This hike happened by happenstance…read more A friend and I were supposed to go up to Horseshoe Prairie (http://www.yelp.com/biz/horseshoe-prairie-nordic-ski-area-pendleton) for snowshoeing, but unfortunately, I let my friend drive and he was a little too confident about his car's snowy-road-handling ability. After spinning tires a time or two, we canned our fun-in-the-snow plans, turned around, and slid down the hill to civilization. While picking up chocolates at Petite Noirs (http://www.yelp.com/biz/petits-noirs-milton-freewater), the owner mentioned a nearby hike. To not make the day a total loss, we were all ears, and went for it. Just off of main street in Milton Freewater, you take the turn off for Harris Park (as you're driving south out of town, it'll be the left BEFORE you take the hill up and out of town). You then drive about 10 miles up a canyon carved by the South Fork of the Walla Walla River. This canyon is part of the Blue Mountains, and it's amazing to see how quickly the landscape changes from the drabby flatness of Milton-Freewater to the alpine-y beauty of the Blues & Walla Walla river. Once you're in the area of the park, keep going until you approach the trailhead for the South Fork Walla Walla River trail. Here there are quite a few parking spots, a couple of restrooms and river bubbles within earshot. You are clearly outside of civilization and within an honest to goodness country landscape. The deep valley is beautiful and the trail looks inviting. For the most part the trail parallels the river. Sometimes it sidetracks and goes up the side of the valley wall, but the river is always within view. The trail is well-kept and nice (other than a few boggy/muddy spots). We went for about 2.5 miles on the trail before calling it a day. We enjoyed sightings of elk at one spot (we later saw herds of deer, turkey, and even a scooting coyote during our dusk drive out). I'm so glad I made it here. I can definitely see myself coming back to dip myself within the magic waters (à la Field of Dreams) and fly fishing the stream (à la A River Runs Through It). I've also heard that you can ride your mountain bike here too---I'd also be down for that! South Fork of the Walla Walla Trail. I will see you again---very, very soon.

This was a great hike with my dog. Very turn their was a beautiful view of the Walla walla River…read more Trail was in decent condition. Plenty of parking at the trailhead.

When I want to play Brad Pitt in A River Runs Through It, I run to the Touchet. It's a small…read morestream, but it's the water I learned to fly fish on. One of my favorite stretches is adjacent to this park. I usually park at the bridge downriver from the park and then wade upriver into the park. Most trout are small, but in some *secret* holes, you can find "hogs". The actual park affords camping, a little hiking, and nice scenery. I've taken my dogs on its trails a few times. Beware though---in late spring/early summer the ticks are in full effect. EEeeeeEEEeeeEE! Just thinkin' of 'em makes me squirm!

This review is only for the camping section of the park. We didn't venture into the day use…read moresection, which was across Route 12. The camping section was adequate - everything you need from a campground. Our site was somewhat level, had a picnic bench and a firepit. When we arrived, the picnic table was filthy, covered in cheese, bread crumbs, and other assorted things. We had to clean the area up before we could proceed with setting up our campsite. That was a bit of a bummer. I get the sensation that there is little oversight of this campground. Our site didn't provide much in the way of privacy, and on a summer weekend when the campground is filled to capacity, you are at the mercy of other campers. Unfortunately for us, the other campers on this weekend were just awful, completely unaware that there were other people who wished a more peaceful environment. There were many large groups on the campsites, and some were much louder than others. We had the distinct pleasure of listening to a 12-year-old boy scream at the top of his vocal capacity that he "likes big butts and cannot lie" for about an hour - after he and his friend had spent the hour previous yelling undistinguishable words and sounds. They were actually less distracting than the large party that went until well after 2am. I thought there were live-in managers, but I never saw a sign of their presence. The bathhouse was acceptable, although I wouldn't call it clean. The women's room ran out of toilet paper by Saturday evening, but it was replenished by 6am Sunday morning. The men's room apparently had no issues with supplies. There are also coin-operated showers, but I did not try to use them. As a final note, the park sits in a little cluster of trees with rolling hills all around. Despite the photos, it is not buried deep in the woods the way a Western Washington campground might be. That is a positive or negative, depending on who you are. However, one problem with the location is that there is some sort of air strip nearby because the same small plane began taking off around 7am Sunday morning and would repeat take offs every 45 minutes or so. That was a bit of a rude awakening for a quiet Sunday morning.

