Rimrock Trail at Drumheller Channels
in Washington · centroid 99 mi from Spokane
The trail is 3.3-miles-long with an elevation gain of 200 feet. Although starting out near Crab Creek, this trail promptly leads into the drier shrub-steppe habitat. After meandering past striking columnar basalt formations, the trail ascends, circling the top of a mesa and provides a beautiful view of the surrounding refuge landscape.
You have to return back along the same trail. Allow 2-3 hours.
- States
- Washington
- Trail type
- National Geologic Trail trail
- Centroid nearest city
- Spokane, WA · 99 mi · ~2.9 hr drive
- Centroid coords
- 46.9368°, -119.2446°
About Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail
This trail is inside Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail, a national geologic trail managed by the U.S. National Park Service. Conditions, road status, trail closures, and reservation requirements are published on the park's NPS page — check it before driving in, especially in winter or during major weather events.
Official NPS trail page: https://www.nps.gov/places/rimrock-trail.htm
Park homepage: https://www.nps.gov/iafl/index.htm
Plan your hike
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 Rimrock Trail at Drumheller Channels and have current notes (water sources, trail closures, permit changes), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn.
Stay nearby
Other trails within 50 miles
Sources
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.