Tri-Cities area to Fish Lake.

From the Amber Lake Trailhead the next trailhead is located 12-miles away in Cheney:

A short distance from the trailhead we crossed over the dirt road that leads to Amber Lake:

After passing across the road the trail starts to offer some great views of Amber Lake:

On the very north end of the lake the creek that fills the lake can be seen:

For whatever reason, around this part of the trail a lot of railway ties can be seen scattered around the trail:

After walking by Amber Lake, the trail next enters into a thick pine forest:

The trail next comes to Mullinix Road where a small tunnel has been built to go under it:

Even in a remote area like this, graffiti could be seen inside of the tunnel:

After passing under the tunnel the trail begins to enter into a manmade gorge:

How deep the railway engineers had to dig into the lava rock bed to create this railway is quite impressive at times:

After exiting the gorge the trail begins to enter an area of beautiful forests and wetlands:

At 2.3 miles the trail reaches Sterling Road:

Beyond Sterling Road the trail begins to enter into the Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge.  This is a section of the trail my kids and I will explore some other time because at Sterling Road we turned around and followed the trail back to Amber Lake:

Conclusion

The Columbia Plateau Trail is a real gem of the Washington State Parks system due to its easy accessibility and great scenery.  Despite its accessibility, outside of the Fish Lake portion of the trail, it does not see much traffic, especially the Amber Lake Trailhead.  My kids and I saw a total of 5 people on the trail all day.  The wide trail also makes this great for young kids.  My 10 and 7 year olds completed the 5.6 mile hike with no issues. The trail is also popular for trail running as well.  I highly recommend getting out and exploring this great trail.