Hikes in Washington: The Amber Lake Trail

Basic Information

• Name: Amber Lake Trail
• Where: Columbia Plateau State Park
• Distance: 1.4 miles
• Max Elevation: 2,230 feet
• Elevation Gain: 85 feet
• Time: 1 hour or less
• Difficulty: Easy
• More Information: Day Hike! Spokane, Coeur d’Alene, and Sandpoint

Google Earth 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.  During the winter months the lake sees very few visitors.  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

Eastern Washington is filled with many lakes to explore that were created by the Ice Age Floods that occurred about 15,000 years ago.  One of these lakes created by these mega-floods that can be easily visited from outside of Cheney is Amber Lake.  It was a cold winter day so my kids and I decided to do a short hike on the Columbia Plateau Trail that skirts the lake.  The trail is extremely flat and level due to being a rails-to-trails project.  This makes this hike perfect for anyone with young kids like I have.

About a half mile down the trail there is a park bench that is a great place to take a break and enjoy views of Amber Lake.  During our break we enjoyed watching a bald eagle fight with some smaller birds on the lake:

As my kids took a break and watched the various birds flying around the lake, I took out my DJI Mavic 2 Zoom – Drone. This first picture shows the Columbia Plateau Trail looking back towards the trailhead for this hike:

This next photo shows the Columbia Plateau Trail continuing to travel north towards the Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge.  The picture also shows how water enters Amber Lake from the wetlands spread across the refuge:

I then flew my drone further north along the trail. The thick forest in the distance is where the trail enter the Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge and in the distance the 5,883 foot Mt. Spokane can be seen as well:

Looking towards the northwest I could see the small hills near Medical Lake way out in the distance:

I then flew my drone south back towards Amber Lake:

I then used my drone to get a look at the small island with a lone pine tree on it on the north side of the lake:

I then flew further south above the lake:

I then flew by the main parking lot and boat ramp for the lake:

Off in the distance towards the southeast I could see Steptoe Butte:

I could also see how the forests of Eastern Washington transitions into the Palouse Hills:

I then flew the drone back to the north side of the lake where I landed it and packed it in my bag:

We used the bench as our turn around point and then hiked back to the trailhead.  Once at the trailhead we then walk down the boat ramp.  At the boat ramp my kids had fun throwing rocks into the water and breaking the thin ice that covered some areas of Amber Lake.  After that we returned to the parking lot to conclude what had been a short, but fun hike on a cold Eastern Washington afternoon:

Conclusion

This short walk along the Amber Lake section of the Columbia Plateau Trail is a great walk to take any time of the year.  The trail is wide and flat and very kid friendly.  There are always birds to see at this lake, especially in the spring time and is a popular spot for fishing.  Plus the drive from Spokane is a scenic one.  Definitely worth taking an afternoon to explore this nice area of the Spokane region.