Douglas Creek, Ancient Lakes and Royal City Overnighter

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Wenatchee, WA, US

Route Overview

Pat Boyle

Bikepacking

104 mi.

3,909 ft.

Experience a sample of Eastern Washington diversity, packed into this 100 mile overnighter: wheat fields, coulees, Rich Tacos in Quincy, the rocky reliefs of the Ancient Lakes wildlife refuge, cactus, wildlife, irrigation ditches and apple orchards.

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Route Details

Start in the small town of Douglas, climbing up a ravine into the @photo[expansive wheat fields of the Waterville Plateau](12868248). Drop into Douglas creek canyon for some excellent camping along a perennial stream. Look out for some @photo[great swimming near the falls](13155254), and for rattlesnakes, birds and other wildlife also experiencing the stream. Coast down the Palisades road to join the Columbia for a short stint, then climb up to the town of Quincy with good food options and datacenters powered by the Columbia River. Have lunch at @poi[Rich Tacos](74088285) then follow quiet roads to @poi[Ancient Lakes to camp](74088284). Drop down to a shelf above the Columbia, then ride for 10 miles on rough, sometimes soft doubletrack, passing @photo[cactus](13155253) and below the Gorge Amphitheater. Then follow @photo[the trail](13155249) most of the way to Royal City, a small friendly town surrounded with apple orchards and an abandoned Titan missile silo.

The Douglas to Royal City overnighter is a small segment of the longer [Columbia River Ramble](http://columbiaramble.wordpress.com) that follows the river from the Canadian border to The Dalles and Hood River.

This route is about 56% gravel and the paved sections are quiet, with one 3 mile section on the shoulder of Hwy 28 before Quincy. The route through Ancient Lakes is best done on 2.4” or larger tires. More work will be done to reduce pavement by utilizing irrigation ditch routes.

To extend your trip, check out the following:
The [Columbia River Ramble](http://columbiaramble.wordpress.com) (mentioned above), the [Cross Washington Mountain bike route](http://crosswashington.weebly.com) which overlaps at the north end in Douglas Creek, or the [Palouse to Cascades trail](http://parks.wa.gov/521/Palouse-to-Cascades) just south of Royal City.

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Douglas Creek, Ancient Lakes and Royal City Overnighter

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Route Details

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