Beginner Backpacking Trips Near Richland, WA
The best first night out in this set is probably Sheep Lake, 1.8 gentle miles up the Pacific Crest Trail from Chinook Pass, on a 6-mile round trip to Sourdough Gap with 1,100 feet of gain. Sand Lake off White Pass is gentler on paper at 5.2 miles and 960 feet. Both are summer trips, since their high points sit above 5,300 feet and snow keeps the passes shut until late spring.
What separates these twelve is elevation more than effort. Dusty Lake, Ancient Lakes and Towell Falls top out below 1,600 feet in the coulees and scablands, so they are spring trips that fade once the heat arrives. Most of the rest climb to between 5,000 and 6,400 feet in the Cascades or the Blue Mountains, where the snow sets the calendar and late summer is gentler on a new backpacker than July.
Our picks
- Leaving after lunch for a first night: Sheep Lake to Sourdough Gap. Camp is 1.8 gentle miles from the Chinook Pass trailhead, so an afternoon start still gets the tent up before dark.
- A March trip while the passes are snowed in: Dusty Lake. Only 350 feet of gain over 6 miles, with a high point of 1,000 feet that comes into season in March.
- Testing new gear close to the car: Towell Falls. No parking pass, 400 feet of gain, and primitive campsites with fire rings at the trailhead itself.
- Wilderness nearest the Tri-Cities: Oregon Butte. Six miles round trip with 987 feet of gain to a staffed fire lookout, with a spring below it.
- A second trip with two nights: Dumbbell Lake. 13.5 miles past seven named lakes on gentle grades; the Hard rating comes from distance, not steepness.
At a glance
| Option | Round-Trip Distance | Elevation Gain | Highest Point | Difficulty Rating | Region | Parking Pass | Trailhead Coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.2source | 960source | 5,315source | Moderatesource | South Cascadessource | America the Beautiful Pass or Northwest Forest Passsource | 46.6447, -121.3823source | |
| 6source | 350source | 1,000source | Moderatesource | Central Washingtonsource | Discover Passsource | 47.1373, -119.9320source | |
| 6source | 987source | 6,387source | Moderatesource | Eastern Washingtonsource | America the Beautiful Pass or Northwest Forest Passsource | 46.1183, -117.7150source | |
| 6source | 1,100source | 6,400source | Moderatesource | Mount Rainier Areasource | America the Beautiful Pass or Northwest Forest Passsource | 46.8911, -121.5057source | |
| 6source | 1,270source | 5,900source | Moderatesource | Mount Rainier Areasource | America the Beautiful Pass or Northwest Forest Passsource | 46.8749, -121.5176source | |
| 6.5source | 400source | 1,536source | Moderatesource | Eastern Washingtonsource | Nonesource | 47.0143, -117.9436source | |
| 8.8source | 1,000source | 5,000source | Moderatesource | South Cascadessource | 46.4231, -121.4713source | ||
| 9.3source | 2,056source | 5,842source | Moderate/Hardsource | South Cascadessource | Nonesource | 46.4231, -121.4713source | |
| 9.4source | 1,400source | 5,000source | Moderate/Hardsource | Mount Rainier Areasource | America the Beautiful Pass or Northwest Forest Passsource | 46.8322, -121.3681source | |
| 12source | 625source | 1,200source | Moderate/Hardsource | Central Washingtonsource | Discover Passsource | 47.1519, -119.9223source | |
| 13.5source | 2,070source | 5,600source | Hardsource | South Cascadessource | America the Beautiful Pass or Northwest Forest Passsource | 46.6450, -121.3824source | |
| 21source | 2,700source | Hardsource | Eastern Washingtonsource | America the Beautiful Pass or Northwest Forest Passsource | 46.1890, -117.6194source |
Spring in the coulees, summer at the passes
The Highest Point column is the one to sort on first. Dusty Lake at 1,000 feet, Ancient Lakes at 1,200 and Towell Falls at 1,536 are the spring answers, and Towell Falls is best in March or April, when the falls on Rock Creek are loud. All three are open and exposed, and the two coulee lakes have no drinkable water, so carry what you will drink.
