We did this hike 3 weeks ago, but I'll assume the trail is still perfectly clear. Getting from the parking area to the trail is a little narrow, amd slightly steep. But other than that area, the rest of the Marsh loop trail is perfect for a stroller. 

We already had our kiddo in the backpack, but this trail is definitely on our list for stroller friendly hikes. We saw a few ducks and geese, I'm sure around April, there will be a lit more wildlife activity and flowers to see. 

After the initial downward slope from the parking lot, the entire trail is flat and wide. 

Getting there & Trailhead

Area is accessible from both Othello via WA-26 and Moses Lake via WA-17. Be ready to battle severe winds and hoards of tumbleweed on I-90 between Ellensburg and George.

Roads inside the refuge are well-maintained gravel roads with no potholes. Some stretches are pretty loose gravel that may affect traction - take it slow.

Rimrock [south] trailhead has a very usable portable toilet. Crab Creek [north] trailhead has no amenities. Each area parks half a dozen, best case about ten cars.

Trails

There’re three trails in the area. All three start from the Rimrock / south trailhead, and Crab Creek trail connects north and south trailheads. So no matter where you start you can easily cover all three [two during seasonal closures].

Marsh Lake: closed till March. Please respect closure signs as migratory birds are numerous right now.

Rimrock Lake: a very scenic lollipop loop with many interpretive signs. Apart from naming confusion, the trail is very well-signed and easy to follow. Its “handle” is mostly flat and lies in a canyon full of weeds and sagebrush, while its “circle” runs rocky edge of a mesa providing fantastic views. Getting on top of the mesa requires a short but aggressive ascent. Definitely a must see trail and totally justifies the entire trip from Seattle. Pack your layers for chilly winds.

Crab Creek: a less scenic trail following a creek inside the coulee forming area’s landscape. While not as great overall as Rimrock Lake trail, it does have two features making it worthy: unexpected view of a waterfall and a short offshoot to a kolk, one of many in the area, with a great interpretive sign. When hiking this trail from the Rimrock Lake TH, at a three-way intersection - the one with kolk sign - keep right and downstairs to stay on the trail. Path leading straight will become faint and disappear soon.

Timing & Stats

Started from the south trailhead at 11.30am with just one more car at the parking lot.

Rimrock Lake trail - 1 h 15 min.

Crab Creek trail - 50 min.

Arrived to find a couple more cars in the parking lot. No cars seen at the north trailhead.

Followed the Rimrock trail up to and around a mesa, and the Marsh trail around some ponds.

Access. The road through the refuge was generously graveled, double-wide, and even.

Conditions. The trails were all free of obstacles. The Rimrock Trail even had interpretive displays at regular intervals. The loop trail at the top had some steep drop-offs. The Marsh Trail wasn't as well signed: Looked like you could do several different-sized loops; we ended up doing an intermediate loop.

Flora & Fauna. Found some flowers in bloom, most near the top. Observed flocks of geese flying past. The only sandhill cranes we saw were on the drive in, from the overlook at Marsh Unit One. Lots of ducks in the ponds. Got swarmed by non-biting bugs on the Marsh Trail, headnets would have been useful.

Crowds. There were maybe a dozen cars in the parking lot at noon, and we encountered a similar number of parties on the trails (incl several families with children).

Today we drove to the Columbia NWR hoping to see some sandhill cranes. We stopped at the refuge headquraters on  51 S. Morgan Lake Road. The headquarters was closed, but there were refuge pamphlets available at the kiosk. The pamphlet has information about the area, a map of the area and descriptions of the hikes. We drove the recommended roads to see sandhill cranes, but saw none. We had lunch at an overlook of Royal Lake which had hundreds if not thousands of ducks! Would like to see it in the evening when there must be even more! We then took the 22 miles driving loop which takes you through the Scenic landscape of rugged cliffs, canyons, lakes and sagebrush grasslands.  At one of the overlooks we saw 400 or more sandhill cranes grazing in the very far distance. A pleasant surprise was to find 5000 or more snow geese on Potholes Reservoir as we were driving over the dam. There was a small pullout where we could watch and listen to their awesome sound!. We were hoping to see them fly, but only saw a few flying in to join the group! 

In Othello for the crane festival this weekend I had a couple of hours between activities so decided to do a little hiking. This is not exactly in the Marsh Lake Unit as it's closed until April 1st, but a bit before it.  I parked off of Morgan Lake Rd a few miles past the refuge headquarters and instead of walking the trails along Crab Creek and a series of small lakes, I noticed an unmarked trail going north from the parking area. 

It wound up through the basalt cliffs and out onto a broad plateau with numerous buttes rising up. There is no trail up there but the terrain is gentle and lends itself to wandering. Several of the buttes have weaknesses in the basalt where game trails can be walked up. I headed across the broad plateau and up one of the buttes for a view of the entire area before returning the parking area.