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.

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! ****

A great place to Wander…read more Tip#1: If you're using Google Maps to find this place, simply put in "Yellepit", and it will get you there. On the sunny Saturday that I visited, sleepy tumbleweeds lined Ayers Road, the gravel stretch that ultimately leads to the trailhead. Admittedly, it was alarming to come over a hill to see an armed man standing in the road facing me, but he, his rifle, and the other men, were there for some shooting fun. Not too far past them, was the end of the road - or rather, a closed, barbed wire gate. There's only space for about 2 parked cars to the right of the road, by the fence. I was the third, so just parked as far on the side as I could. Tip #2: Climb (carefully) OVER the barbed wire fence. Just to the left of the opening, is a good place to do this. Do not (as I did), try to open the gate. It's easy to open - it nearly literally flies open -- the barbed wire and wooden planks eager to return to their at-ease positions, and is notably much less easy to close/reassemble. I felt very, very, "city" when this happened, and I struggled for a few minutes to amend the situation. Tip #3: See Tip #2 for the following 2 barbed-wire fences you'll encounter. I crossed paths with very few people along the way, and none seemed to have a true plan of action. A couple gentlemen I encountered had been out, wandering the cow trails, and told me to just carve my own path, be wary of the drop-offs. Tip #4: Be comfortable with unclear directions, unmarked pathways, and changes-in-plan. Or perhaps, don't do this hike. I ended up on cow-trails myself, learning a bit about their dexterity along the narrow stretches. I was impressed! In any case, I missed whatever direction would have led me to the Mound Pond Overlook, which had been my goal, but still discovered worthy vistas and a very peaceful area to spend the afternoon. At one point, I was startled to happen upon two cars, on a bluff, that appeared to have fallen from a cliff above - perhaps in the 70s/80s(?). It's not really something you expect to encounter when wandering cow trails high above the Columbia. It was a gorgeous afternoon - and once I got far enough away from the makeshift gun range, it was also peaceful. This is a great hiking area if you are: 1. Comfortable with general wandering 2. Not afraid of armed people shooting nearby 3. Directionally sound enough to find your way back to your car, once you've been wandering around 4. Love and appreciate views of the Columbia River 5. Comfortable with wandering cows Final Tip: Check out the wta.org site for more trail info. This ultimately *still* didn't get me to where I wanted to be, but was helpful, nevertheless.

These trails aren't just for winter sports. I've made it here during the summer to take my…read moremountain bike for a ride. I parked at the Sno-Park Parking lot where one would go during the winter months. Here you have a couple of dirt roads to choose from for off-road options. I decided to do some climbing and went for NFD Rd 64--to get to this road from the parking lot, ride your bike further up the valley a few hundred yards (their's a trail), and then take right. This road is fairly nice. There are lots of rock on it, but no potholes. It is a fairly uphill jaunt from the get-go. As I was approaching the top of the valley, I eyed a side road. The sign on it said (6400 500), so I don't know which is the name of the road, but I decided to take it, because it looked tiny and way less traveled (in fact it was closed to motorized vehicles). Nice. Yeah, this trail ended up being the high-point of the day. It wasn't single track, but it was close. I must admit I had the willies when I saw a half-eaten deer leg within the first minute of climbing (the rest of the ride I kept thinking of the cougar, bear, or zombie which was eyeing me from the bushes as I rode by). I love to climb. I love burning my quads like Hades. It felt good to be riding. Unfortunately, this side road only lasted a little bit before I made it up to the top of the ridge/mountain. Here this trail ties back up with one of the major dirt roads again. There are some decent views here. I then took the little road downhill. Man, I'm must be a total old fogie, because wow---I think I rode the breaks the entire way down! The road was steep, and I hit some high speeds within seconds. There were also rocks to watch out for as well. In other words, I rode it like an old person (which I am I suppose). But it was fun. It's the kind of fun, where you just have to yell with abandon (I think I did a few times--with a smile). These trails are definitely good for snow activities, and I'd say they are decent for bike riding. I don't know if I'd come here to do some straight-up hiking though. I'd save the Cascades for that. NOTE: Be careful on this road in the winter. This is the infamous scene of where my truck and my crew rolled down a mountain just over a year ago!

This review is for one of the Big Sheep Creek trails accessed by the NF-100 road off Wallowa…read moreMountain Road (Loop). First off, Eagle Cap is a fabulous wilderness area. I love it and after this first time experience, we'll be back. That said, our hiking adventure was shorter than we'd planned because the creeks were still too high to allow all the several crossings necessary to do the several miles in that we wanted. We were too early in the season (late May). But we did get 2.6 miles of hiking in and enjoyed every bit of it. Fantastic scenery. The access road wasn't too bad even in a Toyota Corolla, although we were stopped by snow a few hundred yards short of the trailhead, Not that many critters, though. Highly recommended.

Nestled in the far northeast corner of Oregon lies a magical land of awe-inspiring mountain peaks,…read morealpine lakes filled with jumping trout, beautifully vibrant meadows, and miles upon miles of trails. This place doesn't get the love & press of it's northern neighbor, The Enchantments (Washington's Cascadian alpine wonderland), but I would argue this outdoor area is just as good....or dare I say: better? [[[[bracing myself for tomatoes and trash to be thrown at me]]]] OK, I'm only saying it's "better" because it's in more of a remote area (so less traffic), and you don't need to worry about measuring your luck with a permit lottery (it's probably not needed due to less traffic). So this place is definitely more approachable. The Eagle Cap Wilderness is a huge area (almost 600 square miles). It's still new to me, but in 2015, I had the pleasure of spending two trips up here, one in July & the other in Sept. It is an expansive area, but I would say, obviously enough, that Eagle Cap peak is the hub of the area. From Eagle Cap, you have spokes of mountain ranges and river valleys. There are several approaches to get you from lower elevations to the alpine region around Eagle Cap. For my first experience, we went for a less-traveled approach from the south: Eagle Creek Valley. The solitude here is surely something I daydream about, but I would have to say the 4th of July weekend has some brutally hot weather--especially when hiking uphill. We camped one night in this valley and made it over Horton Pass to a camp up in the alpine area for a couple of nights. While at Horton Pass, I took a side trip up to summit Eagle Cap. The views here were life-changing. MOSQUITO HEAVEN: July in Eagle Cap Wilderness was hot and there were mosquitoes up the ying yang! It as pretty unbearable. I slept in a bivy sack, and I cooked in it as the mosquitoes tried stealing my blood as they peered in at me through the face screen. Sleep was tough. But during the day, it was great to have day hikes around the area, jump in clear & cold lakes and to also wet a fly while pursuing trout. Fall is my preference though. In September we did an approach from the north and hiked up the East Lostine River Valley. Once you get above 5000, there is a long glacial valley which is just about the most beautiful place I've ever seen. Hiking this valley was surreal. The peaceful stream, the beautiful color of the vegetation, and Eagle Cap looking over us the whole time: perfect hiking! There's no mosquitoes at all, but the days are short. The weather is a little chilly, so no chance of taking a dip in the Lostine River. But it was pretty nice. The Lostine River approach is also an easier hike, too. You don't have to hike over a mountain pass. And you can pretty much get up to the alpine area after a few hours of hiking.

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.

Badger Mountain has the best trails in the tri-cities area, with multiple trails around Badger…read moreMountain for beautiful views of eastern Washington. Anyone who likes hiking would be a fool to not hike around Badger Mountain while in the area. We had an awesome time here! My partner and I visited Badger Mountain for some hiking and and followed Google Maps to the trailhead that took us through an affluent part of the neighborhood of Richland that's high up in the mountains. Unlike in the Seattle area of popular trails, there was parking to be found during a Sunday afternoon in the lot. At the lot, there was a map of various trails, dog poop bags and off to the side was a small playground area with bathrooms and a water fountain. My partner and I hiked the Canyon Trail with our dog, which gets you to the top of Badger Mountain. Friends of Badger Mountain, which maintains the trails did a fantastic job with creating trails and there are even stairs in the beginning part of the hike to climb. The hike was easy for those who are used to hiking, but provides a good workout as it's not a stroll in the park. At the top of Badger Mountain is a bench and you can see beautiful views of the city and eastern and central Washington. And since there are multiple trails that connect to one another, I recommend taking one trail up and the descending on another trail for more views. Just remember that there is no shade coverage here, so be prepared. Great hike!

The playground area is a perfect age entire while the littles wait for others to hike the mountain!…read more It is clean and green!

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!

This is a relatively short, easy hike. It can be tricky to find and easy to miss so make sure you…read morefollow the directions on the website. There are a couple of small signs at the trail head. The hike itself is a little overgrown at certain points but nothing you can't get through. I wouldn't bring young children here though. Watch out for the stinging nettles! My boyfriend and I made the mistake of wearing shorts and we kept getting stung. My legs still ache a little. The bottom of the hike is pretty bushy and shady but the top leads to a nice hill with wild flowers, views of the wheat fields, and a great vantage point to view the surrounding area. We didn't see any wildlife besides a few birds (which were chirping beautifully throughout the hike). If you're looking for a simple place to go and relax, you should give it a try! It's now maintained by the Palouse Clearwater Environmental Institute--remember to keep it clean! There's a cute little guest book about 10-15 minutes into the trail where the actual PCEI sign is.

This place is a birding Mecca in the spring. I counted 21 species in an hour and still had a few…read morecalls I could not recognize. Well maintained trails. Quiet venue except for oodles of singing birds! Leashed pups only, please, for good reason.