Old Ranch Road Trail

Old Ranch Road is a 6.36-mile round-trip out-and-back from Coyote Wall Trailhead, with about a half-mile on old pavement to the trail and 2.7 miles on Forest Service Trail #4426 to Atwood Road. Turn around there and retrace the route. The shorter loops turn onto Little Moab or Little Maui; following Atwood Road toward Upper Labyrinth makes a different, longer outing. Allow about four hours for the full walk.

The approach on old pavement is nearly flat. Once #4426 leaves it, an old Jeep road climbs through bends toward Coyote Wall’s ridge. The mapped track is ground, with exposed bedrock on the climb. The Columbia River views open as you gain height, and the south-facing meadows get a spring run of wildflowers. A report from the route describes two bedrock shelves early in the climb and warns that shortcuts straight uphill are wearing away thin soil. Stay on the switchbacks and follow current signs; several old paths in this recreation area have been retired.

This is for someone who wants a sustained ridge climb, not a quick falls stop. The rough footing and roughly 1,300 feet of climbing make it a half-day walk, and you return on the same route. Bicycles also use designated tracks here, so take care at junctions. Park in the Coyote Wall Trailhead lot off Courtney Road near Washington 14 milepost 69.7; use marked spaces only, not the highway or road shoulder. It is a day-use area, sunrise to sunset, with no fee. Dogs can come, but must be leashed December 1 through June 30. Stay on signed trails: old maps show retired routes, and land below the wall to the west is private.