Why is it hard to exercise sometimes?? With the gym, the hardest thing is getting there, but once…read moreyou're there and then finish, you feel heaps better. On Sunday, I went for my first mountain bike ride of the season. I had to put the rack on the car, then I had to drive 70-miles to the trail I had in mind, I had to drive past my favorite bar, and also ignore seeing a movie at the Liberty Theater. So, many things were pulling me away from riding....I was so close to bailing, but I didn't. While going for a ride in the Blue Mountains last season, I passed a dirt road which looked totally enticing: dirt, went up, up, up, and was not very far outside of Dayton. A mental I.O.U. was made. It was time to pay up. First off: the weather was EXQUISITE!! It's amazing how much great weather can elevate the soul. The blues, the greens were so vibrant & pulling--they were orgasmic. I couldn't get my bike off the roof and on to it fast enough. I was off. From the words of Chuck D: "Here it is: BAM! And I say God d*mn! This is a dope jam!" This road hits ya from the gates. It goes vertical within feet (I was sweating within seconds). It was tough, my quads were screaming from the get-go. I was in heaven. The views hit you amazing-fast. You can look down on the Touchet River as it cuts through the valley below. You could start seeing the snow-capped Blue Mountains in the background. Now this part of the country is interesting. You're sort of in between two major environments: rolling & treeless palouse hills and a coniferous pine forest. I actually kind of liked not having many trees around--it affords one huge open views. The views WERE amazing! I didn't get to view 'em too much however, cuz my butt was busy in the saddle biking upward. I still stole views. The road is dirt, but there is also gravel (I assume for erosion protection). I tried to avoid the gravel as much as I could **envisioned biting it on these pointy little rocks**. Most of the time, it looks like the road is flanked by farmland/fields, but I couldn't see anything growing--it was mainly green green grass. I should point out, that it seemed like beer cans served as quarter-mile markers....ahhhh, ya gotta love the rednecks. It took me about an hour to climb up to the top of the valley (about a 1300ft climb and 2.5 miles). As I was thinking of turning around, I heard water streaming and an old decrepit farmhouse peaked at me from the pines in the distance (the pine trees start to appear at the top of the hill). This structure was trippy. Ok, sorry to go Star Wars nerd here, but I couldn't help think of a Sand Crawler. I kept thinking envisioning a glowing-eyed Jawa running around and trying to capture my robotic ass! I spent a good 10 minutes at this old barn/silo (great photo ops here for sure). Then it was back to business. Time for a lightning fast descent. I'm an old timer. Back in the day, I would have barreled down the hill with reckless abandon, but my old age and wisdom makes me wane on speed....a little. I made it down in 10 minutes! So amazing. I felt 17 again (sort of). This was a GREAT ride, and I can't wait to come back. It really does pay to ignore the distractions which try to keep you from exercise. Really, it does!

We took a two hour detour to visit Palousa Falls today and if I could do it over again, I would opt…read morenot to make the drive. The roads are terrible, especially the gravel road leading up to the park. We did not have the Discover Pass so it was a $10 day use fee. There were clean restrooms and a few shaded picnic spots but no cell service. It was too hot to do any real hiking, as the only shade is near the parking lot by the tables, but we did walk to a few different viewpoints. I actually found the rock formations above the falls to be as lovely or perhaps lovloer than the falls. It was a bit underwhelming to me for the amount of effort needed to visit but, but one girl's "meh" is another girl's "wow" so I hope the photos and information are helpful to anyone trying to decide whether to make the voyage.

Palouse Falls State Park blew me away with its thunderous 198-foot cascade plunging into the…read moreancient basalt canyon--springtime rainbows danced in the mist during my April visit, while golden grasslands framed the scene perfectly. Short, easy trails from the parking lot offered jaw-dropping overlooks, picnic spots hummed with families, and spotting marmots added delight. Remote drive? Totally rewarding--nature's masterpiece!

