The Spokane area is blessed with many great places to hike and enjoy our wide array of wildflowers. Before you go out on your wildflower quest, it’s a good idea to pick up a wildflower book.

My favorite is one I have had in my backpack for a long time: “A Field Guide to Rocky Mountain Wildflowers.” The book has held together really well considering all the use it has had over the years.

Another really good book to have is “Plants of Southern BC and the Inland Northwest.” This book not only has good information on wildflowers but also on trees, shrubs, ferns, and lichen. It is one of my go-to books. It is a little heavy for the backpack but is worth its weight in gold.

As the saying goes, “April showers bring May flowers.” The month of May along with June can bring an explosion of beautiful wildflowers or in some dry years a very disappointing short season.

It is the middle of March as I write this article and I don’t have a crystal ball to tell what sort of wildflower season we will have this year. It could be great or it could be a bust.

All I can do is tell you about some of my favorite places that I have enjoyed during the 40-plus years I have lived in Spokane—and hope it doesn’t get too dry too early this year. Happy wildflower hunting!

Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge (Cheney, Wash.)

This area has probably the best variety of wildflowers in the Inland Northwest. There are many different hiking trails along with a 5-mile auto loop. In addition to all the waterfowl, this 20,000-acre natural area supports a large variety of wildlife, including white-tailed deer, coyotes, beaver, and moose.

Some of the wildflowers you might see are Bitterroot (state flower of Montana), sticky geranium, yellow bells, prairie smoke, camas, and death camas, along with a lot of balsamroot just to name a few. Be sure and check for ticks before you leave the refuge. You don’t want any little hitchhikers going home with you.

Spring wildflowers along hiking trails, including bitterroot (left) and sticky geranium (right). // Photos: Rich Leon

Iller Creek Conservation Area (Spokane Valley, Wash.)

This is one place you will want to bring your camera. Iller has some very unique wildflowers not found in other areas around Spokane. One is Clarkia (a member of the evening primrose family).

Clarkia was named after William Clark of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Other wildflowers include mountain lady slippers, clematis, monkshood, and honeysuckle.

Dishman Hills Natural Area (Spokane Valley, Wash.)

The picturesque cliffs and ravines not only make this place an interesting area to explore but also a wonderful place to find a variety of wildflowers. As you roam around the many trails within Dishman Hills Natural Area, you are likely to find glacier lilies, Rocky Mountain iris, fairy bells, balsamroot, and fireweed.

Mount Spokane State Park (Mead, Wash.)

This is one of my favorite places for wildflowers. I like all the different trails at Mount Spokane State Park for a variety of reasons but especially the Nordic ski trail area because of the beargrass. The area has beargrass every year, but these plants only produce a major bloom about once every seven years.

When a big bloom happens, it is a sight to behold. On the lower part of the mountain (especially trail 100), you can find trillium, mountain bluebells, two different coralroot, bunchberry, paintbrush, and fairy slipper orchids.

Kamiak Butte (Pullman, Wash.)

This spot is about a 60-mile drive south of Spokane but well worth it. Surrounded on all sides by the wheat fields of the Palouse, this 3,650-foot-tall island of pine, fir, and larch has some amazing views.

On a good wildflower year the hillsides can be covered in a sea of yellow from the balsamroot. It is a great place to bring the kids for a self-guided nature walk on the 3.5-mile Pine Loop Trail. Don’t forget to pack a picnic lunch.

Tubbs Hill and Mineral Ridge (Coeur d’Alene, Idaho)

Both of these popular North Idaho natural areas offer some great views, and there are also plenty of wildflowers to see.

Other Notable Inland NW Wildflower Hot Spots

Other areas you might want to visit are Slavin Conservation Area (Spokane), Antoine Peak (Spokane Valley), Little Spokane River (North Spokane), Riverside State Park (Spokane), and the Liberty Lake Conservation Area (Liberty Lake, Wash.)

Please be aware that some areas in Washington require a Discover Pass such as Mount Spokane and Riverside state parks. There is an entry fee for the Turnbull Wildlife Refuge, and other areas such as the Little Spokane River do not allow dogs; all other natural areas require dogs to be on a leash at all times.

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Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area, in Lincoln County, Washington, covers 21,000 acres of grasslands and sagebrush just south of Highway 2, near the town of Creston (56 miles from Spokane). A spring hike to Z Lake can be an excellent introduction to this landscape at roughly 3 miles roundtrip.

The hike is easy via an old farm road past the remains of a homestead, coming to a dead-end at the southeast shore of Z Lake. An easy extension is to follow the lakeshore for a short distance on either side.

For a more challenging version of this hike, set compass bearings due west of Z Lake and head cross country toward Florence Lake in the heart of the wildlife area. There are no formal trails or markers here, although the cross-country route does cross a few farm roads and livestock fences from a previous generation.

