The White Bluffs Trail in Eastern Washington is one of the most visually unique trails I have had the pleasure of hiking in the area. This high desert ecosystem borders the Columbia River and is bustling with wild animals. Which is maybe a little surprising since it is right across the river from Hanford Reach.

If you didn’t know, the Hanford Reach area is a nuclear site that was established during the Manhattan Project…you know, Oppenheimer? Anyways, we now have the Hanford Reach National Monument as an effort to preserve and restore the fish, wildlife, and plants of the last non-tidal, free-flowing stretch of the Columbia River.

If you have any interest in history, definitely add this area to your “Washington To-Do List”. For this blog post, I will focus on the White Bluffs – North Trail, which follows the Columbia.

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White Bluffs – Hanford Reach: 100 Classic Hike of Washington

White Bluffs is located in the Hanford Reach National Monument area and geographically tells the story of Lake Lewis. If you’ve hiked Skyline Loop in the Tri-Cities, you might have read about it on the trail. However, this area was shaped by the temporary Lake Lewis formed after the Missoula floods were backed up by the Wallula Gap.

Now we can use this area recreationally for camping, hiking, kayaking, and fishing (with a permit).

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Know Before You Go

Before you can begin your adventure along the White Bluffs Trail, here is some vital information about how to access the trail throughout the year, what you’ll need, and general trail stats.

This section covers all of that!

Trailhead Location

The Hanford Reach area is located on the ancestral lands of the Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla Nations. As well as the Wanapum and Yakama tribes. We are grateful for the stewards of this land, past and present. We are honored to be and recognize that we are guests on this land.

Getting to the Trailhead

The North White Bluffs – Hanford Reach trail is an unmarked, semi-official trail. The trail is within the Mid-Columbia River National Wildlife Recreation Complex. Getting to the trailhead requires the use of a GPS since there are no signs and no established parking lot. The GPS coordinates are: N 46 40.630, W 119 26.673.

Parking area is under locust trees, hikers will find a sign indicating that horses are not allowed on the unofficial trail. That is where the adventure begins! The trail begins with an initial ascent up the bluffs. The trail is sandy and dry.

Hikers should be wary of the bluff’s edge as the sheer cliff is fragile and unforgiving.

Trailhead Facilities

The trail does not offer any facilities. All garbage brought in needs to be packed out.

Throughout the wildlife preserve, you will find some pit toilets, hoever do not count on them being managed.

Season to Visit

The location of the trail is in south-central Washington near the Tri Cities, so temperatures can get pretty hot and arid in the summer.

The photos featured in this blog post were taken in January, which brought clear skies and chilly winds. Overall, winter is a fantastic time to visit due to the mild temperatures.

Passes/Permits

There are no required permits, passes, or day passes for this trail.

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Hiking the White Bluffs Trail

Because the trail is unofficial, it can be easily lost and difficult to follow. Hikers should also keep in mind that this is an extremely diverse ecosystem. The plant life in this area takes a significant amount of time to recover from damage, so avoiding stepping on the plants is imperative to preserving this sage-steppe ecosystem.

A sage shrub steppe ecosystem is a widespread yet fragile ecosystem that is characterized by abundant sagebrush and a vast array of native shrubs, grasses, and flowering plants in the spring months. These habitats are local only to Eastern Washington and one Canadian Province.

Hiking along the spectacular chalk-like cliffs, hikers can expect to see a variety of animals, including eagles, pelicans, sparrows, and deer. Rattlesnakes are also native to the area and can easily blend into the flora. Hikers, especially hikers with dogs, should be aware of and recognize the signs of rattlesnakes in the area. When I hiked this trail, there were also signs of large cats with kittens!

After about two and a quarter miles of walking along the bluffs, hikers reach white sand dunes. There is no trail on the dunes, and hikers can continue on or reach a turnaround point.

On the left-hand side of the trail, visitors will see the mighty Columbia River and Locke Island stretching parallel along the while bluffs. Past the Columbia River, hikers will also see tall structures. These historic structures were part of the Manhattan Project.

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Should White Bluffs be a 100 Classic Hike of Washington?

I am hiking all “100 Classic Hikes of Washington”, a trail guide by Craig Ramano that shares 100 of the best and most unique trails in Washington. Check out the book here!

This trail should absolutely be a 100 Classic Hikes of Washington. Since this area was designated a national monument, it is essential that these 195,000 acres remain preserved in Washington State.

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I completed White Bluffs-Hanford Reach. Now What?

Before leaving the Wildlife Recreation Complex, hikers should drive to the end of Forest Service Road 24 SW to the lookout point of the Columbia River Basin. This area is the White Bluffs Overlook, which provides visitors with a history of the Manhattan Project and the important role that this area played during that time.

The signage will provide you with background information on the ice age floods and the ancient river that shaped the white bluffs area. But it will also explain how the Department of Energy permanently changed this area at the Hanford site.

The Pacific Northwest has a rich geographic history, and the White Bluffs Landing area does a fantastic job of sharing that history!

If you want to learn more about the Hanford Project and White Bluffs townsite, one of the first European-American settlements along the Columbia River, you can head to the ghost town, where you will see the White Bluffs boat launch, trading post, and White Bluffs Bank from the late 1800s.

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Related Reads:

1. Badger Skyline Loop near Richmond, Washington
2. Best Columbia River Gorge Hikes
3. Steamboat Rock: Eastern Washington’s Best Trail
4. Kamiak Butte Trail in Eastern Washington