This beautiful state park is not too terribly far from Palouse Falls State Park heading east. While…read morenot nearly as dramatic as Palouse Falls this park is worth stopping at. It's situated on a bend of the Snake River which is very scenic. Tall railroad bridges also add an enhanced effect here as you drop down into this area out of the hills. Walking paths are great here as you can walk along a soil "jetty" to get in some good exercise. The grassy part of the park near the parking area is great to stroll through and there is a river beach to utilize on very hot days. Definitely worth stopping at if you are driving through and have the time to enjoy the scenery!

Beautiful area but it was closed to the public. It looks to have water for fishing,boating and…read moreother water activities. Picnic and other forms of frolic can be had.

Ok, ok, I didn't really hike this trail, and I reckon I won't be able to until next June (it will…read morebe snowed in till then), but we tried to hike it, darn it!! Yes, for a first date, I chose a hike. Unfortunately, there were a few issues (which weren't the trail's fault): 1) Getting to the trail head is a bit of a drive. Yes, it takes about 1hr (from Tri-Cities) to get to the first dirt road, but after that, you have something like another hour of dirt road driving. 2) We picked a day with questionable weather. As we were approaching the Blues (i.e. The Blue Mountains), we were accompanied by some dark ominous clouds. So yeah, for much of the dirt road driving, we had some precipitation. 3) It was hard to find the trailhead. The place I loaded on my gps was a wrong location. Lucky, we ran into some campers/hunters, and they were able to sorta point us in the right direction. For the record, I'm pretty sure the have the correct location on this Yelp page. So, the place goes by several names: Mt. Misery Trailhead, Teepee Campground, Oregon Butte Trail, etc. I think they are all here. We originally came here in search of the Oregon Butte, and the Fire Lookout on top of the Butte. But as I said, the weather was dreary, we drove a ways...and it was a first date!! I didn't want to get us further lost, all muddy, and I really didn't want to my date to think I was a total outdoors loser...which I can be sometimes, as many can attest. At any rate, the forest of the Blues is far different from the Cascades. You don't have huge mountains & great views. The terrain here is frankly boring, but I do have to say at this trailhead the scenery looked nice. There was a nice big valley that we overlooked, and the thought of a Fire Lookout also sounded cool. Well, all of this work was recon for our next "real" attempt. The drive out here is interesting. During the drive we came across several springs (they had troughs at them, for horses I reckon). At the Trailhead, there is a Northwest Forest Pass requirement ($5). This hike is recommended from June - Oct.

The terrain here is unique to ride. The ancient riverbed makes for a course feel to the sand. Mixed…read morewith the various plants, very manageable, even on a smaller motorcycle. The open bowl areas have deeper sand. Not too many huge razorbacks that could be hazardous. Good spot right after a light rain.

