Physical challenges don't have to limit your 'hiking' in Eastern Washington

People with physical disabilities have more opportunities than ever to explore and enjoy the outdoors in the Tri-Cities and the Mid-Columbia region.

There are numerous chances for those who need to walk slow, be on flat, paved or hard surfaces, or use a wheelchair.

Accessibility is an important objective that has received considerable emphasis in national, state, county and city parks in Oregon and Washington.

Still, not all facilities that are identified are accessible under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Most of the trails identified can be used for walking, biking, inline skating, cross country skiing and are wheelchair accessible for most of the year. Some will be closed for the winter.

Here’s a list of more than two dozen places covering over 250 miles of accessible trails in Eastern Washington and Oregon you may or may not have heard about where you can enjoy the outdoors in a wheelchair:

Richland Bypass Shelterbelt Trail

Length: 4.8 miles

Trail end points: Wellsian Way at Aaron Drive and Spengler Street

Trail surface: Asphalt

Columbia Riverfront Trail (Leslie Groves and Howard Amon Park)

Length: 7 miles

Trail end points: Port of Benton Blvd. and Richardson Rd., and Columbia Point Marina Park at Columbia Point Dr. and Interstate 182/Highway 12

Trail surface: Asphalt

Sacajawea Heritage Trail (Kennewick & Pasco)

Length: 23 miles

Trail end points: Columbia Point Marina Park at I-182/Highway 12 (Richland) and Sacajawea State Park at Sacajawea Park Rd. (Pasco)

Trail surface: Asphalt

Keene Road Trail

Length: 6 miles

Trail end points: South Highlands Boulevard and Bellerive Drive

Trail surface: Asphalt

Palouse Falls State Park

Length: 0.25 mile

Trail end points: From the parking lot, there is a quarter-mile paved trail to a view of the falls.

Trail surface: Asphalt

Catherine Creek State Park

Length: 1.5 miles

Trail point ends: From Bingen, drive east about 4.5 miles on Highway 14. Turn left onto Old Highway 8 (County Road 1230) and drive 1.5 miles to the parking lot for Catherine Creek, on the north side of the road. The trailhead can be found on the south side of the road.

Trail surface: Asphalt

Riverfront Trail at The Dalles

Length: 9 miles

Trail end points: SE corner of the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center parking lot at Discovery Dr. and The Dalles Dam at I-84/Highway 30

Trail surfaces: Asphalt, Concrete

Trout Lake Natural Area Preserve

Length: 0.25 miles

Trail end points: From Highway 14 on the Columbia River, turn north onto Highway 141 to the city of White Salmon. Continue north along the White Salmon River to the town of Trout Lake, about 24 miles. The preserve lies just north of the town and may be accessed by turning north on Lake Road from Highway 141.

Trail surface: Dirt

Clear Lake Falls (Naches)

Length: 0.5 miles

Trail end points: From Naches, travel west on Highway 12 for 31 miles. Turn left onto Forest Road 1200 / Tieton Reservoir Rd. and follow for 2.6 miles. Look for Clear Lake Day Use sign. If you take the west entrance to the Tieton Road, you'll go past Camp Dudley and follow to day use sign.

Clear Creek Falls Overlook

Length: 0.1 mile

Trail end point: From Naches, travel west on Highway 12 for 36.5 miles. Entrance to overlook is on the south side of highway. Entrance to overlook is on the south side of highway. Viewpoint is wheelchair accessible.

Trail Surface: Asphalt

Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument

Location: Castle Rock

Length: Several miles of accessible trails

Paved trails include the one-mile fine-gravel/boardwalk Silver Lake loop trail next to the Mount St. Helens Visitor Center; the 1.3-mile round-trip trail to Meta Lake; .25-mile round-trip trail to Coldwater Lake; and the .3-mile Coldwater Ridge loop trail.

Mount Rainier National Park (Longmire and Paradise)

Length: Limited

There are short paved flat paths near the Paradise Visitor Center, and some trails will be steep although accessible with assistance. Part of the Trail of the Shadows at Longmire is also accessible with assistance.

