Beverly Turnpike

Spanning the Wenatchee Mountains and offering views of the backside of the Enchantment Peaks, the Beverly Turnpike trail (named for the two creeks it parallels) offers a straightforward out-and-back hike to a pass, or a more rugged thru-hike into the Ingalls Creek drainage. It also can be used to create loop hikes, or access nearby peaks. Hikers share this trail with mountain bikes and horses, and it isn’t uncommon to see occasional evidence of them along the way.

The trailhead is shared with Bean Creek Basin, both of which are clearly marked in the parking lot. Kick off your hike by crossing a stout footbridge spanning Beverly Creek.

Starting from the trailhead, Bean Creek Trail and Beverly Turnpike Trail follow a former road-turned-trail that travels through pockets of trees near Beverly Creek. In the fall, this section of the hike boasts great color, particularly from trailside birch trees and, further upslope, larches.

Approximately a half mile from the trailhead, just before a creek crossing, the two trails split. The Bean Creek trail hangs a right, Beverly Turnpike goes left and crosses the creek. 

Once across the creek, the trail begins climbing steadily, traversing a hillside and climbing away from Beverly Creek (though the water remains within eye-, or at least ear-shot). 

The forest here is open Ponderosa pines, with peek-a-boo views of the hillside across the Beverly Creek drainage. As you gain elevation (steadily, but not too steeply), you pop out of the forest and into a much more open area of scree and talus. Listen for warning squeaks of pika and keep your eyes out, you may spy the little fuzzballs scurrying among the rocks as they harvest food for the winter. 

2.3 miles past the creek crossing, arrive at a faint fork in the trail, found in a grove of trees. To the right the Fourth Creek trail branches off to a low, treed pass in a steep 0.3 miles. Your route goes left, continuing up, crossing a creek and switchbacking through the forest before coming out of the woods and into another scree field at a junction just below Iron Peak.

For most dayhikers, a good turnaround spot is the pass near Iron Peak, about 0.1 mile uphill from the junction. The views from the saddle below Iron Peak are lovely, and it makes for a 7.4 mile roundtrip hike, the stats for which are reflected in this hiking guide entry. But the trail does continue past this junction. For backpackers (or the intrepid) it is certainly possible to continue. 

Extending your Hike

From here, the Beverly Turnpike trail heads right, traversing  on an open slope on surprisingly good tread. After about 0.3 miles, it rounds a shoulder and gradually begins descending a forested ravine, now following Turnpike Creek. Hikers who follow the trail to its end will find themselves on the Ingalls Creek trail, after two creek crossings, and a potentially dangerous ford of Ingalls Creek. WTA has worked on improving the Ingalls Creek trail for several years in a row. It ultimately offers alternate access to extremely popular Ingalls Lake.