diff --git a/python/ray/tune/trial.py b/python/ray/tune/trial.py
index 007017780..7507ab50d 100644
--- a/python/ray/tune/trial.py
+++ b/python/ray/tune/trial.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 from typing import Callable, Dict, Sequence, Union
 import json
 
+import ray
 import ray.cloudpickle as cloudpickle
 from collections import deque
 import copy
@@ -640,4 +641,9 @@ class Trial:
 
         self.__dict__.update(state)
         validate_trainable(self.trainable_name)
-        self.init_logdir()  # Create logdir if it does not exist
+
+        # Avoid creating logdir in client mode for returned trial results,
+        # since the dir might not be creatable locally. TODO(ekl) thsi is kind
+        # of a hack.
+        if not ray.util.client.ray.is_connected():
+            self.init_logdir()  # Create logdir if it does not exist