Gold Creek Pond (Snoqualmie Pass at Hyak)

Distance: 1.0 mile

Trail Type: Paved

Yakima Greenway

Length: 22.9 miles

Trail end points: Naches Train Depot, E. Valley Mall Blvd. and I-82 (Union Gap)

Trail surface: Asphalt

Powerhouse Canal Pathway (Yakima)

Length: 2.7 miles

Trail end points: Chesterley Park and McGuinness Park

Trail surface: Asphalt

Lower Yakima Valley Pathway

Length: 14 miles

Trail end points: Yakima Valley Hwy. at Mid Valley Mall (Sunnyside) and Wine Country Rd. at Yakima River (Prosser)

Trail surface: Asphalt

Enchantment Park (Leavenworth)

Distance: 2 miles or less

Trail end points: Network of trails along the Wenatchee River that start in downtown Leavenworth.

Trail surface: packed dirt

Icicle Gorge Loop Trail (Leavenworth)

Length: 3.9 miles

Trail end points: From Leavenworth, head southwest on Highway-2 W for 0.8 miles. Then turn left onto Icicle Road / Forest Road 7600 and follow for about 15 miles. Trailhead is signed and is on the left. The loop is a scenic valley-bottom trail, which follows through old-growth timber, has easy grades along both sides of Icicle Creek with educational interpretive signs located at regular intervals along the length of the trail.

Apple Capital Recreation Loop Trail (Wenatchee)

Length: 10 miles (loop goes along sides of the Columbia River)

Trail end points: 9th St. NE (E. Wenatchee) and US 2/97 (Sunnyslope)

Trail surfaces: Asphalt, Concrete

Columbia Plateau Trail State Park (Rail-Trail that goes through Adams, Franklin, Lincoln, Spokane, and Whitman counties)

Length: 130 miles

Trail end points: Fish Lake (Cheney) and Ice Harbor Dam (near Pasco)

Trail surfaces: Asphalt, Ballast, Crushed Stone, Dirt, Grass, Gravel

Greenbelt Trail (Lewiston)

Length: 7 miles

Trail end points: Granite Lake Park at Port Way (Clarkston) and Chief Looking Glass Park at Riverside Dr./SR 129 just east of Clemans Road (Asotin)

Trail surfaces: Asphalt, Concrete

Lewis and Clark Commemorative Trail (Umatilla)

Length: 7.3 miles

Trail end points: Warehouse Beach on Landing Rd. (Hermiston) and McNary Beach on Beach Access Rd.

Trail surface: Gravel

Columbia River Heritage Trail (Boardman, Ore.)

Length: 3 miles

Trail end points: Boardman Marina Park and Marine Drive NE

Trail surfaces: Asphalt

Pendleton River Parkway (Pendleton, Ore.)

Length: 2.5 miles

Trail end points: Trailhead Park at Westgate Pl. and Umatilla River between SE Byers Ave. and SE Court Pl.

Trail surface: Asphalt

Deschutes River Railbed Trail (Biggs, Ore.)

Length: 17 miles

Trail end points: Deschutes River State Recreation Area at SR 206/Biggs-Rufus Hwy. (Wasco) and near Macks Canyon Campground (Grass Valley)

Trail surfaces: Dirt, Gravel

Ginkgo Petrified Forest (Vantage)

Length: 0.25 miles

Trail end points: Interpretive center wheelchair-accessible, trail is two miles away.

Trail Surface: Dirt, Gravel

Pleasant Valley Interpretative Trail

Length: 1.0 miles trail

Trail end points: Loop goes along the American River leaves from the Pleasant Valley Campground

Trail surface: Asphalt

Boulder Cave (Naches)

Length: 0.75 miles

Trail end points: Boulder Cave Picnic Area Day Use Parking Lot

Trail surface: Asphalt

This story was originally published June 24, 2018 at 11:12 AM with the headline "Physical challenges don't have to limit your 'hiking' in Eastern Washington."