Name: Indian Race Track Trail #171
Rating: 4.0

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The usual federal wilderness area regulations and restrictions apply here. There may also be additional wilderness-specific restrictions in force; check with the district office if in doubt. Practice Leave No Trace (LNT) backcountry skills and ethics. Camp 100 feet from fragile areas; bury human waste at least 200 feet from water, trails, and campsites. This trail is usually closed by snow from November to June.

Description

From the Indian Race Track Trailhead on Forest Road 65, the #171 soon passes a junction with the Falls Creek #152 trail, crosses Falls Creek with a natural crossing, then climbs through rocky terrain for one mile to a large meadow known as the Indian Race Track. You can lose the trail in this big meadow so be careful.

The Indian Race Track was, historically and until the early 1900s, an annual gathering place for Native Americans during the berry season. From first-hand accounts, we know that thousands of people from the Yakama, Klickitat, and Columbia River tribes would congregate here for huckleberry gathering and pony races on a 10-feet-wide and more than 2,000 feet long track. This site is also located along a historic, pre-contact, cross-Cascades trade route.

From the Race Track, the #171 climbs to Forest Road 6048 near the summit of Red Mountain. A short jaunt up the road takes you to the fire lookout. The original lookout was built in 1910 and has been replaced over the years by two other lookouts.