Hikes in Washington: The Big Hill to Small Hill Trail

Basic Information

• Name: The Big Hill to Small Hill Trail
• Where: Riverside State Park
• Distance: 3.3 miles
• Elevation Gain: 256 feet
• Maximum Elevation: 1,829 feet
• Time: 1.5-2 hours
• Difficulty: Medium
• More Information: Washington State Parks website

Google Earth Map of the Trail

Directions

To get to the trailhead for this hike from Spokane, go north on Division Street and then make a left on to Francis Avenue.  As Francis Avenue travels west it will eventually automatically turn into Nine Mile Road.  Make a left on to Seven Mile Road and travel across the bridge over the Spokane River.  After crossing the bridge make the next left on to Riverside Park Road.  Travel a short distance and pull into the trailhead on the right of the road.

In this aerial picture, the trailhead for the hike is visible in the middle left where the small number of cars are parked in the trees:

PARKING

The lot is not that big and can fit about 15 vehicles.  On busy holiday weekends I have seen this lot fill up.

Narrative

This section of Riverside State Park is a mix of state and federal land that is overseen by the state park service.  The large federal land area is from when it was part of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).  Beginning in 1933, all the trails and bridge improvements in Riverside State Park were made by the CCC 949th Company that was based here at what was known as Camp Seven Mile:

During World War II the CCC was closed and the land was given to the military as a training base.  Today this section of Riverside State Park is still used by local military units for training, but is still open to the public for hiking and biking.  Riverside State Park is littered with many trails and the Big Hill to Small Hill Trail pieces some of these trails together to make a nice family friendly loop hike to two prominent viewpoints.  Here is the trailhead where the hike I took with my two young kids began:

From the trailhead we hiked over a large open area that was once used as an airstrip by the military:

Here is a view of the old airstrip using my DJI Mavic 2 Zoom – Drone:

Adjacent to the airstrip we saw the large hill known as the “Big Hill:

Here is an aerial view of the Big Hill once again using my drone:

Here is an aerial view of the Big Hill looking from the opposite direction:

The Big Hill is the first destination on this hike.  To get there we walked over to the trail located at the base of the Big Hill and made a left:

We followed this trail until it reached a fork where we made a right hand turn on a trail that led up a small incline:

At the top of the small incline there is a large signboard and an intersection of many trails. On the right is the Big Hill:

We continued straight passed the signboard and immediately followed a trail leading up the Big Hill on the right.  The trail was a steady include up to the rear of the Big Hill:

The summit of the Big Hill is a huge, flat open area:

Below is an aerial view of the summit of Big Hill that is sometimes used by the military for helicopter landing practice:

On the summit of Big Hill, yellow wildflowers usually can be seen in the spring and early summer:

From the Big Hill we had a nice view of the various ranches located along the Spokane River down below us:

To the south I could make out the treeless summit of the “Small Hill”.  In the below picture it is visible on the center left:

Here is a panorama looking south from the Big Hill at the vast forest below;

From the front of the Big Hill there is a very steep trail that leads down back to the signboard area.  We were very careful descending because the trail was slippery in some sections, but even my seven year old made it down with no problems:

After descending the Big Hill there is a prominent trail leading south from the signboard area that needs to be followed next:

This aerial photo from my DJI Mavic 2 Zoom – Drone shows the trail intersection at the signboard on the lower right.  The prominent trail at the bottom of the photograph is the one we followed south towards the Small Hill:

The trail is very easy to follow as it passes through the beautiful forest of ponderosa pine trees:

The trail next came to an intersection with a dirt road.  We made a right on to this dirt road and followed it for a short distance in a westerly direction:

The dirt road comes to an open area that has a concrete pad.  To the east of the pad there is a dirt road that leads to small trail that heads up the Small Hill.  In the below picture you can see the access trail to the Small Hill on the lower left:

In the below aerial picture the concrete pad is visible on the bottom.  The access trail up the Small Hill is located just passed the pad:

The access trail goes through the trees and at the base of the Small Hill the trail widens out and steeply ascends to the summit:

The summit of the Small Hill is reached after two miles of hiking. The Small Hill is capped by this colorful, old water tower:

From the hill there is some nice views of the Spokane River flowing below:

There is also a nice view looking north of the nearby mountains where one of my favorite hikes in the area, the Knothead Loop Trail is located:

While my kids spent time playing in the trees on the top of the Small Hill, I took out my DJI Mavic 2 Zoom – Drone to take some more aerial pictures.  Here is the view looking down on the old water tower:

Here is another view of the Small Hill, with the Big Hill visible in the background and the paved Centennial Trail passing just below it:

Here is yet another view of the Small Hill looking in a westerly direction:

Here is an aerial view looking south down the Spokane River towards the city of Spokane:

Here is the view looking north where the old Camp Seven Mile airfield can be seen as well as the Big Hill on the far left:

We spent about an hour on the summit of the Small Hill before heading back down the way we came and then following a trail that headed to the east.  This trail led to another trailhead that had a signboard about the history of Camp Seven Mile:

Here is a picture from the signboard of what Camp Seven Mile once looked like back in the 1930’s:

Today some of the foundations of the old camp can be seen:

The most prominent ruin of Camp Seven Mile is this old chimney that people still use for camp fires:

From this trailhead we had the option of following the paved Centennial Trail back to where we parked or following a dirt trail back to the airfield.  My kids decided to follow the dirt trail:

At just over three miles of hiking we arrived back at the trailhead parking lot:

Conclusion

The Big Hill to Small Hill hike is a great, family friendly walk within Riverside State Park.  It is just over 3 miles long and besides the steep descent off of the Big Hill, the trails are in great shape.  The views from each hill of the surrounding forest and Spokane River are a great reward for completing this hike. Highly recommended!