Cowiche Canyon Preserve — Washington Trails …

Cowiche Canyon Preserve — Washington Trails …

 

Cowiche Canyon Preserve — Washington Trails …

Cowiche (pronounced Cow-witch-ee) is a census-designated place and unincorporated community northwest of Yakima, Washington, near the eastern foothills of the Cascade Mountain range, in central Washington State (US). Cowiche, sometimes spelled Cowychee, is said to mean "footbridge between the valley and the mountains." According to the 2010 census, the town had a population of 428.

Vibrant flora along the Cowiche Canyon Trail near Yakima.

 

TRAILS AT THE COWICHE CANYON PRESERVE

THE COWICHE CANYON TRAIL

From the west trailhead just off Weikel Road, the Canyon Trail winds 2.9 miles through the canyon to the east trailhead at the end of Cowiche Canyon Road. The creek is always close at hand, and the lush riparian vegetation and sagebrush hillsides are home to numerous species of songbirds, while raptors and vultures circle above the cliffs.

 

If you’re lucky, you’ll hear a canyon wren or spot a yellow-bellied marmot or a lucia azure butterfly. In the spring, a wide array of wildflowers dot the hillsides. As you make your way down the canyon, just past bridge 7, you’ll come upon some reddish basalt columns reminiscent of the statues on Easter Island.

 

A little farther along, soaring above the trail between bridges 7 and 8, is an andesite formation known as the Mayan Sunrise. Just beyond bridge 8 the trail leaves the railroad bed and follows an old county road to bypass two trestles that were illegally removed when the rails and ties were salvaged. Here the vegetation crowds the trail, at times forming a tunnel as the trail follows a bend in the creek back to the railroad bed below some impressive basalt cliffs.

 

After crossing the creek for a final time, the trail passes a grove of aspen, then a house and small orchard. Beyond this is the hop yard that is the source of Fremont Brewing Company’s Cowiche Canyon Fresh Hop Ale, and finally the east trailhead at the end of Cowiche Canyon Road. (Flat, stable surface with loose gravel. 2.9 miles)

 

Cowiche, Washington

Yakima Cowiche Canyon WA 2013 | Natural landmarks, Canyon, Yakima

 

 

The Cowiche Canyon Preserve is a small pocket of wildlands near Yakima. It includes both the canyon itself and the canyon’s southerly uplands. There are approximately 20 miles of interconnected trails open to hikers, runners, mountain bikers, and equestrians. Snowshoeing and cross-country skiing are popular when there is enough snow.

 

THE HISTORIC JEEP ROAD

SOUTH RIM TRAIL

LONE PINE TRAIL

TIETON ANDESITE

EAST UPLANDS TRAIL

COYOTE WAY

RADIO FLYER

TRAIL BREAKER

WINERY TRAIL

 

Cowiche Canyon East Trailhead 

 

 

 

From the Cowiche Canyon East trailhead and hiked along the creek to the Lone Pine trail,  to the Cowiche Canyon Summitview trailhead,    to Rocky Top and took Walk-and-Roll to Orange Harvester to William O Douglas trail, to   the Cowiche Mountain West trail. 

 

There were lots of other purple, yellow, pink, and red/white flowers .

 

 

Cowiche Canyon, Rocky Top, Cowiche Mountain, Snow Mountain Ranch 

Cowiche Canyon, Rocky Top and Cowiche Mountain, Snow Mountain Ranch and Cowiche Mountain

 

Cowiche, Washington

History

 

The first inhabitants of the area were the Tkai'waichash-hlama, a band or tribe of Native American people who lived along Cowiche Creek. The area was settled in the late nineteenth century by farmers who relied upon crops that did not require irrigation, such as wheat, barley, rye, and grazing cattle. Homesteading in Cowiche was difficult since fields had to be cleared of volcanic rock before they could be tilled and there was little rainfall in summer. In 1906, construction began on the Tieton Irrigation Project, a division of the broader Yakima Project. Irrigation water became available in 1907, and shortly thereafter, orchards began to replace wheatfields.