Beverly to Ellensburg on John Wayne Pioneer Trail or not?

[Gus Riley]

This summer I am detouring off of the TransAm Trail and riding to the Seattle area over Snoqualmie Pass. There is much information about the trail from Ellensburg over the pass...but not much specific info from the town of Beverley (just over the Columbia river) to Ellensburg.

Anyone have some advice as to which is the better route; the John Wayne Pioneer, or go north and cross over the river to Vantage? We have heard the interstate bridge crossing near Vantage is a bit of a screamer, but can be done. My ride is a Surly LHT with 26" wheels that are 1.5" wide. My ride partner is riding a 700c wheel equipped Kona Sutra...32-35mm wide (I think).

We're riding from Yorktown, Va to San Francisco via the Trans Am, some of the Louis and Clark, and the Pacific Coast routes.

[Black wallnut]

The bridge at Beverly is gated at both ends last I heard. Drop me a line if you want an up to date report right before you are planning to do this as I have friends that live just a mile downstream from there. From the east side of the river up to just outside of Kittitas the trail cuts through the Yakima firing Center a US Army training site, so you would likely need advance permission to travel through; I'm guessing. That said if you cross at Vantage you might consider taking the Old Vantage Highway to Ellensburg. The problem with both routes is no water available on the trail and it can be hot and dry through this shrub-steppe landscape. An added benefit of taking the Old highway is Ginko State Park, a petrified forest if it is open.

[escii_35]

#1 scary bike ride of my life: Crossing the I 90 vantage bridge. I lucked out the second time as one lane was coned off. No choice here unless they opened up the Beverly bridge.

#2 Atchafalaya Causway.

Crossing the Yakima firing range during a 25 year rain event means there will be rocks raining down from the sides of the cliffs where the train track was cut through. As I told my dad, "Don't worry about bringing the beefy rain jacket we will be in semi-arid lands."

I would not ride that section on 32-35mm tires but I have no skillz. However I would ride the trail between Cle Elum and Rattlesnake lake. Taking hwy 10 or the Trail between Ellensburg and Cle Elum is a toss up both are nice rides but the trail may still have nasty detours due to tunnel closures.

The number one place you want to use the trail and avoid I-90 is along lake Keechelus.

[woodway]

I've ridden that section from Ellensburg to Beverly on a Mountain Bike. Personally, I would not attempt it on the bikes that you have, unless you are into pushing your bikes. That section of trail is sandy, loose and deep. It was bad enough going downhill towards the river on a Mountain Bike with 2.2" wide tires...I would not want to try it coming the other way on a fully loaded touring rig. You also need to contact the Washington State DNR Ellensburg office and get a permit to transit that section. As others have mentioned, the trail goes through the Yakima Firing Range, and if the Army has drills scheduled, they will not allow you through.

In the summer it's dry, hot and there is no shade on this section. No water to be had either until you get near Kittitas.

Once past Ellensburg, the Iron Horse Trail will be fine all the way over the pass. The tunnels in the Upper Yakima River Canyon are technically closed...but they are not gated off and there is nothing to stop you from going through them (but you could get a ticket I suppose). One of them is long enough that you will need a light. There is no detour on this section. The bridge over the Yakima River at Easton State Park is closed, but a detour is provided. The short tunnel west of Easton is also marked closed, and a detour is provided, but do yourself a favor and skip the detour (it sucks) and just ride through the short tunnel. Bring good lights for the Snoqualmie tunnel at the pass.

I've never ridden I-90 over the Vantage Bridge, and personally would not attempt it. The Beverly bridge is permanently closed.

Which way are you coming up from the TransAM? That will influence alternate route recommendations.

[Gus Riley]

Thanks a bunch everyone for all the valuable information. I suspected the JWPT route east to west from the river toward Kittitas was sketchy at best. I wasn't sure of the bridge from Beverley...Map My Ride, and Ride With GPS both routed around it. So, I guess we're going north to the death crossing at Vantage. The silver lining there is it looks to be a down hill run for about a mile of possible traffic terror.

Woodway, we're crossing on the TransAm from east to west. We're planning our detour from Kooskia up to Clarkston, Dayton, Pasco, Desert Aire, Ellensburg, then over the pass/through on the Iron Horse Trail to Snoqualmie Falls, Then on into downtown Seattle (much on a trail beside I-90) and a foot ferry to Vashon Island. We have good lights on our tourers...the thing we'll have to remember is new batteries because in all likelihood, the Snoqualmie tunnel will be the only time we use lights.

[mtnbud]

Have you considered crossing further north on the North Cascades Highway? It'd add miles.

Years ago, I did a trip with a friend from Seattle that kept as far north in Washington as possible. It was fantastic - great scenery and low traffic roads. The route went something like this, but I'm doing this from memory, so I'm not positive exactly what roads we used. I know the roads we used were paved.

[Gus Riley]

Have you considered crossing further north on the North Cascades Highway? It'd add miles.

Years ago, I did a trip with a friend from Seattle that kept as far north in Washington as possible. It was fantastic - great scenery and low traffic roads. The route went something like this, but I'm doing this from memory, so I'm not positive exactly what roads we used. I know the roads we used were paved.

Yes I have, but I have a very good friend who now lives in Pasco...I plan to stop and visit for a couple of days. Otherwise, I was open for route changes.

[scozim]

Living in Ellensburg I haven't yet gone over the I-90 bridge at Vantage, although I know people that have. If anything I would plan on trying to cross it as early as possible when traffic light and on a weekday. From the east it is a downhill ride so you should be able to get across realtively quickly. Take the exit at Vantage and the Old Vantage Hwy as mentioned above to get you into Ellensburg if you want less traffic. There isn't much of a shoulder on the old highway and the pavement is chip sealed. Speed limit is 50 mph for the cars. If you decide to use I-90 it has a nice wide, smooth shoulder with a rest area at the top. The climb out on the old highway is about 12 miles and via I-90 is around 10 (but with a lot more traffic and noise). There is a restaurant and store at Vantage that you can get water, etc.

The rest of the trip should be fairly straightforward as mentioned by a couple of others. Hwy 10 is a decent ride on pavement from Ellensburg to Cle Elum along the Yakima River.

Here's a photo of the Vantage bridge from a couple of minutes ago. This is the direction you would be going and will at least give you an idea what it looks like:

[Gus Riley]

Hey thanks scozim! I thought it was downhill. We are planning to get off the freeway at Vantage and ride the old highway with a water stop in Vantage. About the morning...we're riding that day from Desert Aire, I think that's about 20 miles south or so...we're probably looking at a 9 or 10 am crossing on a weekday. Guess we'll stop and have a look back before we ride like hell to get across the bad part. The traffic on your picture doesn't look too bad...but I have ridden in Seoul, S. Korea, and a lot of east coast traffic dodging as well, so my perspective might be different.

[scozim]

9 or 10 am and you should be alright. The bridge can get hit with pretty good crosswinds in the afternoon. Check in this summer as you get close and I'll try to hook up with you guys when you come through town. Desert Aire to Ellensburg is around 50 miles, maybe a little more. Odds are 50-60% chance that you'll have a good headwind coming out of Vantage and into Ellensburg - that's what we're known for in this valley.

[Gus Riley]

9 or 10 am and you should be alright. The bridge can get hit with pretty good crosswinds in the afternoon. Check in this summer as you get close and I'll try to hook up with you guys when you come through town. Desert Aire to Ellensburg is around 50 miles, maybe a little more. Odds are 50-60% chance that you'll have a good headwind coming out of Vantage and into Ellensburg - that's what we're known for in this valley.

Sounds like a winner. We're looking to stay with a Warmshowers host there in Ellensburg. I think there are three listed in town.

