IMG_0656.jpeg

Trip Report    

Day Hike - Chehalis Western Trail

Packing extra weight on paved trail

  • Road suitable for all vehicles
  • Paved, flat trail with several marked road crossings, open to hikers, bikers and equestrian users, portable toilets at trailhead and 2-mile mark. ADA and horse trailer parking at Woodard Bay Trailhead. There are mile markers every half mile to mark your progress.

I first read about this rail-to-trail route in Craig Romano's Urban Trails: Olympia. I was looking for long stretches of paved trail to get back into hiking shape after some time off-trail, and this 22-miler certainly fit the bill!

I loaded a 30-lb. weight into my ruck and scouted a 7-mile out-and-back route from the Woodard Bay trailhead to the South Bay neighborhood of Olympia, and then led it as a club hike the next weekend. We passed several farms and single-family homes with alder and vine maple lining both sides of the trail. It's not the most scenic trail, but a couple of large ponds worked for photo opportunities. Runners (and horses, I assume) have worn dirt tracks parallel to the asphalt if you're ankles need a break. 

IMG_0649.jpeg

In all, this is a good year-round training route.