This is a special use trail that is paved the entire length. There are benches to rest and gentle slopes for wheel chaired individual to manage.

This Universal Access Trail is unique and offers nearly all the wonderful features that a lover of the out-of-doors would expect. There are incredible floral displays in season, complete with song birds and great vistas of the gorge and surrounding mountains.

Keep this trail in mind if you are physically challenged or have a friend who is.

Below is just a small sampling of the wildflowers you will see in the spring at Catherine Creek.

Sampling of Wildflowers at Catherine Creek

How to get there:

Cross the Hood River Bridge ($2 toll) and turn right on WA Highway 14. Drive 5.8 miles to Old Highway 8. Turn left on Old Highway 8, which is also County Road 1230. Drive east on this road (which is an earlier version of today's WA Highway 14) for about 1 1/2 miles to the gravel parking area on the left/north side of the road. The universal access trail takes off to the right/south (downhill from the road). The rock arch hike and others begin on left or north side of the road.

Old Highway 8 continues eastward into Lyle, creating alternate routes to/from the east.