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The beauty of the Spokane River Centennial State Park Trail (Centennial Trail) comes alive in stands of ponderosa pines and Douglas-firs, blooms of elderberry and sumac, exposed basalt in the deep river canyon, and the bridges and waterfalls of downtown Spokane. A day on the 40-mile trail offers many activities, such as swimming at beaches, exploring the site of the 1974 World’s Fair, or touring Gonzaga University. While the Centennial Trail features mild grades, there is a slight decline heading west, ending at a Spokane River beach at Nine Mile Recreation Area.
About the Route
Leaving from the trail's western end at East Appleway Avenue and Spokane Bridge Road in Liberty Lake, take the Liberty Lake Stateline Trail east to a junction of 0.2 miles. The right fork is the North Idaho Centennial Trail, which heads east 23 miles to the shores of Lake Coeur d’Alene. The left fork begins the Spokane River Centennial State Park Trail. It crosses under I-90 to Gateway Regional Park and runs west along the south bank of the Spokane River, passing Spokane Valley Mall and Mirabeau Point Park before crossing to the north shore at Denny Ashlock Memorial Bridge after 13 miles.
Shortly thereafter the trail reaches the first on-street segment of the trail, at Donkey Island Trailhead (mile 14). Take either the shoulder of North Farr Road or the low-traffic alternative of North Marengo Drive to East Upriver Drive. Turn left and continue on the shoulder or sidewalk 0.6 mile, where the multiuse path restarts at Boulder Beach (mile 16).
In another mile, trail users can watch climbers at the Minnehaha Climbing Rocks. Soon the trail is routed back onto East Upriver Drive, where trail users can ride in the striped bike lane 1.7 miles to North Greene Street (mile 19.5) and back onto the trail in downtown Spokane. Take the trail to Mission Avenue (mile 21); turn right, cross the train tracks, and use the crosswalk to cross Mission Avenue at Mission Park. The trail follows the railroad south before veering west through Gonzaga University’s campus and back across the Spokane River (mile 22).
Continue west and use any of the next three bridges to turn right and cross onto Riverfront Park. Explore the site of the Expo ‘74 World’s Fair before crossing the Post Street Bridge (mile 23) with views of Spokane Falls and the gondolas traversing the river. Leaving town, back on the north side of the river, the Kendall Yards residential/commercial area is the last chance for food and water as the trail heads into a more remote area.
At mile 24.5, there’s an opportunity to head south and cross the Sandifur Memorial Bridge to connect to the Fish Lake Trail via an on-street route (take West Riverside Avenue west to South Government Way).
Continuing on the Centennial Trail, vistas of the Spokane River Canyon open up as the trail heads north. The trail follows the trail alongside North Pettet Drive, crosses the road before the bridge, and uses the barrier-protected sidewalk to cross TJ Meenach Bridge (mile 27). Follow the trail markings on the pavement and loop under the bridge to continue west on the trail. The trail remains on the south bank of the river for the remainder of the trip.
The final 10 miles of the Centennial Trail are within Riverside State Park. There are many opportunities to take a mountain bike onto unpaved side trails. Consult the Washington State Parks website, below. Weaving through pine forests, the trail passes a military cemetery before descending to the Equestrian Area parking (mile 30). Trail users will share the Riverside Park roadway with minimal vehicular traffic for 0.7 miles until reaching the Morin Trailhead. The trail continues north to the Wilbur Trailhead (mile 34), where the trail again shares the roadway with parkgoers in cars. Proceed 0.7 miles and cross West 7 Mile Road to continue along the Riverside Park roadway to the McLellan Trailhead.
The remainder of the trail is off-street, as the Spokane River widens and the forest grows thicker. The trail crosses Carlson Road, then West Charles Road as it enters the Sontag Day Use Area (mile 38). The final 2 miles wind through Riverside State Park before a steep descent to the Nine Mile Recreation Area (mile 40), where trail users are greeted by an inviting beach at a calm and wide section of the Spokane River.
The Spokane River Centennial State Park Trail runs between WA-ID State Line and Riverside State Park (Nine Mile Falls).
Please see TrailLink Map for all parking options and detailed directions.
I am not sure why people give it 2 stars. It is a long trail and definitely in a city it will have issues. But I took West part from Military Cemetery trailhead to Nine Miles Falls park and the trail was fantastic. Wonderful views, good pavement, but boy, it is not rails to trails for sure :-). Up and down hills. Not too bad but many would prefer ebike I guess.
No trail exist from boulder beach east a few miles and shoulders of the road have glass and debris. Very dangerous during high vehicle traffic times. There is a safer alternative but it is all roads and no trail.
Lots of detours! Nice view along the city river section but every direction there were detours. And then homeless coming out of the bushes.
Great trail that includes both rural and urban scenery. Beautiful river views along the way and a few inclines on the west trail.
Paved, has areas that are flat, others with hills and curves, well maintained, off the road so vehicle traffic is not an issue, right along the Spokane River and you see and hear the river, benches, water fountains and restrooms along the trail in addition to mile markers. This is by the far the best trail and form of exercise I’ve had in years. Easy access to the trail along it’s 30+ miles, you can get off the trail and go to restaurants if you’d like. Highly recommend es.
