The Apple Capital Recreation Loop Trail is an urban bicycle and pedestrian trail in

Wenatchee, Washington Wenatchee ( ) is the county seat and largest city of Chelan County, Washington, United States. The population within the city limits in 2010 was 31,925, and was estimated to have increased to 34,360 as of 2019. Located in the north-central part ...

, United States. It follows the west and east shores of the Columbia River for and was completed in 1995.

Route

The trail runs

clockwise Two-dimensional rotation can occur in two possible directions. Clockwise motion (abbreviated CW) proceeds in the same direction as a clock's hands: from the top to the right, then down and then to the left, and back up to the top. The opposite ...

from the foot of 9th Street at Wenatchee Riverfront Park and follows the west bank of the Columbia River along Worthen Street. It crosses the river on the historic Columbia River Bridge into East Wenatchee and joins a branch that travels southeast towards Rock Island Hydro Park. The trail continues north on the river's east bank, passing through the Porter's Pond Natural Area and intersecting two

trailhead A trailhead is the point at which a trail begins, where the trail is often intended for hiking, biking, horseback riding, or off-road vehicles. Modern trailheads often contain rest rooms, maps, sign posts and distribution centers for information ...

s located a few blocks west of State Route 28 before reaching a junction with the Rocky Reach Trail. It then crosses the Columbia River on the south side of the

Richard Odabashian Bridge The Richard Odabashian Bridge, formerly the Olds Station Bridge, is a box girder bridge crossing the Columbia River in Wenatchee, Washington, United States. It carries four lanes of U.S. Route 2 (US 2) and US 97, as well as a bi ...

, which also carries

U.S. Route 2 U.S. Route 2 or U.S. Highway 2 (US 2) is an east–west U.S. Highway spanning across the northern continental United States. US 2 consists of two segments connected by various roadways in southern Canada. Unlike some routes, wh ...

and

U.S. Route 97 U.S. Route 97 (US 97) is a major north–south route of the United States Numbered Highway System in the Pacific Northwest region. It runs for approximately through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, primarily serving i ...

, and turns south to enter Wenatchee Confluence State Park. The trail crosses the

Wenatchee River The Wenatchee River is a river in the U.S. state of Washington, originating at Lake Wenatchee and flowing southeast for , emptying into the Columbia River immediately north of Wenatchee, Washington. On its way it passes the towns of Plain, L ...

and re-enters Wenatchee, passing through Walla Walla Point Park and terminating at Riverfront Park. The loop trail was reportedly the longest in Washington state as of 2006, and was largely developed by the

Chelan County Public Utility District The Chelan County Public Utility District, or Chelan County PUD, provides electric, water, wastewater public utility and telecommunications services in Chelan County, in north-central Washington, USA. It is organized under state statute as a no ...

as part of

hydroelectric dam Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...

mitigation. The trail is typically used by pedestrians, cyclists, and skateboarders, but also functions as a

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreatio ...

and

snowshoeing Snowshoes are specialized outdoor gear for walking over snow. Their large footprint spreads the user's weight out and allows them to travel largely on top of rather than through snow. Adjustable bindings attach them to appropriate winter footwe ...

route during the wintertime. It has views of the Columbia and Wenatchee rivers, as well as the surrounding mountains and hills.

History

The riverside loop trail was conceived in the 1980s by the

as part of Exhibit R, an

environmental mitigation Environmental mitigation, compensatory mitigation, or mitigation banking, are terms used primarily by the United States government and the related environmental industry to describe projects or programs intended to offset known impacts to an exist ...

program required by federal authorities before renewing the agency's licenses to operate

s on the Columbia River. The Wenatchee side was completed in 1990.

Apple Capital Recreation Loop Trail- River Drive East Wenatchee entrance

The Eastside trail, named the Apple Capital Recreation Loop, was funded by donations from local businesses and grants from the state government and began construction in April 1993. The trail's Eastside portion was completed in October 1994, and its link to the west side was finished in May 1995. The section within East Wenatchee was also designated as the Russell T. Congdon Memorial Trail, named for a major donor. A major renovation of the trail began in 2008 and was completed in 2013, rebuilding curves, adding

mile marker A milestone is a numbered marker placed on a route such as a road, railway, railway line, canal or border, boundary. They can indicate the distance to towns, cities, and other places or landmarks; or they can give their position on the rou ...

s, and building new bridges and undercrossings at the north end. The Hydro Park branch to Rock Island was constructed and paved in 2002. The trail network was extended north in 2015 with the opening of the Rocky Reach Trail, which travels from the east end of the Richard Odabashian Bridge to

Lincoln Rock State Park Lincoln Rock State Park is a public recreation area on the east side of the Columbia River's Lake Entiat, north of Wenatchee and one mile upstream from the Rocky Reach Dam. The state park covers opposite the cliff formation for which it is n ...

References

External links

{{Attached KML
Chelan County PUD
Bike paths in Washington (state) Protected areas of Chelan County, Washington Protected areas of Douglas County, Washington Transportation in Chelan County, Washington Transportation in Douglas County, Washington