Cowiche Mountain/Snow Mountain Ranch - Yakima, WA

April 30, 2016

After I totally enjoyed myriads of spring wildflowers with hiking Sauer's Mountain a few days ago, I decided to hit east again....this time to explore Snow Mountain Ranch/Cowiche Mountain Trail in Yakima.

As described in another hiker's trip report, the trailhead is located in about 1/4 mile after passing the white sign of Snow Mountain Ranch. There you find a large gravel parking lot with a trail sign. There is also a kiosk soon after trekking across the creek from the parking lot, and it provides a portable map for visitor's convenience. I took one map with me and it was very useful to guide me to decide which trail to take.

There are several trails interconnecting in this hike, so you can choose your route depending on how far you want to hike. I started with Entry Trail and headed toward Wildflowers Trail via Ditch Bank Trail. Then, I took Wildflowers Trail up to Bench Trail where I hiked up along Cowiche Mountain Trail East ascending to the top of Cowiche Mountain. For descending, I took Cowiche Mountain Trail East all the way down to Ditch Bank Trail and returned to Entry Trail. I think the total hiking distance was about 6 miles. Elevation gain was about 1,100 ft. The trail is maintained well over all, but partially rocky and narrow.

Wildflowers are still hanging in there, though some are already peaking out, specially the ones in lower elevation. If you want to see wildflowers blooming now, I recommend to hike Bench Trail and Cowiche Mountain Trail East toward the top of Cowiche Mountain. Wildflowers are still exhibiting nicely....specially along Bench Trail and higher elevation of Cowiche Mountain Trail East.

There was a nice breeze when I hiked this afternoon, so it was comfortable to hike even in the middle of the day....it was 75 degrees in the parking when I started my hike. The hike is entirely open range with no shade at all, so I highly recommend to prepare for heat and sun if you do this hike on a sunny day....and stay hydrated during the hike.

Although wildflowers were not as much as I expected, I really enjoyed the hike with the freedom of the open range and rolling terrain with fantastic views of the green grass farm lands down below and mountain ranges in the distance. It's definitely different from the views of N. Cascades peaks, but it has its own beauty, indeed. I am glad I did this hike. By the way, it was interesting to see a bath tub out of nowhere....???