RICHLAND — Plans for a 20-mile ridge-to-ridge trail stretching from Richland’s Amon Basin to the Yakima River have run into a hitch.
The Tri-City Herald reports the Seattle-based limited liability corporation that owns 138 acres along the ridgeline will not grant a 20-foot pedestrian-only easement for the trail.
Benton County property records indicate Red Mountain Ridgeline LLC paid $600,000 for the property in 2008. It is the only one, out of five Red Mountain property owners, to refuse to allow public access across its land, according to Friends of Badger Mountain, the group behind the ridge-to-ridge effort.
Without an easement, Friends of Badger Mountain is hard-pressed to fulfill its goal.
The proposed trail on Red Mountain ascends the hill on its southwestern flank, reaching a tower at the ridge. It then would descend to the Yakima River.
