Chandler Butte and McBee Hill overlook Benton City by Rattlesnake Hills. They are in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA, home to the single largest wine-making facility in Washington. Meanwhile, the Yakima River flows below the north.
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Chandler Butte and McBee Hill at a Glance
Access: McBee Trailhead
Round Trip: 9.3 miles
Elevation Range: 780′-2046′
Gear: none
GPS Track: available
Dog-Friendly: yes
Chandler Butte and McBee Hill
Day three of our Thanksgiving week hikes. We gave up plan A near Yakima before driving farther east in the desert. Then we scratched plan B by Rattlesnake Hills and continued to Chandler Butte and McBee Hill.
Despite all that craziness, it was a nice getaway from the rain. I only found two dozen reports on WTA, even though the trailhead sat inside the city. Naturally, I expected to see more glowing reviews and many people here.
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En Route to McBee Hill
We reached an almost packed lot and started walking in the late morning. I looked around and saw people coming down the main trail. But to the right of the entrance was a steeper path, which we took instead.
The trail was in the shade, but glad it wasn’t windy as in the forecast. The path was also steeper than it looked once we started going up the hill. But the higher we went, the better the city views.
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En Route to Chandler Butte
Soon, we reached the ridgeline south of McBee Hill. But I wanted to wait to visit it after returning from Chandler Butte and after everyone left. So we walked west of the summit and continued on the jeep trail on the other side.
It was four miles to Chandler Butte, but we could use the exercise. Otherwise, 1.6 miles roundtrip to McBee Hill wasn’t aerobically effective. The long drive here meant we needed to get our gas money’s worth!
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The Final Stretch
One could also drive McBee Road to the jeep trail from the bottom, cutting the distance in half. Again, we came for the exercise and to savor the sunny weather. A while later, we saw several target shooters at the halfway point.
The four miles went by fast, with few stops before the gate below the radio towers. A jeep had come from the other side, so I opened the gate to let the people continue down the road. Soon, we were at the breezy summit.
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Chandler Butte Summit
The best part was seeing the Yakima River from this summit. I also unexpectedly saw the hazy Mount Adams and Mount Rainier in the distance. I wondered if people living on the nearby hills had the same view. Jealous!
We heard annoying target shooting on top, but the echoing made it hard to pinpoint the location. The wind picked up not pong into our stay, but it wasn’t too cold on this warm day. It ended up being in the low to mid-50s.
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Outro
We later met more target shooters back at the halfway point. It was nerve-racking walking past them because they hung out right by the road. I don’t know how others could stand it; it was simply too loud without earmuffs.
We stopped over on McBee Hill at sunset when everyone had left the place. So we spent several quiet minutes on top to enjoy the last light. The evening colors were incredibly vibrant on this night, and the moon was icing on the cake.
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Lovely!