Everything above 5,000 feet waits on snow. Chinook Pass, the shared trailhead for Sheep Lake and Dewey Lake, is closed until late spring, and the gravel road to Oregon Butte stays snowed in well into June. Once they open, mosquitoes are the next hurdle: Sand Lake, Dewey Lake, Swamp Lake and Dumbbell Lake all have summaries warning about them, and late August and September are the kinder weeks.
Why a flat trail can read Moderate/Hard
The Difficulty Rating is the Washington Trails Association's calculation from distance and gain for the whole listed route, not a judgment about beginners. Ancient Lakes reads Moderate/Hard on a 12-mile figure that covers its full trail network, yet it gains only 625 feet and most people camp two to three miles in. Dumbbell Lake is rated Hard for its 13.5 miles, not for any steep ground.
The steep one really is Nannie Ridge to Sheep Lake: 2,056 feet of gain in all, about 1,850 of it in the first 2.5 miles. Swamp Lake is gentle but starts with a ford of the Bumping River that is dangerous in spring melt, and Walupt Creek's log crossing can turn into a ford in high water too.
Passes, permits and camping rules to sort out first
Seven trailheads want an America the Beautiful or Northwest Forest Pass. Dusty Lake and Ancient Lakes take a Discover Pass, and Towell Falls and Nannie Ridge need none. The Goat Rocks trips add a free wilderness permit you fill out yourself near the start of the trail. Ancient Lakes and Dusty Lake carry a larger question: WDFW has proposed closing the area to camping from January 1, 2027, with public comment open until October 30, so a night there from 2027 on depends on how that decision lands.
The options in detail
Sand Lake
A short walk north on the Pacific Crest Trail from White Pass to a shallow, sandy-bottomed lake on the Tumac Plateau. It is the gentlest real backpack on this list: under three miles each way on an easy grade, with Deer Lake at about two miles as a turnaround if the group is tired. The lake's level rises and falls, which keeps the meadow wildflowers healthy and the mosquitoes plentiful, so late August and September are kinder than July. Sites here are informal rather than developed, so pick a durable spot well back from the water.
Dusty Lake
The bigger, quieter sibling of Ancient Lakes, at the head of the south alcove of Potholes Coulee outside Quincy. Only 350 feet of gain over six miles makes it one of the easiest overnights in the state, and because it is desert it comes into season in March, when the Cascades are still buried in snow. The trade-off is exposure: almost no shade, no drinkable water, and ticks and rattlesnakes once it warms up. The state is weighing a camping ban across this part of the Quincy Lakes unit starting in 2027, so confirm the current rules before you plan a night here.
Oregon Butte
The closest true wilderness backpack to the Tri-Cities: six miles round trip from the Teepee trailhead to a fire lookout with a 360-degree view over the Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness. There are established campsites along the way and a spring below the lookout, which matters in the Blue Mountains, where water up high is scarce. The hard part is the approach, a long gravel forest road that stays snowed in well into June. The lookout is still staffed in summer, so treat it as someone's workplace when you get there.
Sheep Lake to Sourdough Gap
Probably the best first night out within about three hours of the Tri-Cities: 1.8 gentle miles up the Pacific Crest Trail from Chinook Pass to a small subalpine lake, with an optional 1.4-mile climb to a gap looking out over Mount Adams and Mount St. Helens. Because the trailhead sits high and the walk is short, you can leave in the afternoon and still have camp set before dark. The cost of all that is company: the PCT lot fills in the morning on summer weekends and the lake basin gets busy. Chinook Pass is closed by snow until late spring, and the wildflowers peak in July and August.
Dewey Lake
Shares the Chinook Pass trailhead with Sheep Lake but runs south on the PCT around Naches Peak, topping out at 1.7 miles before dropping 700 feet to a lake ringed with campsites. Timing makes or breaks this one: early season means avalanche-chute crossings and famously bad mosquitoes, while late July through September brings flowers, ripe huckleberries and water warm enough to swim in. Remember that the 700-foot descent to the lake is the climb you finish the trip on. Dogs are allowed on the PCT here but not on the Mount Rainier National Park trail at the junction.
Towell Falls
A scablands walk on an old ranch road along Rock Creek at Escure Ranch, ending at a set of waterfalls that genuinely roar in late winter and early spring. It is the flattest trip here, needs no pass, and has primitive campsites with fire rings and picnic tables at the trailhead itself, which makes it a forgiving place to shake down new gear before you carry it anywhere serious. Expect cattle, mountain bikers and horses on the trail, and hunting in the fall. Go in March or April: by midsummer the falls are thin and the open ground is hot.
