For my last hike of 2022, I chose to visit the new trails at Waikiki Springs. I hiked around all the loops, Aster, Granite and Eagle. I saw lots of snow, a bit of granite and one eagle. No asters blooming in the snow today. 

The trail was almost completely covered in snow. The exceptions were the lovely new bridge which was bare and wet, several icy patches on the switchbacks and several random places where bare mud rose through the snow.  The trail has been well packed by hikers. I recommend microspikes until the next major snowstorm.

Happy New Year!

I hadn't been on this trail before and what a gem! The description I read had the mileage at about 3.25 miles and under 200' gain, which makes it "too short" for most of my hikes. However, having nothing better to do today, I grabbed my dog and went out for an adventure, planning to just wander around and enjoy the experience. I met two women who call this their "home trail" and they were able to explain to me how to extend the lollipop loop to nearly 5 miles and about 470' elevation gain, so that's what we did. 

The whole trail is snow-covered, but it's been packed down nicely and as long as you stay on the packed trail, it's hikeable with micro/nano spikes. The trail is well-marked in almost all places. I got a little confused at the bottom of the first set of switchbacks where I should have gone toward the houses and instead followed a trail away from them. I turned around after checking Strava and realizing I was off trail. I think that had the road not been snow-covered, it would have been easier. I could see a few footprints painted on the pavement in a clear spot. Otherwise, the trail is well-marked with cute signs. 

The wetlands is a beautiful spot. I didn't linger and still saw a blue heron, a few mallards, a merganser and some Canada geese. Lots of deer prints and some coyote scat, too. 

Just a beautiful morning!

I joined an INLC-led hike to see the completely revamped trail system plus the brand new bridge over the Little Spokane! The group did the Aster Loop and then I broke off in order to tack on both the Eagle and Granite Loops. It was a little shy of 5 miles to do the entire trail system, but I can also envision longer routes here done by taking the loops in both directions. It was great to hear some historical and geographical context while hiking with the whole group, and then at the end I was able to spot some wildlife while hiking back solo. As someone who has been visiting this property occasionally for over 20 years, I cannot believe the trail revisions and improvements that have happened recently! It is such a wonderful improvement to the trails here, so if you haven’t seen it lately be sure to check it out!
Note on conditions: I wore snowshoes and most others in the group got by with micro spikes. The entire trail is snow covered and the times I stepped to the side to allow others to pass I discovered the snow is about knee deep!

Hiked down the switchbacks on the Waikiki Springs trail today and encountered construction beginning at the bridge crossing the Little Spokane River. It was a beautiful day for a winter snowy hike at Waikiki Springs. Garco construction will be working for 3-4 weeks to replace the old wood decking on the bridge with new concrete decking.  The contractor has the area well signed and fencing will be going up soon to help keep everyone safe.  Please stay away from the construction zone and maybe by Thanksgiving the bridge construction will be completed and we can all resume hiking the trails on the north side of the river.