Ferry County Rail Trail

Republic to Danville, Washington

25 Miles of Unparalleled Beauty

End of year FUNdraiser!

December 5, 2021

Hi, Rail Trail friends! It’s been a busy, productive, and expensive year. The bad news is we have a financial shortcoming for the work we have completed this year. However, the good news is we have an $8,000 matching pledge from a private donor to kick off our Giving Tuesday and December fundraiser.

Every dollar donated will be doubled, up to $8,000. If we hit our goal, it will also set us up nicely to fix the third washout at Lambert Creek next year. Surfacing and restroom installation at Curlew will also be completed next spring and summer.

Tax-deductible donations can be made by clicking on the link below, or sent via check to:
FCRTP
PO BOX 3
Malo, WA 99150

Donate with PayPal or your credit card here: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/fcrtp

Thanks for your continued support, and happy holidays on behalf of the Ferry County Rail Trail Partners.

Bridge deck across West Deer Creek
A new bridge spans West Deer Creek on the Ferry County Rail trail north of Curlew. The bridge replaces a culvert that washed out in flooding caused by catastrophic fires in 2015. Photo J. Foster Fanning.

 

Sandy Dotts and Bruce Heiner gathering baseline data from West Deer Creek
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Habitat Biologist Sandy Dotts and engineer Bruce Heiner gather baseline data on West Deer Creek. Heiner was responsible for the basic design of the new West Deer Creek bridge on the Ferry County Rail Trail. Photo Keith Bell.

FC Rail Trail Location and Sections

Ferry County Rail Trail, a non-motorized trail, is located in north central Washington, extending near the town and county seat of Republic to Danville, next to the Canadian border for a distance of over 24 miles. The main access highways are by Highway 97 through the Okanogan Valley or by Highway 395 from Colville – Spokane. Republic is located on State Highway 20 that connects Highway 97 to Highway 395.

(See the Map Menu above for maps of the different trail sections)

The south start of the non-motorized Rail Trail is on Herron Creek Road. From there it winds along Curlew Lake, crosses the lake at the north end on the trestle, to the intersection of Kiwanis Road, a distance of about 5.5 miles. 

The center section of the trail travels over unfinished rail bed to Lundimo Meadows Road, just south of the town of Curlew. This area represents Phase 5 of the surfacing project and is expected to be completed in 2021. This part of the trail travels parallel to Highway 21 for an approximate distance of over 9 miles .

The north section from the town of Curlew to the town of Danville at the British Columbia border, travels along the Kettle River and through a short tunnel. The trail is still running parallel to Highway 21, except on the east side of the river. This distance is approximately 10 miles.

The trail’s remote features are home to wildlife. It is not uncommon to see bald eagles, osprey, ducks and geese, mule and whitetail deer and maybe a brown bear.  

If one does not want to travel this far away from town, there is the Golden Tiger Trail, which has both ATV and bike path and starts across from Republic School and travels to Pine Grove, a distance of about 3.5 miles. Parking access is a both ends of this portion of the trail. There are bikes to borrow in the town, from which one can pedal to the Golden Tiger Trail start. 

Enjoy the scenery and your adventure. The views are always changing!

Our Mission Statement

Preserve the rail corridor for the long term economic benefit of Ferry County and create a non-motorized trail.