White Bluffs to Ringold

Location: Pasco, WA

Region: Southeast WA

Best Season: Summer/Fall

Difficulty: Intermediate

Primary Bike Surface: Gravel

Passes/Permits: WA Discover Pass

Water Length: 8-16mi

Bike Length: 9-18mi

Suggested Bike Route Map: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/76933551

Recommended Trip Type: One Stop Adventure (what’s this?)

Parking: Ringold Boat Launch (Discover Pass Reqd.), South White Bluffs Trailhead, White Bluffs Boat Launch

Description:

This trip will require a "One-Stop-Adventure" trip as it's a long drive around to shuttle with a vehicle (44mi one-way).  This makes it a great bikeraft trip where the closed road is perfect for biking.  This is really where bikerafting shines because to do this trip with a traditional boat and car shuttle would be very time consuming.  Much of the ride is gravel so plan for a cross or MTB.  The route can be very hot in summer with no drinking water so plan to bike early in the morning when it's cooler.  The Hanford Reach used to allow MTBs on the single-track before this land transitioned to the National Monument.  It's really a shame the hiking trails are not open to MTBs here any more, but this is a nice gravel grinder route on the roads.  The Hanford Reach is the last free-flowing section of the Columbia River in the U.S.

PRO Tip: Run tubeless or sealant in your tubes to prevent punctures from goat-head thorns. The bike ride can be shortened by parking further up the road north of the Ringold Boat Launch. The paddle can be about 8mi at the shortest (White Bluffs launch to power lines) but can extend down to Ringold launch for an additional ~8mi. It’s possible to do a bike-paddle-bike trip as well.

Water Flow: https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/12472800/#parameterCode=00065

References: https://www.fws.gov/refuge/Hanford_Reach/

Hazards: Goat-heads (puncture thorns), Heat, River currents

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