Balfour-Klickitat Loop

On the Trail

This easy, 0.75-mile loop is a paved, universal access trail atop a Klickitat River bluff; it offers views down into the river canyon. Elevation gain is 150 feet. Bald eagles in winter are a reliable thrill at this excellent year-round birding site.

Permits & Pets

This site is managed by the U.S. Forest Service; no pass is required. Dogs may be off leash, but for best bird-watching opportunities, leave them at home.

Trail Notes

• Bring your binoculars for the meandering walk along the Balfour Klickitat Trail (Trail 4414). Most years, a small flock of canvasback ducks takes refuge here. Lewis’s woodpeckers share the pines and oaks with red and white-breasted nuthatches. In summer, watch for turkey vultures riding the thermals and listen for the sweet sound of swallows. Two short, out-and-back trails head off from the north end of the loop.
• The park is in the vicinity of a Native American village Lewis & Clark chronicled on October 29, 1805. Clark wrote of 11 houses just downstream of the Klickitat River and labeled the river as Cataract River due to the number of waterfalls the Native Americans said were present.
• In the 1860s, this land was the home of Lyle town founder James O. Lyle; in the 1890s he sold it as part of a 1,600-acre land purchase by Archibald Balfour, whose sons attempted ranching and then raising orchard crops here.
• Over the decades, the area that is now the day use area devolved into a gravel pit and junkyard. In the 1990s, the Forest Service bought the land. With help from Yakama tribal members and other Klickitat County residents, it has been beautifully rehabilitated.
• Please always stay on the trail and clean your boots before and after you hike. Hikers are a common vector for spreading invasive seeds.
• Restrooms are at the parking area.

Friends of the Columbia Gorge does not track trail closures. If you are planning a hike in the Gorge, please check other sources in advance for the latest updates, including the U.S Forest Service, Ready Set GOrge, and AllTrails. Recreational activities in the Gorge can involve risk of injury, death, property damage, and other dangers. Friends does not assume responsibility for any such outcome resulting from the use of the information on our hiking web pages. Your use of these web pages is strictly at your own risk.

Post-Hike Explorations

Combine this short hike with a walk or bike ride on the Klickitat Trail, just across the Klickitat River from Balfour Klickitat. Afterwards, enjoy a meal in Lyle at a historic railroad hotel; have a beer and a game of pool at a bar and grill, or get the evening’s special at a classic diner.