Shorter Rides

These rides are either short, flat, or out and back. No long climbs on these.

Evans Road

Map	Difficulty	Distance	Photos
Map	Easy 2 miles climb	15 miles

1. From Southway ride north to the blue bridge, cross to Clarkston and go around Quality Inn to Red Wolf. Follow highway 12 for 2.5 (good shoulder) miles to Evans Road which is a climb but not bad. Take a left at the top where it intersects with Peola Road . Take a right about 1.5 miles later on Critchfield road which will take you down to the Asotin highway. If you turn right, cross the highway, on your left you’ll see a break in the guard rail which will give you access to the bike path which you can take back to Southway. This is about 16 miles.

a. If you want to extend this route take the right at the bottom of Critchfield on Clemens. This will take you to Asotin where you can get back on the bike path and head for Southway. This should add 3 or 4 miles.

b. Another option at Asotin is to go up Asotin creek (turn right just before the Welcome sign. Take the right at the Y about 2.5 miles up and go another 2.5 miles to the end of the pavement and turn around. Riding this with Evans road is about 30 miles with no major hills.

 

2. Lewiston Loop

This is tougher with a major hill. Ride south to Hell’s Gate Park , exit the park and ride up Tammany to Barre Road. Continue on this (busier route) for a couple of miles until you reach a sharp right turn with a hill on the left. This is McIntosh and it is steep. Push it if you like. It is only .3 of a mile. Stay on this road for 2 miles or so crossing Powers and making a sharp left (you have no option). Descend back to the river on Lindsay Creek Road. Turn left on East Main at the bottom of the hill. Then look for a Salvation Army store on the right. Take the right just after the salvation Army and look for a one lane road down the bank. This will take you under memorial bridge where you can get back on the bike path and ride back to Southway.

3.Asotin Creek Alternative:

20 miles. Instead of riding around Evans, just ride over Southway. Drop down to the bike path on the steep winding trail at the Clarkston end of the bridge. Stay right on the trail to Asotin. Enjoy benches and interpretive signs. Turn right before this sign and ride up Asotin Creek to the end of the pavement and back.

4.Heller Bar:

Ride to Asotin and through town staying on the main road. This is an out and back course but you can turn around at anytime. Typically we turn around at 10 mile bridge or at Buffalo Eddy (see the picture to the left). You can go all the way to Heller Bar if you don’t mind riding 3 miles of hard pan. You probably won’t want to go that far in any case. This is mostly flat with some low rollers. It is beautiful along the Snake. This can be a hot ride and there is no water available even at Heller Bar. The 10 mile bridge is a cattle guard and is rough. You can ride across it but many folks like to walk it.

Traffic can be a problem if you are doing this during fishing season or early evening in the summer when the kids are driving down to go swimming. Most of the rest of the time traffic will be light but it is narrow and has no shoulders. You can go as far as you are capable of riding back, but fair warning, usually you’ll will have a head wind on the return trip.

5. Wawawai Canyon:

You could ride down to Wawawai Canyon on an almost entirely flat course by riding to Red Wolf, crossing the bridge and taking a left past the Port of Wilma . Wawawai is 30 miles from Southway. There are restrooms and water in the park but you have to climb up to get into the park and up again to get out of the park.

Instead you might choose to turn around at Steptoe Canyon about 12.5 miles down. You’ll know it because the road crosses a bridge and splits going up the canyon. Or go a couple of more miles to Nisqually John’s Landing. There is a public restroom at the landing but no running water. That should be a 30 mile round trip. The traffic should be light west of Red Wolf. I don’t recommend riding East from Red Wolf on the Whitman county side during the week. Too much truck traffic.

Enjoy. If you have questions, give me a call at 509 758-9303