Willapa Hills Trail─ Follow the Chehalis River back into time
Quick Facts:
Location: Western Lewis County
Land Agency: Washington State Parks
Roundtrip: 10.0 miles
Elevation Gain: 100 feet
Access: From Chehalis (exit 77 on I-5) follow SR 6 west for 23 miles to the town of Pe Ell. At blinking red light turn left onto 6th Ave and proceed 0.1 mile to Trailhead at old depot site.
Notes: Discover Pass required; dogs must be leashed.
Contact: Willapa Hills State Park and Rainbow Falls State Park
Good to know: Kid-friendly, dog-friendly, bike-friendly, snow free winter hike, trail less taken
It’s been twenty years since the last train barreled over southwestern Washington’s scrappy Willapa Hills. From Chehalis to Raymond, trains used to regularly ply across this region; one of the state’s most productive timber harvesting areas. The forest and the rail line supported a string of bustling communities. But much has changed in the state’s environmental and economic landscapes in the last century. The Willapa Hills still produce a healthy timber harvest, but a large labor force is no longer needed to move it. The trains too are no longer used, replaced instead by a fleet of trucks.
And while the rail line has been abandoned, the bed that once housed it has since been converted into a 56 mile non-motorized multi-use trail. Administered by Washington State Parks, the Willapa Hills Trails makes for some great wanderings into the past—and into a part of the state rarely visited by hikers. Along this trail you can pass by communities fading into history. Trek across trestles. Saunter past wetlands teeming with song birds. Amble alongside lazy rivers draining saturated hillsides. Share the sparsely populated surroundings with deer, coyotes, bear, and elk.
While State Parks manages the entire trail, about 30 miles of it has been “improved” for hiking. The westernmost 4 miles in Raymond and the easternmost 5.5 miles near Chehalis are paved. The five mile crushed gravel section between Pe Ell and Doty along pasture and the Chehalis River makes for a fine trail sampler.
Starting from the old depot turned trailhead, head northeast on the old rail line turned trail skirting the city limits of Pe Ell. This quiet community of 300 residents boasted over 1,000 shortly after the railroad was built in 1893. Cross Pe Ell Ave and begin traversing picturesque farmland framed by the forested Willapa and Doty Hills. The trail is lined with berry bushes providing winter forage for birds and deer.
At 1.2 miles, cross SR 6 on a bridge. Paralleling the highway, pass by a handful of residences before meeting up with the Chehalis River shortly afterwards. The river churns and bends and splashes over several small rapids. But it can also be a mighty force as it displayed in the autumn of 2007 with devastating flooding which washed away two trestles severing the trail.
Continue through farm and forest and alongside the river coming to Stevens Road outside the small settlement of Doty at 5.0 miles. Turn around here or continue on a restored trestle and continue hiking to Rainbow Falls State Park two miles farther east. You can explore a few miles of trails at the park or spend the night.
The Willapa Hills Trail is one of 50 snow-free winter hikes described (with maps) in my Winter Hikes of Western Washington Card Deck. Pick up your copy today!
