Rail-Trails Pacific Northwest: The Definitive Guide to Multiuse Trails in Idaho, Oregon & Washington

by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

Overview

Explore 65 of the best rail-trails and other multiuse pathways in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.

All across the country, unused railroad corridors have been converted into public multiuse trails. Level and accessible, these paths are ideal for a brisk fitness walk, bike ride, or stroll with the family. In Rail-Trails Pacific Northwest, the experts from Rails-to-Trails Conservancy present the best of these routes, as well as other multiuse pathways, in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. Many rail-trails are paved and run within view of the most scenic parts of town. Others offer rugged scenery on ungroomed, mostly dirt, and somewhat wild paths.

In Idaho, coast along the Route of the Hiawatha, a 15-mile scenic trail through the Bitterroot Mountains, featuring tunnels and trestles. Meander through lush forest and across 13 bridges on Oregon’s Banks-Vernonia State Trail. Find the country’s longest rail-trail in Washington: the Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail, spanning more than 200 miles (and growing). Whether you’re on feet or wheels, you’ll love the variety in this collection of multiuse trails that cover many hundreds of miles across three beautiful states!

“You can now throw away all your self-help books on fighting depression, losing weight, toning muscles, finding something to do with your kids, and learning American history. Just use this guide, find a great trail—and enjoy!”
—Peter Harnik, Director, Center for City Park Excellence, Trust for Public Land

Inside you’ll find:

• Informative descriptions written by rail-trail experts
• Detailed maps for every featured trail
• GPS coordinates of parking waypoints
• Icons indicating the activities that each trail accommodates
• Information you can rely on from the official guide to rail-trails

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781643591179
Publisher:	Wilderness Press
Publication date:	05/20/2025
Series:	Rail-Trails
Edition description:	2nd Revised ed.
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy is a nationwide nonprofit dedicated to converting former railroad corridors to public, multiuse recreational trails that offer easy access to runners, hikers, bicyclists, skaters, wheelchair users, and equestrians. It serves as the national voice for more than 160,000 members and supporters, more than 23,000 miles of open rail-trails across the country, and more than 8,000 miles of potential trails waiting to be built—with a goal of ensuring a better future for America made possible by trails and the connections they inspire.

Read an Excerpt

Cascade Trail

County: Skagit
Endpoints: Polte Road at Coffman Ln. (Sedro-Woolley) to S. Dillard Ave. (Concrete)
Mileage: 22.5
Roughness Index: 2
Surface: Crushed Stone, Gravel

The 22.5-mile Cascade Trail—boasting 12 benches, 23 trestles, and two bridges made from repurposed rail cars—follows the Skagit River as it parallels WA 20 into the Cascade foothills of northwest Washington (ending in Concrete). The trail, completed in 1999, claims its origins from the Great Northern Railway, which transported lumber and concrete during the 20th century. The mostly crushed-stone pathway runs through cultivated fields, open space, scattered woodlands, and river bottoms. The nearby river provides for some great fishing and nice river views, as well as scenic vistas of Sauk Mountain and other Cascade Range peaks.

You can start the trail in the outskirts of Sedro-Woolley at the Fruitdale Road intersection. A portable toilet is available at the trailhead. Here, you’ll have the option of heading west for 1 mile of paved trail or east for 22 miles of crushed rock. After you’ve passed mile 14 and Lusk Road, consider heading south approximately 1 mile to the 169-acre Rasar State Park, a beautiful location for fishing, camping, and eagle spotting.

As you continue along the trail, note the beautiful backdrops of the region. Expect a couple detours; a little less than three-quarters of the way in, the trail diverts at Baker Lake Road onto a bridge walkway along WA 20, crosses Grandy Creek, and returns via Bird Dog Lane.

The trail ends at Concrete Senior Center (after passing concrete silos and crossing E Avenue). You’ll find restrooms and water here. Cross the historic Henry Thompson Bridge, one of the longest single-span cement bridges in the West when it was built, to rest at the riverside picnic tables at the Baker River Project and Visitor Center.

Directions

To access the western end of the trail, take I-5 to Exit 232/Cook Road. Head east on Cook Road for 4.3 miles. Take a left onto WA 20/WA 9, and drive 2 miles to Fruitdale Road. Turn right to the trailhead; there is easy trail access for horse trailers here.

To reach the Concrete trailhead from I-5, follow Cook Road 4.3 miles west. Turn left onto WA 20/WA 9, and follow it 23.9 miles. Turn left (north) into town on Douglas Vose III Way, and immediately turn right onto Railroad Ave. to the Concrete Senior Center.

To reach the midpoint Birdsview trailhead from Cook Road, follow WA 20 for 17.3 miles, and turn left onto Baker Lake Road. Find horse trailer parking at all trailheads.

Parking is also available in Lyman and by Challenger Road, which parallels WA 20 for 2 miles in Concrete. Skagit Transit (SKAT) stops at four points near the trail, enabling users to access shorter stretches.

Table of Contents

Regional Locator Map

About Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Summary of Trails

Introduction

How to Use This Book

Idaho

• Ashton-Tetonia Trail
• Boise River Greenbelt
• Idaho Falls Greenbelt
• Latah Trail
• North Idaho Centennial Trail
• Route of the Hiawatha
• Snake River Canyon Rim Trail
• Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes
• Weiser River National Recreation Trail
• Wood River Trail

Oregon

• Astoria Riverwalk
• Banks-Vernonia State Trail
• Bear Creek Greenway
• Crown Zellerbach Trail
• Deschutes River Trail (Sherman County)
• Deschutes River Trail (Bend)
• Fanno Creek Greenway Trail
• Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail
• I-205 Multi-Use Path
• OC&E Woods Line State Trail
• Rogue River Greenway
• Row River Trail
• Ruth Bascom Riverbank Trail System
• Springwater Corridor
• Trolley Trail
• Vera Katz Eastbank Esplanade
• Westside Trail

Washington

• Apple Capital Recreation Loop Trail
• Appleway Trail
• Bill Chipman Palouse Trail
• Burke-Gilman Trail
• Cascade Trail
• Cedar River Trail
• Centennial Trail
• Chehalis Western Trail
• Cowiche Canyon Trail
• Cross Kirkland Connector
• Discovery Trail
• East Lake Sammamish Trail
• Elliott Bay Trail (Terminal 91 Bike Path)
• Ferry County Rail Trail
• Fish Lake Trail
• Foothills Trail
• Green River Trail
• Interurban Trail (Bellingham)
• Interurban Trail (North)
• Interurban Trail (South)
• Issaquah-Preston Trail
• Karen Fraser Woodland Trail
• Klickitat Trail
• Lower Yakima Valley Pathway
• Olympic Discovery Trail
• Palouse to Cascades State Trail
• Preston-Snoqualmie Trail
• Richland Riverfront Trail
• Sammamish River Trail
• Similkameen Trail
• Snoqualmie Valley Trail
• South Bay Trail
• Spokane River Centennial State Park Trail
• Tommy Thompson Trail
• Wallace Falls Railway Trail
• Willapa Hills Trail
• Yakima Greenway
• Yelm Rainier Tenino Trail

Index

Support Rails-to-Trails Conservancy