Hikes in Washington: The Liberty Lake Loop Trail

Basic Information

• Name: The Liberty Lake Loop Trail
• Where: Liberty Lake, Washington
• Distance: 8.5 miles
• Maximum Elevation: 3,343 feet
• Elevation Gain: 1,473 feet
• Time: 3.5 – 4.5 hours
• Difficulty: Moderate
• More Information: Day Hike! Spokane, Coeur d’Alene, and Sandpoint

Google Earth Map of the Trail

Elevation Map

Directions

The trailhead for this hike is located at the Liberty Lake Regional Park.  To get there take 1-90 east from Spokane to Liberty Lake.  Get off the interstate at the Liberty Lake Road exit.  Take Liberty Lake Road south until it intersects with Sprague Ave.  Make a left here and follow Sprague until it turns into Neyland Ave.  Stay on Neyland until this road changes names once again to Lakeside Road.  This road will lead into Liberty Lake Regional Park where it is simply a matter of following the signs to the trailhead parking lot.

Parking

There is a parking lot at the trailhead that can possibly hold 30 vehicles.  If the lot is full there is other parking available in other areas of the Liberty Lake Regional Park.

The Liberty Lake Trail is accessed just below the parking lot:

Narrative

One of the longer hikes in the Spokane region is the Liberty Lake Loop Trail.  From the trailhead it is 8.5 miles roundtrip with the major highlight being views of Liberty Creek Falls.  The trail begins just below the trailhead parking lot where a nice stage in the Liberty Creek Regional Park can be seen:

From the stage I followed the trail south and further into the park:

I soon found myself walking by a wetland region that feeds into Liberty Lake:

I continued to follow the signs that led towards the loop trail portion of the hike:

I next found myself walking through the caravan park that was packed with campers the day I did this hike:

At the far end of the campground I came to the start of the loop trail:

Here there is a map that displays the various trails that run through this area.  There are many side trails, but the main Liberty Lake Loop Trail is well marked:

After checking out the signboard and continued up the trail where I had views of the wetlands and nearby hills:

The trail then entered into a thick forest:

Throughout this hike trail markers like this were placed making it easy to stay on the main trail:

As I continued down the trail there were signboards posted that provided information about the plants and animals

Signs of beaver activity could be seen all along this section of the trail:

I next came to where I could either go left or right to complete the loop portion of the trail.  I went straight ahead towards the Camp Hughes Cabin which was 2.9 miles away:

After the junction the trail then crossed its first of many bridges:

I soon crossed an even larger bridge:

The trail next came to where I could stay on the Liberty Creek Trail or the Split Creek Trail.  I stayed on the Liberty Creek Trail, but both trails lead to the same location:

Liberty Creek would be my companion during the entirety of this section of the hike until I got to the Camp Hughes Cabin:

Even when I was hiking through the thick forest I could hear the creek flowing nearby:

The next landmark along the trail was the Liberty Creek Cedar Grove:

The cedar trees here are quite large and some of the biggest trees seen during this hike:

The creek side location of the Cedar Grove also makes for a nice place to take a break at:

From the Cedar Grove the trail then crosses another bridge and then begins a steep ascent up the hill side:

Here is a view of the creek from the bridge:

The steep ascent is done through multiple switchbacks:

On one of the switchbacks the best view of the entire hike opens up where Liberty Lake down below can be seen:

There is even a view of the 5,883 foot Mt. Spokane in the distance as well:

I made sure to enjoy the view because it is the only panoramic view from the entire hike.  The Liberty Lake Loop Trail has few views due to the surrounding trees and the views available are mostly of the hills in nearby Idaho:

The trail next came to another bridge that crossed by Liberty Creek Falls:

The Liberty Creek Falls in my opinion is the real highlight of this hike:

There is also an old signboard at the falls that has another trail map:

At the falls make sure to not follow the trail that has a tree that has fallen on it:

Take a right and follow the trail that leads passed the waterfall instead to say on the correct trail:

As the trail ascends above the waterfall you will soon come to an even prettier waterfall:

Here is a closer look at this waterfall:

The trail next came to a bridge that crosses over the creek just above this waterfall:

Here is the view from the bridge looking down towards the waterfall:

As I approached the Camp Hughes Cabin I spotted this sign at a major trail junction:

The Camp Hughes Cabin is located just a short distance from the trail junction:

The cabin though is not really a cabin and instead a building made from metal sheets:

The cabin was apparently restored back in 2010 and it is in desperate need for someone to restore it again because it is trashed:

The cabin has been left open which means it has been vandalized and very dirty:

I recommend anyone thinking of camping out up here to bring a tent because I do recommend sleeping in this mess of a cabin:

I did not spend much time at the cabin and instead headed back to the trail junction.  From the junction I followed the trail downward back to the trailhead:

The 4.5 miles back to the trailhead was almost entirely down hill:

Along the way I had a few views of the hills in nearby Idaho:

The trail at the bottom of the valley leveled out and I reached another major trail junction:

This junction also had this large wooden wall which I think may be used for rappel training:

I then crossed over another bridge for the final time during this hike:

From here it was a simple walk back to the trailhead parking lot.  Along the way I spotted the water tower on the top of the hill at the Saltese Uplands I had hiked the previous weekend:

Conclusion

The Liberty Lake Loop Trail is one of the longest hikes in the Spokane region and has a respectable 1,400+ elevation gain.  Because of the distance and elevation gain I do not recommend this hike for most young kids.  A hike just to the cedar grove though would make for a fun hike for young kids.  This loop hike is best for people who like walks in the forest and waterfall views since there are very few panoramic views to be seen from the trail.  Overall this hike is well worth checking out if you don’t mind a long hike with limited views.