Volunteers restore rock work along Candy Point Trail

A solid piece of local history got cleaned up and clarified last weekend so people can enjoy and use it more in the present as volunteers from across the state continued work on the Candy Point Trail in Coulee Dam.

The trail has historical significance, having been built by the Civilian Conservation Corps back in 1937.

Contacted by Coulee Dam’s Parks and Natural Resources Board, last year the Washington Trails Association cleared brush along the 2.25-mile trail. It extends from behind Coulee Dam City Hall up to Candy Point, a hilltop with a great view of the Grand Coulee Dam and more, passes near Crown Point Vista, with the option to cut over to it, then down to a residential yard on Columbia Avenue through which public access is granted.

This year, with an OK from the Bureau of Reclamationafter it conducted an archaeological survey, around 20 volunteers for the WTA did “tread work” on the trail, helping steady and repair the many stone steps that span lengths of the trail, as well as widening and defining it, clearing rocks, and more.

“It’s one of the best trails I’ve ever seen,” said Alan Carter Mortimer, the WTA crew leader on the project. “I’ve been doing this for 21 years, and … I was just amazed! It blew me away.”

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