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Trip Report    

Bikepack - Klickitat Trail

Excellent two-day bikepacking loop on the Klickitat railroad trail returning via Centerville Road. 46 miles and 2500 feet of gain on a perfect dry-weather window.

Emma Agosta Emma Agosta
May 19, 2022
  • Road suitable for all vehicles

  • Trail was a bit muddy in a few places on the first day between Lyle and Klickitat.  Terrain is gently climbing with a few sections of singletrack and some rocky parts but all in all an easy gradual old railroad bed.  The roughest sections we encountered were some large ballast rock and a few washout on the Swale Canyon.  All were 100% rideable by our group with gravel bikes and mountain bikes.

First bikepacking trip lead for the Mountaineers in 2022. Injuries, COVID and car trouble halved our team in the last few days but four of us made it to the trailhead in Lyle right after rain stopped on Saturday morning and enjoyed a rain-free beautiful two day trip upriver on the Klickitat Trail.

We did a 46 miles loop with 2500 feet of gain at a very leisurely pace with tons of time for R&R at Mineral Springs (a.k.a Icehouse campground) near the town of Klickitat.

Definitely a route to have on your radar either for bikepacking or as a day bike ride without gear.'

We loved the remote setting especially in the Swale canyon on the second day with many wildflowers and rugged basalt cliffs.

The old railroad trail is rough in places with large ballast rocks and had even some singletrack sections and some muddy sections due to heavy rain the day before but our bikes (and riders) even loaded (two Salsa Cutthroat gravel bikes, one mountain bike and one fat-tire Kona bikepacking bike) did great!  Zero flats and no trouble even for those of us without a front suspension. Great company and conversations.

We missed those  who were supposed to come but had to cancel for reasons beyond their control. We will see you at the next one!

I usually post lots of photos in trip reports but the website is stuck and won't let me upload any. :-( 

See photos at: https://photos.app.goo.gl/5fRmcM6W1mGWANwN6

Link to our track in Gaia: https://www.gaiagps.com/datasummary/track/080d1f6d-1c14-41cf-bd66-7577e6199363/?layer=GaiaTopoRasterFeet

Also Check our  Mountaineers Bikepacking Facebook Group for future trips and connect with our  growing community of bikepackers!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/611939373310209