2-state trail

Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail

across 2 states · centroid 99 mi from Spokane

Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail is hiking trail crossing Idaho, Washington maintained by Washington State Parks. This page summarises what we have from public sources (OpenStreetMap and trail-association data); always verify current conditions and trail status with the maintaining organisation before heading out.

Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail
Photo via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
States
Idaho, Washington
Network
National (nwn)
Maintained by
Washington State Parks
Reference
40
Centroid nearest city
Spokane, WA · 99 mi · ~2.9 hr drive
Centroid coords
47.1367°, -119.4060°
OSM relation
14071040
From Wikipedia: The Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail, formerly known as the John Wayne Pioneer Trail and the Iron Horse Trail, is a rail trail that spans most of the U.S. state of Washington. It follows the former railway roadbed of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad for 300 miles (480 km) across two-thirds of the state, from the western slopes of the Cascade Mountains to the Idaho border. Excerpt from the Wikipedia article on Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Plan your hike

Practical notes

Maps + permits: long-distance trails like this often require permits for through-hiking, backcountry camping, or specific sections (especially in National Parks). Check with the maintaining organisation listed above and the relevant land manager before booking travel.

Water + supplies: water sources vary seasonally on most U.S. trails. Carry a filter and consult current trail-condition reports — through-hiker journals (PCT-L, AT Reddit, etc.) and the maintaining organisation publish regular updates.

When to go: hiking seasons vary widely with elevation, latitude, and snowpack. Through-hikers traditionally start the AT in March-April (Springer northbound) and the PCT in late April (Campo northbound). High-elevation western trails (CDT, JMT, Wonderland) generally aren't passable until July.

If you've hiked Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail and have current notes (water sources, trail closures, permit changes), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn.

Stay nearby

Affiliate · disclosed
Driving in? The nearest documented metro is Spokane, WA — 99 miles away (~2.9 hr drive). See accommodation in Spokane on Booking.com → RoamFound earns a small commission if you book through this link, at no extra cost to you. How we handle affiliate links.

Sources

Public data + curation

Trail data on this page is compiled from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), the maintaining organisation's public-facing materials, and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA where excerpts are quoted). Distance, terminus, and descriptive text for nationally-designated trails are hand-curated from federal land-manager websites and trail-association sources. We do not modify the underlying data; this page presents what is already publicly recorded. To suggest corrections, see our methodology page.