Export to Trail Guide
Create Guidebook 
Download GPX 
Print Friendly Map
The Lower Yakima Valley Pathway offers trail users the opportunity to experience great wines (produced from grapes grown in the area's rich volcanic-ash soil), interesting shops, and local hospitality and entertainment as they traverse three desert towns along the 14-mile paved route.
Once part of the North Coast Railroad and the Oregon–Washington Railroad & Navigation Company, the trail parallels the Yakima Valley Highway, Interstate 82, and Wine Country Road, beginning on the eastern edge of Sunnyside (by the Mid Valley Mall) and ending in Prosser. The route takes you 6.5 miles to Grandview (you'll pass by the town's commercial districts on US 12/Wine Country Road). Be prepared for a variety of conditions, including extremely hot summers—the path offers little shade—and colder fall temperatures.
The 8-foot-wide trail sports some hills and road crossings, and cyclists and skaters are encouraged to use caution and be aware of pedestrians. You will reach a 1.5-mile section on the roadway from Grandview Park & Ride to the East Grandview trailhead, where water is available. The gap ends at the Palacios Parkway archway on the north side of the road at mile 8.
The next 6 miles to Prosser make for a rural experience; note that fewer services are available along this part of the route. At mile 11.5, you'll find an active trestle crossing; avoid this by dipping down from the right-of-way. The trail officially ends immediately before a bridge and pathway that crosses the Yakima River and takes you into downtown Prosser.
Take I-82 to Exit 69 for Sunnyside. Head north on State Route 241/Waneta Road for 0.4 mile. Turn left onto Yakima Valley Highway. In 1.2 miles, parking is available by the Mid Valley Mall (Yakima Valley Highway and E. Edison Avenue).
Grandview Park & Ride and the East Grandview trailhead are on CR 12/Wine Country Road. Take I-82 to Exit 75. Turn right onto Mcreadie Road, and immediately turn right onto CR 12/Wine Country Road. In 0.4 mile, look for the trail on the right.
To reach the trailhead in Prosser, take I-82 to Exit 82. Head west on Wine Country Road for 1.7 miles. Street parking is available at the Yakima River in Prosser.
I have thought long and hard about this trail/pathway but finally decided to tell the brutal truth. I had seen this trail over the 20 years I have lived here but never taken the effort to ride its length until yesterday. The weather was not a problem as the temperature was in the high 60’s and there was very little wind with no cloud cover, sunscreen was mandatory in these conditions.
The one positive for this trail is that it is generally level with little or no ups and downs.
If you’re looking for a route with beautiful river views or forested byways, then this is not a route for you. The views on this route are of distant hills which are not forested and agricultural land growing crops and raising livestock which brings about pollen issues for some and the unpleasant smells associated with agriculture. The trail has zero markers indicating directions, I had to use the map feature on my phone to locate the trail after passing through the downtown area of Grandview. Additionally, there are zero public facilities along its entire length so take plenty of water. In the urban areas you can find fast-food locations and several small local restaurants which may let you use their facilities.
The trail is in two counties; Benton and Yakima, and three cities; Proser, Grandview, Sunnyside and it is easy to tell when you have crossed from one area of responsibility to another. The trail surface in Prosser is fairly smooth and vegetation free and transitions to a Benton County section has lots of cracks in the pavement which have been sealed but still have gaps which affect the ride however, there was no vegetation growing in them. Grandview has a small section of the trail on each end and to get between these two points entails having to travel on Wine Country Road (the major thoroughfare) for approximately 1.4 miles. What trail sections which are within Grandview are fairly well maintained. Between Grandview and Sunnyside the trail is in Yakima County and could see some maintenance, like the Benton County section there are lots of cracks in the pavement, but they have not seen any sealer and thus have unmaintained vegetation growing through them (this is evident when you pass the Kubota tractor dealer on your right as you approach Sunnyside when the errant vegetation is gone). The trail in the city of Sunnyside is maintained similarly to Prosser and Grandview.
What this trail needs is one entity to be overall in charge of overseeing its condition and maintenance and able to work with all government entities involved. It needs signage of one type or another to direct users in the correct route instead of making them fumble to find their way. Restroom facilities would also be of great help for users while water may be a bigger problem as this area of Washington state is rather arid as the average rainfall is less than 15 inches. The agriculture in the area depends heavily on irrigation networks to bring water to the farms.
I started at the Prosser end and rode to the Sunnyside end and back. Starting in Prosser there is no designated trail parking, and you will have to find street parking. The actual end of the pathway is not marked so I’ll call it as the intersection of Wine Country Road and Grant Ave. The pathway is on the west side of Wine Country Road and proceeds north across the Yakima River, trail travels in a north westerly direction overall. About a block past the bridge on your left will be Chukar Cherries, a local business which specializes in coated cherries and nuts (primarily chocolate) and they usually have samples available. The pathway continues north past the local airport on your left until you reach the first cross street, Old Inland Empire Highway, which has a crosswalk but no signals. A short distance later you will come to the intersection of Gap Road and Wine Country Road, cross Gap Road (once again a cross walk but no signals). Continue north past the Love’s Truck stop taking care when crossing both of their entrances (one for cars and one for trucks).