Ouch, headwinds. Oh well, I'm sure we'll just have to manage. I can tuck in pretty good, even on my LHT.

[woodway]

If you are going to be in Desert Aire, an alternative would be to come back over the Vernita Bridge and take WA24 over to Yakima (56 miles according to Google), and then take WA 821 through the Yakima River Canyon to Ellensburg. The ride through the Canyon is pretty nice (but can also get windy). Plenty of places to camp in the Canyon.

This route has light traffic until you get close to Yakima, decent shoulders, but no shade! There are a couple places along the way where you should be able to get water.

You can pick up the Iron Horse Trail in Ellensburg and take it all the way to the Snoqualmie tunnel and down the other side (it's a decent ride), watch for the detours as called out in my last post. In fact on the west side, you be on trail most of the way into Seattle, with just a few road spots thrown in.

The big problem on the I90 crossing is wind. Not just for your riding, but for the big rigs keeping their rigs in the lane.

[Gus Riley]

If you are going to be in Desert Aire, an alternative would be to come back over the Vernita Bridge and take WA24 over to Yakima (56 miles according to Google), and then take WA 821 through the Yakima River Canyon to Ellensburg. The ride through the Canyon is pretty nice (but can also get windy). Plenty of places to camp in the Canyon.

This route has light traffic until you get close to Yakima, decent shoulders, but no shade! There are a couple places along the way where you should be able to get water.

You can pick up the Iron Horse Trail in Ellensburg and take it all the way to the Snoqualmie tunnel and down the other side (it's a decent ride), watch for the detours as called out in my last post. In fact on the west side, you be on trail most of the way into Seattle, with just a few road spots thrown in.

The big problem on the I90 crossing is wind. Not just for your riding, but for the big rigs keeping their rigs in the lane.

I'll take a look at the route...but not from Desert Aire but from Pasco. It could be a better alternative?

[muu]

I'll take a look at the route...but not from Desert Aire but from Pasco. It could be a better alternative?

Oh, you're going through the tri-cities? Then you might be interested in the route I took in July from there to Seattle:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/103284956
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/103284943
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/103284922

I did Richland -> Ellensburg -> back as a test run the month before to make sure I can survive a long ride, going through Vantage. Trust me, you do NOT want to do the Vantage -> Ellensburg route if you don't have to... wind and a long strip of continuous uphill that just kills your motivation. What I did instead was head towards Yakima. I took 240 and 24, but this was more because I wanted to save some time since I started in the afternoon, there are good bike routes that basically hug I82 (through Benton City, taking Inland Empire Hwy to Prosser, etc), takes a little longer but you'll have stores and wineries all along the way, and there's a surprising amount of dedicated bike paths/MUPs you can ride on. Both paths tend to be less windy compared to the Vantage route, though YMMV. From Yakima you can take the 821 (or was it 812?) scenic by-way to Ellensburg; there's some curves where you'll want to be wary of cars, but it's got killer views and for the most part is populated by recreational motorcyclists.

BTW, can you fit wider tires on your partner's bike? West of Snoqualmie tunnel it's better, but I was very uncomfortable riding the trail on my 32c Vittoria Randonneur. The gravel's pretty loose and I felt like I was losing grip on numerous occasions; it was bad enough that I switched plans and took highway 10 instead. West of the tunnel you'll still run into occasional spots of thick (and therefore loose) gravel, esp. near the bridges, that you'll want to watch out for on a loaded bike.

[escii_35]

Oh, you're going through the tri-cities? Then you might be interested in the route I took in July from there to Seattle:

If I was riding tri cities to Seattle either muu's or heading to the Mt Ranier passes would be the choices. Via vantage is not a great route and going west along the Columbia Gorge is playing with FIRE!! (A high % chance of stop you in your tracks head winds)

I wimped and took the train from Pasco to Portland which was a beautiful ride as the sun came up over the river.