Yes, I came close to murdering my dogs on this hike, and I had visions of cool watery mirages while…read morethinking I could easily suffer from dehydration and forever lose myself within the maze of dunes ad nauseum, but I still have to give this place 5-stars! --I can't blame Juniper Dunes for MY being ill-prepared. --I can't blame Juniper Dunes for a wonderful spring day (first 80+degF day of the year) which gave me a sunburn. --I can't blame Juniper Dunes for my packing one measly bottle of water to be shared amongst the three of us animals (my two dogs & I). --And I can't blame Juniper Dunes for being so cool as to make you want to keep hiking & hiking & hiking & hiking Juniper Dunes Wilderness is such a cool desert-y treasure, and it's less than an hours drive from the Tri-Cities. I don't know the whole political backstory of the area, but I do know it's been a bit elusive. The land is a protected Federal wilderness area. However, it's virtually surrounded by private land--this makes access a bit touchy. All the trips I've made here have been via the northern trailhead. The best way to get here from the Tri-Cities is to take the Pasco-Kahlotus Highway east (check out the google map on here). The drive out is through farmlands. During my recent drive I saw Asparagus was being harvested (mmm!), an old single-room school, and also several of the biggest mailboxes I've ever seen (musta been a farm thing--I should have snapped a photo of 'em). You take a gravel road as your almost near the trailhead, and then approach a nice Welcome sign for the area (see attached). The trailhead is near paddock for cows, so the moo-moo's will definitely check you out as you approach. You will also see a nice sign with rules about the Wilderness (for those using this access point)---the main thing to note is that this entrance is only open from March - May. Since this is a protected area (it's fenced all-around), a really good thing is that you won't see any of those pesky off-road vehicles in here--none of their scarring tracks or piercing howls. Within about 5-10min of hiking one will quickly escape the drudgery of farmlands, cows and tractors and be enveloped by silent sandy beauty. There is quite a bit of vegetation, but the sand dunes are clearly evident. The sand workout you get will slap you upside the face quick. You will also begin to see your first Junipers (this area is known for having the northernmost grove of Juniper pines). This is a rough hike, but it's so worth it. Now if you were more prepared, you'd have a really good time. For me, I spent half the time worrying about rationing our water pathetic single bottle of water. My furry friends were too furry and thirsty to make a trudge like this. I felt like such a bad poppa as they were struggling toward the end of the hike. But yeah, it's a really cool hike. You are surrounded by farmland, but as you dip up and down sand dunes you quickly forget civilization in the silence. In April there were many types of wildflowers in bloom--think of pinks, bright purples, & golden yellows. There was also something which emitted the sweetest aroma---I wish I could bottle it! All in all a great hike! * BRING WATER * PUT ON SUN TAN LOTION * BE PREPARED FOR A SANDY WORKOUT * MAYBE LEAVE DOGGIES HOME * YOU ONLY HAVE FROM MARCH - MAY **** And most importantly: HAVE FUN OUT THERE! ****

The gravel parking lot is right off the side of the road, and I originally drove past it without…read morerealizing that was the lot. So, I had to turn around and drive back, which was slightly nerve-wracking as the highway has some twists and turns that make it difficult to tell if there is oncoming traffic. On the plus side, there seems to be plenty of room for parking, and we were the only ones there. There's a sign detailing the legend of the twin sisters, and then there's a short but steep trail to the base of the rocks. Great place to stretch your legs!

Beautiful site. Easy trail. A bit more difficult incline. Enjoyed it. Turning off the road was not…read moreas difficult as they say. Just prepare ahead of time warning drivers behind you. Several people did come flying in like bats out of hell but there is no need for that.

Nestled within the elbow of the mighty Columbia as it makes its last dash Pacific-ward are the…read moreFinley Hills Trails. This area is known as the Wallula Gap & you are gifted with views of this natural wonder....after you ride through some sandy, desolate, and sweat-inducing trails (that can sometimes have a rattler or few). So, I have looked at this area from afar (by car when heading down to Walla Walla, or by train window when going to Portland), and have always loved the terrain. Here, the Columbia cuts through what must have once day been a mountain, and now we're left with a mini-canyon with high walls. I always assumed the views from atop these walls must be awesome, and they are. Getting here is a short jaunt from the Tri-Cities, and yes, you do drive through Finley (it's not that scary, actually). Most of the drive is paved save for the last mile. There's an area to park your car (it isn't marked, but the Yelp Map should give ya a good idea). Once parked, cross the road you were just on and make your way through the gate/fence. Then you're in. There's the main road/trail here. I heard there is atleast one single track you can also take here if you take an immediate left, but it wasn't illuminated to me (grasses overtook it methinks). At any rate, just follow the road. The riding is decent, but it does get sandy in parts. If it's windy (which is frequently on the menu at the Wallula Gap), you will wish you had a mask like Darth Vader. I rode a few miles and saw no other bikers, but did see people on horseback. I was frequently on the lookout for rattlesnakes. It was a hot day, and my friend mentioned they also like this area (I never came across a single one). After a tough arduous workout, I spied some sort of Tower (probably cellular) and made my way toward it. Here is reward for all the pain and suffering. This is a perch with the views to make memories. Here you can see Mr. Columbia's elbow. You're going to be high up along cliff's so don't be too daring. It's a bit rocky here, too, so mind your knees and don't do the falling thing. This is what made it all worth it. Great views, great views, great views. Next time, I'd probably try this during a less windy and earlier in the season (to avoid the dryness factor). But all in all, a new local biking option has been found.