Columbia Plateau Trail State Park
Managed by Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission
49 acres0.5 mi of trail
Cheney Wetland Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Joe Mabel (on Flickr as Joe Mabel from Seattle, US) · CC BY-SA 3.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Cheney
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park in Cheney
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 3.5 miles of mapped trail cross Cheney, 0.8 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Columbia Plateau Trail State Park (0.5 mi).
Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns · #99 of 285 in Washington. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
137 acres · of 4.3 sq mi of land
Trails
3.5 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
158 ac
12 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
9.0 mi
6.3 mi lanes · 2.5 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Cheney?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Cheney have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Cheney is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns, #99 of 285 in Washington. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Cheney’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical WA town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · WA 0.8 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land12 acres of park per 1,000 residents (158 acres) · WA 11 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · WA 92% · U.S. 72%A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 80%
LessMore
Washington towns of 2,500+ (285)Ahead of 65%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Columbia Plateau Trail State Park, with 0.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
All 13 parks & preserves
Columbia Plateau Trail State Park49 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission
DirectionsCrunks Sports Complex18 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsBetz Park15 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsHibbard Park2 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsVeterans Memorial Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsSalnave Park10 acres
DirectionsCentennial Park7 acres · City of Cheney
DirectionsMoos Field4 acres
DirectionsHagelin Park3 acres
DirectionsSutton Park3 acres
DirectionsSledding Hill1 acres
DirectionsAshlee Park1 acres
DirectionsCheney Visitor Center1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
137 conserved acres
5% of Cheney’s land. Who manages Cheney’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city86 ac
State parks50 ac
Local Park · 83 acState Recreation Area · 50 acLocal Recreation Area · 4 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 11 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50-Acre Park Local Park | Town or city | 54 | Unknown |
| Columbia Plateau Trail State Recreation Area | State parks | 50 | Open |
| Salnave Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Centennial Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Hagelin Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Moos Field Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Sutton Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Cheney Community Gardens Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Veterans' Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
1 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
20 places to go in Cheney
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Cheney
Cheney Outdoor PoolIn Hagelin Park
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Cheney
17 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Cheney
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Community gardens in Cheney
EWU Community GardenEastern Washington University
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.7 mi
Cheney Wetland Trail1.4 mi
Biking & sports
9.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
6.3 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
2.5 mi
off-road bike paths
0.2 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
18Tennis
15Baseball
6Basketball
3Soccer
2Football
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →6 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Sutton BarnBuilding · listed 1975
About itCheney Interurban DepotBuilding · listed 1979
About itDavid Lowe HouseBuilding · listed 1983
About itCheney Odd Fellows HallBuilding · listed 1990
About itWashington State Normal School at Cheney Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1992
About itCity of Cheney Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2001
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Cheney: May to September
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 8.8 | 10.2 | 11.8 | 13.6 | 15.1 | 15.9 | 15.6 | 14.2 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.2 | 8.5 |
| High (°F) | 35 | 41 | 49 | 57 | 67 | 73 | 84 | 84 | 74 | 58 | 43 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 2.1 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 1.5 | 2.1 | 2.4 |
August is the driest month (0.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 2.4 inches fall in December, the wettest month. The climate in Cheney →
Questions about parks and trails in Cheney
Where can I hike in Cheney?
The longest trail networks: Columbia Plateau Trail State Park, 0.5 miles; Crunks Sports Complex, 0.3 miles; Betz Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Cheney is conserved land?
5% of its land, against a typical 4% for a Washington town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Cheney’s trails?
Columbia Plateau Trail State Park and Crunks Sports Complex don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Cheney?
9.0 miles of bike routes are on the map: 6.3 of painted or protected lanes, 2.5 of off-road paths and 0.2 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Cheney?
7,168 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Cheney or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 158 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Cheney have?
Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #99 of 285 in Washington. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Cheney neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →