My two cents: Last parts in the Latah Trail finish 24-mile Pullman-Troy link

Most of the Latah Trail is located on the former right-of-way of the Northern Pacific Railroad route which linked Lewiston with Spokane.

Bicycle riders this year might consider a day trip from Pullman all the way to Troy, Idaho. The trip, 24 miles one way, has been made a lot easier with completion last fall of the Latah Trail.

Last big link for the trail went into place when an arch bridge was lifted into place for a span across Wallen Road which intersects with Idaho Highway 8 about a mile up the hill west of Troy. Also, the last gravel segment of the trail was paved to complete the surfacing of all 11 miles between Moscow and Troy.

The bridge and last two miles of paving means a paved bicycle route is in place all the way from north Pullman to Troy, and beyond. The “beyond” in this case amounts to a short downhill stint from Troy past the town’s sewer plant.

As noted here two years ago, the Latah Trail is on the roadbed for the historic Northern Pacific Railroad route which brought passengers and freight out of the Clearwater River Valley to the Palouse County and eventually to Spokane. The two miles of the trail on the downhill end of Troy cover the last of what was a long pull up the creek grade along Bear Creek and Little Bear Creek from the Potlatch River grade at Kendrick. Most of the old creek grade route, from the sewer plant at Troy down to Kendrick, is now abandoned and closed for public use.

Times change. It’s a pretty good guess that the number of bicycle riders and walkers on the trail on a sunny Sunday exceed the total number of daily passengers who rode the Northern Pacific’s last mode of passenger service, the self-propelled “bug car” that served small towns in eastern Whitman County and all along the line.

At its peak, the NP route had 8 to 10 trains per day with four offering passenger service. The line operated until 1983 when the railroad, then Burlington Northern, shut down operations between Moscow and the Clearwater River at Arrow Junction upstream from Lewiston. The rails were pulled in 1997.

One popular weekend routine seems to be pedaling to Troy for lunch and then riding back up the grade to Moscow or Pullman. On Sunday last week, road bikes were parked on the small lawn in front of the Whitepine Cafe and the clientele inside the restaurant was a mix of Troy regulars and bike riders in their Spandex shorts.

Segments of trail have also been added at Pullman and Moscow over the past two years to improve the linkup. Included among paving additions to the Pullman trail system, which followed a levy approval by Pullman voters two years ago, is an extension of the paved trail along Highway 27 in the Missouri Flat Creek drainage. Riders can now hook onto the top end of the trail system along Highway 27, north of intersection with Terre View. The trail comes up to highway across from the lot at Auto Body Center, (private business, not a public trailhead).

The trail then heads south along the railroad, still present here, into Pullman. It goes along the east side of Jack In the Box and requires a heads-up crossing of Stadium way. It continues along the east side of the railroad and the creek into Pullman and hooks up with the Riverwalk Trail. Go right around the back of Dan Antoni’s red caboose to get on the boardwalk segment of Riverwalk which runs along the river on the north side of Pullman’s downtown business district. It passes Reaney Park and goes under E. Main to the city playfield area.

One view stop here is a look at Koppel Farm before the trail continues east and comes out at Johnson Road. A slight jog to the north puts riders on the Chipman Trail for the seven-mile hookup to Moscow.

The University of Idaho segment begins across Harden Road from where the Chipman Trail ends. The trail runs along the north edge of the UI playing fields and then becomes Paradise Path which is marked with a green maple leaf insignia.

Campus pedestrians and a few sharp corners call for slow and careful riding. The lone snag on the cross-campus segment comes at the Sixth Street crossing in the UI Student Union neighborhood. The path jogs to the east, back across Paradise Creek for about two blocks and then jogs to the west, back across the creek and along the UI east parking lot to the fancy fountains at S. Gateway on Highway 95.

Cross 95 at the signal and take a jog north to pick up the trail which makes some tight turns though Berman Creekside Park. After that the trail gets on the old Northern Pacific right-of-way and heads out 11 miles to Troy.

Riders can get an idea of their progress by picking out the old NP mileage makers recording the distances from Spokane. The railroad bridge at Pullman, across Missouri Flat Creek, has a 74.6 marker and the bridge on the other side of Pullman, along Bishop Boulevard, carries a 76.8.

The 89-mile marker is tagged to the end of the trestle bridge as the Latah Trail passes opposite the Moscow Elks golf course. Marker 91 is just beyond the trailer park; marker 92 is west of the Juno elevator; mile marker 98 is in the timber just before the end of the grade descent into Troy.

The grade break between Moscow and Troy is at the point where Idaho Highway 8 crosses over the trail at about two highway miles from Troy. At that point eastbound bikers can coast down the hill. After crossing the Wallen bridge, the trail swings to the north away from the highway for what becomes to a long curving descent into Troy.

The trail crosses Howell Road and passes another vintage railroad sign, “Summit,” which marks the top of the long grade where for over 50 years northbound Northern Pacific crews could back off the strain on their steam engines after completing the long pull out of the river valley which starts at Kendrick.