Located on Highway 14 east of Bingen, Washington, the Syncline and Catherine Creek areas are popular mountain biking and day hiking areas. There are many trails to choose from and most of them go up in elevation. The views from the higher elevation is spectacular with views of the Columbia River and Mt Hood. Very popular in the spring when the wildflowers are in bloom. Be cautious of rattlesnakes, ticks, and poison oak. Know what each look like and know how to treat. Because this is a very popular place to hike and bike, parking will be at a premium on the weekends. Caution: State Patrol will give you a ticket if you park on the highway.

This ten mile loop hike starts at the Sycline/Coyote Wall parking area. Follow the crowd eastbound on the abandoned road until you reach the first open gate to start the uphill. On this hike we chose to hike up the Little Maui trail to the converted dirt Atwood Road and continued clockwise until we reached a point where we descended to the Catherine Creek trailhead. At this point we continued westbound back towards Syncline/Coyote Wall. This can be a little tricky finding the trail that leads back to the main Syncline area. You do gain another 650 feet to get around the basin. We chose to hike the Labyrinth Trail back down to the parking area. Numerous waterfalls abound on this trail. Always step aside for the mountain bikers flying down the super rocky trail.