After the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railroad Company went bankrupt in 1977, Washington State bought much of what was known as the Milwaukee Road and began converting it into a cross-state recreational trail. Though portions of the trail are still privately owned and require backroads detours, the Palouse to Cascades Trail, which extends from the Idaho border near Tekoa to Cedar Falls near North Bend, is one of the nation's premier rail trails and offers a grand tour of Washington's geology, botany, and history.
From Rails to a Trail
Between 1906 and 1909, the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railroad Company built a rail line across Washington from the Idaho border to Maple Valley, where the line connected with other railroads extending to Tacoma, Seattle, and elsewhere in Western Washington. Known as the Milwaukee Road, the line was the culmination of a half century of feverish railroad construction. At the time, before the advent of cars, truck, and airplanes, the future of railroading seemed assured. Most people and freight covering long distances, including most people visiting or moving to Washington, traveled by rail. That would change.
The Milwaukee Road was the third transcontinental railroad that crossed Washington, after the Northern Pacific Railway (completed through the Stampede Pass tunnel in 1888) and the Great Northern Railway (completed over Stevens Pass in 1893). Competition among the transcontinental railroads, along with the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914 and other factors that depressed rail traffic, led to severe financial difficulties for the Milwaukee Road. It went bankrupt in 1925 and again in 1935, restructuring each time to ease its debt burden. It prospered after World War II as passenger and freight traffic grew but then faltered as costs increased and revenues sank.
In 1977 the Milwaukee Road went bankrupt again, and three years later it closed its lines west of Miles City, Montana. In Washington, Roland F. "Chic" Hollenbeck (1918-1990), a founder of the John Wayne Pioneer Wagons and Riders Association, and Ken Wilcox (1917-1995), a founder of the Backcountry Horsemen of Washington, led an effort to convince state legislators to buy the Washington portion of the corridor and convert it to a cross-state nonmotorized recreational trail. In 1981 the state purchased the available portions of the corridor from Easton to the Idaho border for $1.9 million. Subsequent acquisitions of easements and rights-of-way left the state in control of much, though not all, of the Milwaukee Road.
The Trail Takes Shape
Initially, development of a trail on the newly bought rail corridor was slow and contentious. The state held legislative and public hearings to generate recommendations on how the land might be used. In 1983, an independent land-use study examined alternative uses for the corridor, including habitat conservation, sale or lease of properties to adjacent landowners, or trail development. State legislators opted for the latter, but the route needed significant changes before it could be opened to walkers and riders. Once the rails and ties were salvaged, the rough ballast of the rail bed had to be covered by gravel or packed dirt. Trestles and bridges needed to be repaired, redecked, and in some cases replaced. Court cases regarding ownership of portions of the trail were not decided until 1996, when the Washington State Supreme Court ruled that the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railroad had purchased the corridor from previous owners rather than simply gaining easements or rights-of-way.
Gradually, the many benefits of a cross-state trail became apparent, especially as interest in outdoor recreation boomed in the 1980s and 1990s. In Washington, the route of the Milwaukee Road traverses a fantastic variety of landscapes, from the jagged peaks of the high Cascades to the deep blue ribbon of the Columbia River, from the flood-scoured scablands of Eastern Washington to the wind-sculpted loess hills of the Palouse region. The opening of the first portion of the trail from Easton to west of Ellensburg in 1984 demonstrated the trail’s potential. Annual caravans of horse-drawn wagons led by Hollenbeck built support for a cross-state passageway.
Over time, progress was steady. Newly opened portions of the trail added to the enthusiasm of users. In 2002, the federal government designated the trail a National Recreation Trail. In 2011, the 11,890-foot Snoqualmie Tunnel, originally built from 1912 to 1914, reopened to hikers, bikers, and equestrians. In 2022, just up the Columbia River from the spectacular Sentinel Gap, the Beverly Railroad Bridge, originally completed in 1909, became available for trail users after a $5.5 million renovation.
Historic depots in South Cle Elum and Kittitas offer displays on the Milwaukee Road and local history. Re-creations of Milwaukee Road signs mark historical stations. The Palouse to Cascades Trail Coalition, which consists of 15 organizations interested in the trail, works to promote and upgrade it. Aerial videos of the entire trail taken by the coalition’s head, Fred Wert (b. 1949), and posted online highlight its scenic splendors.
An Effort to Privatize the Trail
During the last moments of the 2015 Washington State legislative session, without public notice or hearings, Senate Majority Leader Mark Schoesler (b. 1957), a Republican from Ritzville; and Republican state representatives Joe Schmick (b. 1958) from Colfax and Mary Dye (b. 1961) from Pomeroy, inserted language into an amendment to the state’s capital budget that would have closed a 130-mile-long section of the trail east of the Columbia River and distributed portions to adjacent landowners. However, the legislation included a typo referring to the closed section of the trail as extending "from the Columbia River to the Columbia River," rather than from the Columbia River to Malden, which nullified the provision ("Lawmakers' Effort …").
Schmick subsequently defended his late-night actions by stating that the eastern half of the trail is poorly maintained and fosters vandalism on nearby properties. But the near-loss of almost half its length also led to an outpouring of support for the trail. Eighteen cities, including Spokane, Cheney, and Roslyn, passed resolutions in favor of keeping the trail open and maintained. A public meeting in Tekoa, near the eastern end of the trail, brought out many trail users and advocates along with owners of adjacent properties. Milwaukee Road historian Mark Borleske (b. 1954) said the episode "was a classic case of the law of unintended consequences. The trail never would have gotten so much attention and support otherwise" (Borleske interview with author).
For years, different portions of the trail went by different names, including the John Wayne Pioneer Trail (in honor of Hollenbeck’s advocacy), the Iron Horse State Park Trail, and the Milwaukee Road Corridor. In 2018, in keeping with its policy to give preference to names that highlight geographic location, geology, botany, history, or culturally significant events and places, the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission renamed the entire trail the Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail.
Portions of the original corridor are still not part of the trail. A 36-mile section from Royal Slope Junction (near Royal City) to Warden is still being used by trains operated by the Washington Royal Line and Columbia Basin Railroad, requiring that trail users take backcountry roads from one section of the trail to the next. Some portions of the corridor are still in private hands, requiring detours to avoid trespassing. Missing trestles and bridges east of the Columbia River also require detours. In some cases, as with a missing trestle over Cow Creek near Ralston, adjacent property owners have provided alternative routes for trail users.
On either end, the Palouse to Cascade Trail connects with other rail trails. At Rattlesnake Lake, it connects with the Snoqualmie Valley Regional Trail, allowing walkers and bikers to continue westward toward Puget Sound. In Idaho, a 20-mile trip along a backcountry road connects the Palouse to Cascades Trail with the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes in Plummer, Idaho. The Palouse to Cascades Trail is part of the Great American Rail-Trail, which the Rails to Trails Conservancy is developing as the nation’s first cross-country multiuse trail. The corridors that once whisked many thousands of rail passengers to distant locales now offer even more people a much more leisurely and contemplative way to experience their surroundings.
