Beginning at Cheney, Washington, the trail runs to the confluence of the Snake and Columbia rivers at Pasco, passing through five counties in the southeastern part of the state.

[1][2] Proceeding from the northeast toward the southwest, major access points include: The rail bed was constructed by the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway Company in the early 1900s.

[1] The northern portion of the trail passes through a habitat of primarily ponderosa pine/grassland mixed with exposed basalt cliffs and areas of meadow and shrub-steppe.

It bisects the Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge, an area of northeastern Washington on the eastern edge of the Columbia River Basin which encompasses approximately 16,000 acres (6,500 ha) of the channeled scablands.

[3] The numerous erosion-created potholes have formed over 130 marshes, wetlands and lakes which attract a wide range of waterfowl; more than 200 different kinds of birds have been recorded in this area.