Best Hikes in Washington: The Esmeralda Trail

Basic Information

• Name: The Esmeralda Trail
• Where: Spokane, Washington
• Distance: 3 miles
• Elevation Gain: 673 feet
• Max Elevation: 2,612 feet
• Difficulty: Easy
• More Information: Day Hike! Spokane, Coeur d’Alene, and Sandpoint

Google Earth Map of the Trail

Directions

The trailhead for this hike is located at Minnehaha Park in northeastern Spokane.

Parking

At Minnehaha Park there is a large dirt lot for parking.  If this lot is full there is plenty of street parking in the adjacent neighborhood as well.

Narrative

My kids and I were looking for an easy hike on a cold December day and decided to try walking up Beacon Hill.  This hill is a popular mountain biking location with many trails on it.  We figured that hiking in December would mean few mountain bikers on the trails that we would have to avoid.  From the dirt parking lot we began our hike by walking through Minnehaha Park:

It is hardly noticeable today, but Minnehaha Park has an interesting history:

Before its wild reputation, Minnehaha was once the summer home of Edgar J. Webster, a Spokane lawyer. He discovered a mineral water springs on the property and turned the area into a spa in the late 1890s. The land was sold to Mr. and Mrs. John Heiber who used the mineral water for their brewery. The city of Spokane purchased the land between 1909 and 1913 for park purposes.

Development of the park did not start until 1924. Between 1918 and 1924 several motion picture companies rented the land from the city of Spokane. Petitions came to the city for development of a swimming pool and playground but nothing happened until the late 1940s when various neighborhood groups began raising money for the park.  [Spokane Historical Society]

The only evidence of this colorful past is this old stone building that is rumored to be haunted:

Just passed the old building there are two stone pillars.  To access the Esmeralda Trail we had to take a right on to a dirt trail :

The dirt trail passed by a rock outcropping before reaching the parking lot for the Esmeralda Golf Course:

This parking lot is another possible access point for this trail.  It is also where the first Esmeralda Trail signs can be seen:

These signs are handy because Beacon Hill is littered with social trails and various mountain biking trails.  It is very easy to make a wrong turn on this trail:

As we gained elevation the temperature change was just enough to keep the ice on the surrounding trees:

The ice on the trees was interesting because it was shaped like needles:

It was really pretty to see:

We saw just one group of hikers during this first part of the hike.  In fact we saw just as many deer as we did hikers until we neared the top:

As we continued up the trail trail we next passed under these power lines:

The final part of the trail begins to switchback up to the summit of Beacon Hill:

Near the summit the trees thinned out and we began to have our first views of Spokane:

Here is the view looking west towards downtown Spokane that was unfortunately obscured with fog the day we hiked the trail:

Looking towards the northwest we could see northern Spokane and the hills where my kids and I completed one of our favorite hikes in the area, the Knothead Loop Trail:

Here is a panorama picture of the view looking west towards Spokane:

We next walked passed this radio tower to access views to the northeast:

Through the trees we could see the snowcapped 5,883 foot Mt. Spokane which is our favorite hiking destination in the Spokane area:

We then walked over to another area on the Beacon Hill summit where we had a fantastic view of the city of Spokane Valley:

Spokane Valley was backdropped by the 5,209 foot Mica Peak, which is another fun day hike in the area:

Directly out to the east we could see the 3,373 foot Antoine Peak, which is a popular hiking area as well:

Here is a panorama of the view looking across Spokane Valley:

After spending about 45 minutes on the summit taking pictures and eating our lunch we then proceeded to descend down the front side of Beacon Hill directly towards Minnehaha Park:

This trail roughly follows power lines down the hill:

Once we reached the trees the trail became icy again:

Eventually we descended enough to where the temperature were warm enough to where all the ice was melted:

The final part of the trail we walked down a rough dirt road that leads to someones house on the side of Beacon Hill:

We followed the dirt road for a short distance where it ended at the trailhead:

Conclusion

Beacon Hill is an extremely popular mountain biking location.  During summer months hikers share this trail was mountain bikers zooming down the mountain.  Just for safety for my young kids I waited until the colder months to hike up it with them.  There were still mountain bikers even in December, but very few and thus much easier to get my kids out of their way.  The views from the top of Spokane are pretty good, but the Palisades Loop Trail still has the best views of Spokane.  However, Beacon Hill does have great views of Spokane Valley and overall the views from the summit is worth the short hike.