Reecer Creek Floodplain Trail
This hidden gem of a trail cuts through a field with high grasses and then loops back along a dike. For a longer walk, follow the connecting trail under I-90 and walk around Carey Lakes, a pair of ponds that were created when a gravel pit flooded. There is always parking at the start trail, just off of Dolar Way Road, less than a mile from I-90 (if you are looking for a break while driving). In the winter, a local club grooms cross country trails through this area. Interpretive signs provide insight into the riparian ecosystem.
This trail comes out of a project that Mid-Columbia Fisheries undertook to improve salmon habitat on Reecer Creek, a tributary to the Yakima River as rearing habitat has been identified as a limiting factor for steel head and salmon in the upper Yakima. The project had the twin goals of providing migrating salmon access to the tributary and reducing flood risk in West Ellensburg, a neighborhood that was regularly inundated.
In the early 20th Century, Reecer Creek had been forced into a straight, diked channel in the last stretch before the Yakima River, to open up land for development but this made it much more difficult for fish to spawn in the creek and it had increased flooding: during high flow events, the creek would back up and instead of water flowing into the Yakima, water would pour into the neighborhood of West Ellensburg.
Mid-Columbia Fisheries relocated the dike south and relocated 3,700’ of creek into the newly opened up floodplain. Once the creek had been moved and reconfigured to a more natural meandering course, they revegetated the riparian and upland areas with native trees, shrubs, and grasses (with the support of many volunteers), added in-stream wood to improve passage and fish cover, opened up 58 acres of floodplain, and improved the quantity and quality of salmonid rearing and spawning habitat. More information about the project here.
The unanticipated benefit of the project was to open up a walking trail. At first, people followed the tracks that were left by equipment working in the area. Over time, this has been developed into a popular walking destination with a trail and interpretive signs.