Walupt Lake and Walupt Creek
A flat forest walk from the Walupt Lake campground along the lakeshore and up to Walupt Creek, ending at the Pacific Crest Trail 4.4 miles in. It is short on views, which is exactly why it stays quiet, and the gentle grade plus a natural turnaround at the creek makes it a sensible trip with kids. You fill out a free Goat Rocks wilderness permit in the first hundred yards. The creek crossing is bridged by logs and can be a dangerous ford in spring high water, and the campground is a long way in on gravel.
Nannie Ridge to Sheep Lake
The steep option, and the one that feels most like real mountains: about 1,850 feet of climbing in the first 2.5 miles to the ridge crest below Nannie Peak, then two easier miles to a small alpine lake on the Pacific Crest Trail. August is the month, when the huckleberries along the lower trail are ripe and the meadows are in flower. Parking is free and the overnight wilderness permit is a free self-issue at the trail board. Do not underestimate that first climb with a full pack. This Sheep Lake is in the Goat Rocks, not the better-known one at Chinook Pass.
Swamp Lake
A William O. Douglas Wilderness lake that is much better than its name, popular with anglers and backpackers, on a mostly flat approach that climbs gently past the wilderness boundary. The obstacle comes early: a ford of the Bumping River in the first half mile that is genuinely dangerous during spring melt or after heavy rain. Starting from the Bumping Lake trailhead instead adds 3.85 miles each way but skips the ford entirely. Mosquitoes are severe in early summer, and the shoreline is a restoration area, so pitch your tent 100 feet back from the water.
Ancient Lakes
The classic eastern Washington first backpack: a coulee floor ringed by 200- to 300-foot basalt walls with a 160-foot waterfall dropping into it, in the Ice Age flood landscape that made the geologist J Harlen Bretz famous. The 12-mile figure covers the whole trail network; most people walk two to three miles in from one of the trailheads and camp near the lakes. It is a spring and late-fall trip, with no shade, no drinkable water, and heat, ticks and rattlesnakes the rest of the year. WDFW has proposed closing the area to camping starting January 1, 2027 over human waste and campfire damage, with public comment open until October 30, so check the current rules before you count on a night here.
Dumbbell Lake
A lollipop loop across the Tumac Plateau past seven named lakes and any number of unnamed ponds and marshes, on gentle grades the whole way despite the mileage. This is the trip for a second or third outing, when you want two nights and easy water rather than a hard climb; the Hard rating comes from distance, not steepness. There are established campsites, and the route is tame enough for kids who can walk the miles. The price of all that water is mosquitoes, which are legendary here until late summer.
Tucannon River - Rattlesnake Loop
The Blue Mountains' step up to a real multi-day trip, starting low along the Tucannon River where water and shade are easy and then climbing to the open ridges of the Mount Misery trail. It is described as an easy one- or two-night backpack, but that is still 21 miles, and springs up high are few, so plan your camps around water rather than mileage. Spring brings rare sulphur lupine, columbine and hillsides of buckwheat, and dawn and dusk are the best chances at the resident elk herds. Leaving a bike or a second car at Panjab Creek campground saves the road walk that closes the circuit.
How we researched this
All seven columns were read off each trip's Washington Trails Association hike page, which gives the twelve rows one shared set of conventions, including WTA's habit of listing a whole trail network rather than the walk to camp. Twenty-eight trips were weighed. Snowgrass Flat and Shoe Lake were cut because their pages prohibit camping at the destination, Juniper Dunes Wilderness is closed after the Juniper Dunes Fire, Pete Lake and Hyas Lake were flagged closed by the Three Queens Fire in August 2026, and Twin Sisters Lakes sits behind a washout on Deep Creek Road. Umtanum Creek Canyon is a day hike with campgrounds rather than backcountry sites. Cramer Lake, the Panjab and Wenaha River trails, and Crooked Creek are listed only in one-way miles, so they would have broken the round-trip column.
Two cells are empty because WTA does not list them: a parking pass for Walupt Lake, whose page mentions only the wilderness permit, and a high point for the Tucannon River loop. Fire closures, road washouts and the WDFW camping proposal all move faster than a trail page, so check the trail's current conditions before you load the car.