A solid piece of local history got cleaned up and clarified last weekend so people can enjoy and use it more in the present as volunteers from across the state continued work on the Candy Point Trail in Coulee Dam.
The trail has historical significance, having been built by the Civilian Conservation Corps back in 1937.
Contacted by Coulee Dam’s Parks and Natural Resources Board, last year the Washington Trails Association cleared brush along the 2.25-mile trail. It extends from behind Coulee Dam City Hall up to Candy Point, a hilltop with a great view of the Grand Coulee Dam and more, passes near Crown Point Vista, with the option to cut over to it, then down to a residential yard on Columbia Avenue through which public access is granted.
This year, with an OK from the Bureau of Reclamationafter it conducted an archaeological survey, around 20 volunteers for the WTA did “tread work” on the trail, helping steady and repair the many stone steps that span lengths of the trail, as well as widening and defining it, clearing rocks, and more.
“It’s one of the best trails I’ve ever seen,” said Alan Carter Mortimer, the WTA crew leader on the project. “I’ve been doing this for 21 years, and … I was just amazed! It blew me away.”
Geologist Bruce Bjornstad’s added a video of Martin Falls near Banks Lake to his series Ice Age Floodscapes. Locals may know the falls as the Devil’s Punchbowl.
A visually stunning website from the Washington Department of Natural Resources explains how ice age floods helped shape the unique picturesque landscapes of our region.
Geologist Bruce Bjornstad came to Dry Falls-Sun Lakes State Park to give a guided tour of the Caribou Trail to a dog and about 10 human hikers both local, from the Seattle area, and as far away as New England last Saturday.
The approximately 90-minute guided hike started with Bjornstad showing maps of the area depicting what things were like during the Missoula Floods. He showed how a large ice dam used to be where the Grand Coulee Dam is now, and how that had diverted the Columbia River through the Grand Coulee, past Steamboat Rock, and so on. When the ice dam melted, the Columbia took on its current course.
Bjornstad, a licensed geologist/hydrogeologist who used to work for Hanford nuclear production complex in the Tri-Cities area, explained the timescale of the coulees being carved, explaining what a unique feature they are on the planet Earth, the closest thing similar being the landscapes of the planet Mars.
Hiking to huge potholes resembling craters above Deep Lake, Bjornstad explained that they were formed by whirlpools or eddies in the waters that had flooded the region, and simply dug the rocks out of the ground and sent them flying with the sheer force of the current.
“These are some of the best potholes in the world,” Bjornstad said. “There’s dozens of them up there. A lot of times you won’t see them until you’re right up next to them within a few feet when all of the sudden the ground will disappear. They can be hundreds of feet deep and hundreds of feet wide.”
Throughout the hike, Bjornstad was able to answer questions and explain geological features of the region.
A video series Bjornstad produces called Floodscapes is available to view on Youtube. The videos show stunning aerial footage shot with a drone of landscapes shaped by the Missoula Floods, including the Deep Lake Potholes.
The Candy Point Trail is a pleasant, short-but-challenging hike that starts right in town at Coulee Dam and ascends about 700 feet up flights of stone steps and trail, eventually leading to either Candy Point towards the left, or Crown Point, our community’s popular spaceship-looking viewpoint, to the right.
Both offer a great overview of the dam, with Crown Point affording an additional panorama down river. We’ll focus here on the Crown Point path; the branch to the left from the top winds back down behind the town hall where work has recently been done to restore the trail.
“It’s one of the best trails I’ve ever seen.” — Alan Carter Mortimer, Washington Trails Association crew leader
Oddly enough, the trail starts in a private backyard, but don’t worry, there are signs on the sidewalk saying it’s perfectly fine to walk through the yard to the trailhead, which you can easily see from the road. As the sign says, it’s quite the workout, but the views are well worth it.
A sign near the north end of Colombia Avenue in Coulee Dam welcomes hikers.
From the get-go, it is common to hear birds singing their songs, and see nice green areas that look like a perfect place to have a picnic. It is not uncommon to see deer grazing along the hillsides. As is the case in most of eastern Washington, be prepared to give rattlesnakes a respectable distance if you see one, which you probably won’t.
The stone steps comprising much of the trail are very impressive landscaping work that must have taken a lot of hard work to install by the Civilian Conservation Corps, a federal project that put people to work in during the Great Depression. Now that you know this, you won’t be tempted to think you’ve stumbled on to the remnants of some ancient civilization.
Stone work on the trail was originally accomplished by the CCCs during the Great Depression.
In 2017, the town of Coulee Dam’s Parks and Natural Resources Board worked with the Washington Trails Association to clear brush along the 2.25-mile trail. With an OK from the Bureau of Reclamation after it conducted an archaeological survey, around 20 volunteers for the WTA did “tread work” on the trail, helping steady and repair the many stone steps that span lengths of the trail, as well as widening and defining it, clearing rocks, and more.
“It’s one of the best trails I’ve ever seen,” said Alan Carter Mortimer, the WTA crew leader on the project. “I’ve been doing this for 21 years, and … I was just amazed! It blew me away.”
Mortimer said that from a historical point of view, and considering the high quality of the rock walls and steps left by the CCC, the trail that has deteriorated for decades “should be way more popular.”
“It’s really cool because it goes up to a great view of the dam and everything,” he said. “You go up and it’s a really great place to have lunch on top.”
One view from Crown Point, looking toward the dam.
It takes 30 minutes or more to get to the top, quite the workout for the legs. Once at the top you’ll find magnificent views of the dam, the bridge, the river, the town, and beyond.
After resting a while, and taking in the views, heading back down takes about 20 minutes. In the end, you get to have a great workout, see wildflowers and birds, take some great photos of the dam … a great way to spend an hour or two.
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