Rode the whole route fully loaded on 38 mm tires and what a sweet cruise. The I was noisy but the river was sweet. loved the ride
I've ridden all or parts of this trail for several years. Great riding. Can be a bit crowded thru the Riverfront Park area, and again around Mirabeau. you can ride this trail well into Idaho (Coeur D'alene) on the Idaho Centennial Extension, which is another 24 miles. Great stops and food along the way. Krispy Kreme by valley mall is always a great fuel stop, especially with kids. Post Falls has some great dining as well for Food/water stops.
You don't have to be stuck in a rut to get out! I challenge you to seize an hour from your month and grab a walk-bike-run on the trail! This app also shows important key features such as water fountains, parking and potties. Just do it...
We are seniors; took a short ride between Mile 296 and 291. Trail access could have been better marked for first-timers looking for parking/trailhead, but once on the trail we were very happy. Easy surface to ride, lots of nice shade along the river. Other folks using the trail were friendly. Riders, be sure to sing out when approaching other trail users from behind. Some of us are unable to hear you coming without a good loud warning. Would definitely ride again!
Sorry to hear the disappointments on other reviews but just had to get my thoughts in. we have just had the best twenty mile ride Over ever experienced. The trail, weather and scenery is better than we expected and the few climbs really made it interesting. Perhaps not what I expected from the rail trail description with a couple of pushes but really present and interesting. Also, the ladies at The Tin Pot Cafe at Nine Mile Dam are worth trip on their own. Arrived as guests and left as friends is exactly right ladies. Plain fantastic, thank you and we'll be back.
The Riverside section of this trail sounded great on paper; a curving off-road trail leaving Spokane, traversing in and out of the woods and ending at a state park. We found a parking lot across the bridge from the beginning of the off-road trail but it only had one car in it with a recently shattered windshield (the glass was still on the pavement).
We headed further west to another trailhead and found that it cost $10 for a state parks entrance fee to park there, plus a sign warned of frequent thefts from cars parked there.
Plan B: we went to the east end intending to ride along the river. That section didn't look too scenic as we drove through town, and we arrived on the state line to find that the parking lot was bisected by a chain-link fence, and at this lot even the trail sign had been stolen!
At least we had time to replace my wife's saddle at a terrific shop in Post Falls, ID next to a purveyor of locally produced honey. It was a sweet ending to a sour experience.
My wife and I booked a four day trip to the Northwest to ride rail trails in July 2013.
On our first day, we attempted to ride out to Sontag Park. The "trial" started with a bike lane on a very, very, busy highway. When we finally arrived at the "trail" it was simply a paved trail, with no water stations and had very, very, steep sections--not a rail trail at all.
The next day we were similarly disappointed in riding along only a bike lane on busy highways, in many places, to the Idaho border. Many sections were not clearly marked and we got lost at least once.
The scenery was only average.
Certainly not worth the airfare.
This Trail is awesome and has been around for 20 years. Along the Spokane River from West of Spokane, Wa to Cda, Idaho going East. Great views and fun for all skill levels.
"My wife and I have ridden this trail many times, mostly on the eastern end. It is paved, well marked, wide, and safe for all levels of riders. The access is easy from many spots, even several motels right next to the trail so you can ride and stay. Most of the eastern end is flat, only hilly streatches are on the west end, but that is the more forested end too. Keep riding east and you can go all the way to Coeur D Alene, Id. on the paved bike trail."
"I hiked a 12-mile section of the Spokane River Centennial Trail from east of Spokane through the city to about a mile west of the city in December 2001 as part of my training for a half marathon. Because it was such a long walk, I did it alone, but felt perfectly safe and comfortable.
It was beautiful, walking along the river, interesting going through the city, and on the western edge, I was rewarded by having a bald eagle fly quite near me. I was also happy to find restrooms available for use even in late December."
"We tried this trail, the North Idaho Centenial Trail, the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes, the Northern Pacific route over Lookout Pass and the Route of the Hiawatha together to make a great week long tour. We started and ended in Spokane. It was one of the best weeks I have ever spent.
The only problem with the Spokane River Centennial Trail was confusion in Riverside Park. The trail is not well marked in either direction, there are lots of bike lanes but no indication of which are part of the trail you are on.
We loved it anyway."
From 9mile Falls through Riverside State Park is absolutly beautiful.Near south entrance of park trail goes left into a depression that in summer time is nothing more than a heat sink.I prefer to stay on main road and turn left on Government Way(very wide shoulders light traffic)you will be treated to wonderful views of the Spokane River gorge as it streches off to the N.N.W.Rejoin trail at Old Military Cemetary for a nice 2 mile down hill(use caution some parts are steep).Cross T.J.Meenach bridge turn left and climb 1/3of a mile into residential area of Spokane.Signage for trail disapears at this point so find your own way to Riverfront Park where trail continous East into Spokane Valley.From Boulder Beach (M.P.16) to Farr Rd.(M.P.14)you have shoulder but it is not very wide depending on traffic volume it may seem rather hairy at times.Once you are on Farr Rd.things return to peace and quite turn left on Maringo to rejoin off road portion of trail and the river.From this point to Harvard Rd you pass through wooded areas that are pleasant(in the early spring there is a portion between Barker Rd and Harvard Rd that has Syringa bushes on either side of trail when in bloom they are very pretty).From Harvard Rd to Idaho Line prairie land with good views of the mountains in Idaho.
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