Recreational Opportunities

The scenic Klickitat Trail offers a variety of recreational opportunities, including hiking, bicycling, horseback riding, and birdwatching.  The Columbia Gorge is a recreation haven.  Other trails in the area (at Catherine Creek, Burdoin Mountain, and the Syncline, for example) are growing in popularity among both locals and tourists. 

The gentle grade of the Klickitat Trail is wide enough for several people to ride or walk abreast, making it an ideal and unique recreational opportunity for all Gorge lovers.  The Trail offers a safe alternative to walking or riding on Highway 142, which it parallels. 

Economic Opportunities

The Trail can benefit a variety of businesses in the tourism industry, including hotels and motels, B&Bs, restaurants, grocery stores, gas stations, taverns, wineries, and bicycle rental shops.  The communities of Lyle and Klickitat will likely see the biggest economic benefits from the Trail.  These communities are facing some of the highest unemployment rates in the nation, and tourism is one of the few industries in the area that is healthy and growing.  In recent months, the local Klickitat Trail Conservancy has begun sponsoring organized hikes and bike rides on the Trail, and encouraging participants to buy gas and food in Lyle and Klickitat.  Tourists from otoher areas are also beginning to use the trail, even before plans for developing and promoting the Trail have been implemented.  Interestingly, the Trail is already featured as the Number One hike in "55 Hikes in Central Washington," a guidebook published by the Mountaineers.

One hint about the Trail's potential as a tourist attraction comes from across the Columbia River.  In 1999, a restored section of the Historic Columbia River Highway opened near the town of Mosier, Oregon.  That trail is similar to the Klickitat Trail in terms of accessibility and grade.  Shortly after the Oregon trail opened, the Wildflower Cafe, the first restaurant in Mosier in years, opened and has steadily grown, relying on local residents and trail users for business.  With its family appeal and stunning beauty, the Klickitat Trail could have a similar effect on the economic vitality of adjacent towns.  Bike shop owners in Hood River, Oregon, have already said they will point customers toward the Klickitat Trail as soon as a management plan is implemented.

Because the Trail is an attraction for tourists as well as locals, its economic benefits will extend beyond Lyle and Klickitat to benefit other communities in Klickitat County.  The Trail will give tourists a reason to stay in our area for an extra day, and will encourage them to explore portions of Klickitat County beyond the Columbia River Gorge.