You are now into the rural area of the county and the pathway goes in a northerly direction for about a ½ mile the pathway crosses to the other side of Wine Country Road, no crosswalk, no signals so use care. The pathway is in need of maintenance as there are lots of cracks in the surface which have been sealed at some point in time but could use attention as you can feel everyone as you ride over it. About ¼ mile you come to Johnson Road, once again the story on this route no cross walk or signals as we are out of the populated areas. The pathway veers to the right and down to pass under the rail bridge and then back up to the level of Wine Country Road. The path continues to parallel Wine Country Road until you come to an Irrigation canal where the pathway turns to the right for a short distance and then back to the left and you cross the canal on a small bridge. About 1.3 miles and you cross a small rural road, Williams Road, and continue north as you pass the WDOT/WSP truck scales and inspection station on your right. If you look to your left, there is a very good chance that you will see a crop growing on lines strung from other lines between tall posts. If you drink beer there is a very good chance this is where the Hops used in its brewing process is grown (Washington grows roughly 69% of Hops in the USA with the Yakima valley producing the majority of that).
In approximately 2 miles you will come to the intersection of Wine Country Road and McCreadie Road, the cars travel through a roundabout and there is a crosswalk for the pathway on McCreadie Road but no signals. In a very short distance, you will cross an irrigation Canal and then enter a small park with a rose garden. At the other end of the park the pathway ends, and you are on Wine Country Road, travel west using the bike lane where available, I found traffic to be moderate. After about 1.2 miles you will reach the intersection of Wine Country Road, 4th Street, and Euclid Street (there is a drive-thru coffee stand on 4th Street as a reference point). You will want to cross to the other side of Wine Country Road and cross Euclid Street to get back onto the pathway, there is a light and crosswalk to assist getting across the intersection.
Once on the pathway, travel through a small parking lot (could be used as a trailhead although not marked as such with signage), continue in a northwest direction for approximately ½ mile and you will approach an unnamed intersection with a crosswalk and signal (to the right leads to I-82 on and off ramps). Once again when you get a little further along on the pathway you leave the urban area and enter into the rural county area and it is noticeable on the pathway from the needed maintenance. Almost every crack in the pavement from here to the point where the city of Sunnyside takes over maintenance had large clumps of vegetation growing in them. The road next to the pathway has now changed names from Wine Country Road to Yakima Valley Highway. After a little under 2 miles you cross Tear Road, no crosswalk or signal and continue for approximately 2.3 miles to Waneta Road. Waneta Road is the south/east I-82 access to Sunnyside and can be rather busy, there is a crosswalk and signals to help you get through the intersection. In just under ½ mile (Walmart on your left) you will reach Lincoln Road which has a crosswalk and signal to help you cross. In another ½ mile you will come to Edison Avenue (crosswalk and signal) and after crossing Edison Avenue it is only a short ¼ mile to the north/west end of the pathway where there is a small parking lot for use by users of the pathway (once again no signage).
The return journey is a reverse route back to Prosser, where you can stop at Chukar Cherries and try a sample or two as your personnel reward for enduring the trip.
This trail had large cracks in many many areas and it abruptly turned into the city streets which were very gravelly and rough. It turned back into the path where not too far on it, there was a woman using drugs. The area off the path (Grandview) was very rough and sketchy. This was the area we saw the woman using drugs. We were very disappointed.
Most Rail to Trail are wonderful. I used this as a training ride as was in Processer for a few days. Got 28 miles in (out and back) and did get exercise. However this route did not live up to my expectations of the routes Trail-toRail are. Went from Prosser to edge of Sunnyside. (Out and Back) I82 on one side, Wine Country Road on other side. Sometimes semi active railroad. Active Wind. Went through Grandview - nice town but signage limited and lots of traffic. There was a clean public bathroom on Route which was nice and from Grandview to Sunnyside frequent bench to sit on. Just north of Grandview the route gets a little roughy. The initial couple of miles outside of Prosser was unattrative and not marked will . Hard to get lost though.
Fantastic! We parked our semi at the Loves truck stop in Prosser and wanted to get out a bit. The trail literally passes through the truck stop. Easy access, great pathway; rode all the way through Grandview and bac, 16.5 miles. A few ups and does at the Prosser end but overall a relatively easy and leisurely ride. Asphalt. A few ups and downs
Trail is a nice surprise. A safe way to bike in the area with pretty views of the Yakima River and access to towns along the way.
This trail is sandwiched between an Interstate Highway and the old highway alongside a railroad track. The result is a level ride with very few streets to cross. It's a useful route when going between Sunnyside and Grandview. The trail is usually clean but beware of goathead thorns between July and September.
_0_nb.jpg)
TrailLink is a free service provided by Rails-to-Trails conservancy
(a non-profit) and we need your support!
