Courtesy: Aurélie Vilmer

The Saltese Uplands Conservation Area is another location for a scenic trail run that’s not far from Spokane. Located 17 miles due east of Spokane, this 552-acre preserve has 7 miles of trails through shrub steppe habitat, with opportunities to explore canyons that embrace year-round springs and climb ridge tops with views of Liberty Lake, Mount Spokane, and Saltese Flats. For a flatter run, we recommend sticking to ~ 4 mile Uplands Loop. It’s ~4 miles. It’s trail running but the surface is good and the terrain quite open. For a challenge, add the Summit Loop, which adds ~700 feet of climbing over nearly 2 miles. There are other trails and a series of fire roads in the preserve.

Our thanks to Aurélie Vilmer for suggesting this route!