Map and compass skills required, and binoculars for watching birds in the wetlands strongly encouraged.  The hike to Z Lake can be considered easy to moderate. The hike to Florence Lake should be considered difficult due to route finding.

Getting there

On Highway 2 travel 7.2 miles east of the town of Creston, or 13.4 miles west of Davenport. Turn south on Telford Road and travel 9 miles to a small WDFW parking area located on the west side of the road near a pass-through gate. Discover Pass required.

Find more information about hiking in the Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area from the Washington Trails Association.

Find more stories about hiking and Hike of the Month recommendations in the OTO archives.

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Begin on a double-track section that drops down to the wetlands. At the one-mile mark watch for an unmarked left-hand junction onto single-track heading north, noting the dilapidated barn across the wetland to the east marking the return route. The trail winds through the forest along the edge of the wetlands for the next two miles before intersecting an alternate access point and additional trailhead at Horseshoe Lake Road.

Turn right, rejoining a double-track trail section as it heads southeast around the wetland, then bends south. This section is parallel to the hike up, but with increased views of the wetlands along the way. At the 5.5 mile mark the trail returns to the drooping barn, most safely viewed at a distance. Return to the same double-track trail as the start and climb a final mile through the lovely shaded forest to return to the parking area.

Total distance is 6.5 miles with 850′ elevation gain for a moderately difficult hike. Discover Pass required.

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1. Plan ahead. Check websites and trail reports to be sure that there aren’t any trail closures.  

2. Dress for the weather. Check the weather report and stay warm, dry, and comfortable, especially with outerwear, insulating socks, and waterproof footwear.  

3. Expect mud. Even if it hasn’t rained or snowed recently, forested trails can still be muddy or even have patches of snow or ice. Stay on trails to avoid widening them. 

4. Travel prepared. Bring water bottles, snacks/lunch, first-aid kit, TP roll and plastic bags to pack-out any waste or trash. Depending on the weather, bring warm hats, extra gloves or socks (or even an entire change of clothes for kids), and handwarmer packets. Bring along a paper or digital trail map and make sure your cell phone is charged for emergencies. 

5. Keep a flexible mindset. Kids don’t want a sufferfest. They want to meander and explore; pick up sticks and rocks; look for insects and wildlife tracks; and don’t really care about the view or final destination.  

Amy McCaffree is the Out There Kids columnist and grew up free-range on a small family farm near Seattle. She lives in Spokane with her husband and their two children.

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When I visited, my group opted to hike the trail clockwise, but the loop can be completed in either direction. This is a landscape shaped by the Missoula floods, with hike highlights 15,000 years in the making. The trail is well marked and there are well-spaced benches along the way, inviting hikers to linger along the route. By hiking clockwise we found a dramatic vantage point allowing us to look down on Rock Rose Crater from above.  

Since the hike is short, bring some additional supplies to help you savor the journey. This is an ideal place for photography and bird watching, or even plein air painting. Books on geology and the Missoula floods can also be useful to have along on the hike to help interpret geologic features visible along the trail. We found spring wildflowers including arrowleaf balsamroot and phlox. On my group’s visit, we also packed a picnic lunch to enjoy at Odessa’s Reiman Park after we had completed the hike.  

There is one warning I must pass along about this hike: It is a spring hotbed for ticks. I had already applied my annual clothing treatment of Permethrin prior to my mid-April visit, which I found worked well for myself. My hiking companion didn’t have any tick treatment on and discovered several ticks along the course of the hike. My poor dog, who was wearing a Permethrin-treated bandana but had not yet received his spring and summer tick treatment, ultimately brought several hitchhikers home. While dogs are permitted on this hike, due to the prevalence of ticks, it might be better to leave them at home.

Hike Stats

Round-trip distance: 1.5 miles 

Rating: Easy 

Elevation gain: 175 feet 

Map: Lakeview Recreation Area on the BLM Website (map)

Getting there: From Odessa, Wash., take Highway 21 north. Travel 6.6 miles to a small parking area with a trailhead kiosk located on the east side of the highway. 

Find more Hike of the Month ideas in the OTO archives.

Holly Weiler is a crew leader for Washington Trails Association and writes the Hike of the Month for each issue. She looks forward to enjoying spring wildflowers. 

Editor’s Note: Fishtrap Recreation Area remains open year-round even during stay-at-home orders because of its open accessibility (no gates). It has limited facilities and those remained locked and unusable during the Washington State “Stay Healthy, Stay Home” public health proclamation.

This article was originally published as “Odessa Craters: Eastern Washington’s Channeled Scablands” for the Hike of the Month column in the April 2020 issue.

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