A bicyclist pedals through the Nine Mile Recreation Area inside Washington’s Riverside State Park. A narrow, paved path shows the way, snaking between ponderosa pines standing erect on all sides.
That path, the Centennial Trail, takes the rider through the park and on to Spokane, the Idaho state line and Coeur d’Alene. The trail’s setting changes several times over the next 62 miles, but there is always one constant.
The Spokane River is the Centennial Trail’s defining scenic feature. It flows from Lake Coeur d’Alene through Spokane and on to its eventual merger with the Columbia River. Whenever the trail rises or falls, twists or turns, the river is most often in sight.
“You’re along the river almost the whole way,” says Jen Westra, executive director of the Spokane-based Friends of the Centennial Trail.…