White Bluffs Trail
Hanford Reach National Monument

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Eastern Washington
Hiking Distance: 3.5 miles one-way
Elevation Gain: 500 feet
Access: Good gravel roads
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Washington State is remarkably diverse when it comes to the outdoors. Visiting the White Bluffs, you are about as far opposite of the spectrum from the rain forests in the Olympics. This high desert landscape with the Columbia River and rolling sand dunes offers this really unique hiking opportunity. The Hanford Reach is the last free flowing, non tidal stretch of the Columbia River and shelters the best remaining salmon spawing grounds on its 1,240 mile length. Other than natural scenery, across the river are the reactors of Hanford that were active up to 1987. From 1943 to 2000, most of this area served as a security buffer for the nuclear facilities. Animals and plants did well and were protected by these unusual circumstances. In 2000, the area was made a National Monument, the first to be managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The road is off Highway 24 between Yakama and Othello. The dead end road is good gravel, has a gate but likely open and there is three destinations. The boat launch area, the White Bluffs Overlook and the Wahluke Ponds area.
Route
Find the Hanford Reach North Trailhead just before the boat launch, just as you drop down to the river area but before the boat launch, dirt parking on right. The trail is unsigned but quite visible. The trail climbs up and along the bench for 2 miles to the first sand dune. After conquering the first dune, the next dune is 1.5 miles more with no trails, but easy terrain. The second dune looks smaller but go there and then look back at the first dune and it is hardly noticeable. Weird.
Access
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Trailhead
Trail on the bluff
Heading to the sand dunes
Edge of the sand dunes hitting the grass
First sand dune
Sand dune patterns
Saddle Mountains in the distance
On the second sand dune
Top of second sand dunes
Sunset over Columbia River
Hiking back at sunset
White Bluffs Trail in July
On top of dune looking back at the route