Trail Opens On Former Rail Grade Route Links Fish Lake, Cheney-Spangle Road

An old railroad grade reputed to be one of the flattest in the Inland Northwest has become the newest addition to Spokane County’s trail system.

Last week, the 3.5-mile section of trail was dedicated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony just south of Cheney.

The trail runs from Fish Lake County Park to the Cheney-Spangle Road. It passes along a basalt cliff on the south side of Fish Lake and through some of the most picturesque countryside in southwest Spokane County, including a section of Minnie Creek.

“People love this trail,” said Bev Keating, a coordinator with the Marshall Community Coalition.

“The wildflowers and wildlife here are just great.”

State parks officials eventually want to extend the trail to Pasco by using the abandoned rail grade of the former Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway.

The 132-mile trail from Cheney to Pasco eventually would connect into Spokane on former railroad grade.

The Cheney to Fish Lake Trail has parking and restrooms at both ends.

Trail users can reach the northeastern trailhead at the turnoff to Fish Lake County Park on the Cheney-Spokane Road.

The southeastern trailhead is located on the Cheney-Spangle Road about three-quarters of a mile south of Cheney.

The state’s Parks and Recreation Commission acquired the railroad right of way in the early 1990s after the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway stopped using it.

When the rail line was built, it was reputed to have the flattest grade of any line in eastern Washington and allowed faster travel to and from Spokane.

To achieve the low grades, railroad builders blasted deep ravines through basalt rock and built high trestles across the coulees northeast of Pasco.

As a result, the trail has dramatic vistas, said Cleve Pinnix, secretary of the state Parks Commission.

The Burlington Northern stopped using the old SP&S line in favor of its alternate route, the former Northern Pacific line, because it needs less maintenance.

The state took possession of the old SP&S line in a federally sponsored rail bank program. Under the program, the railroad could restore the line for rail use in the future.

The state does not have any money to develop the trail south of Cheney, but it hopes Congress will continue to include trail funding in its new highway bill.

Cheney and the state combined their efforts to win a federal highway grant for developing the 10-foot-wide trail to Fish Lake.

The Federal Highway Administration is paying two-thirds of the $550,000 project, while Cheney and the state split the remaining portions.

The Cheney to Fish Lake Trail was built in conjunction with improvements in Cheney’s sewage treatment plant. The trail runs along the treatment lagoons.

Clyde Anderson, a member of the Parks and Recreation Commission, said the success of the Centennial Trail played a role in getting the new Cheney trail built.

Trail advocates and government officials hope the new section will provide momentum for developing more sections of the trail.

Southwest of Cheney, the railroad grade passes through the Turnbull Wildlife Refuge and along the northern shore of Amber Lake.

Closer to Spokane, the Spokane Parks Department has about $300,000 to pave as much as three miles of an adjacent Union Pacific railroad right of way from 14th and Cochran toward Fish Lake.

Paul Crutchfield, administrator at the city of Spokane Parks Department, said future trail funding may hinge on the willingness of Congress to include trail construction in the highway bill, which has been up for reauthorization this year.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo