Bicycling Washington State's John Wayne Pioneer Trail
Washington State's John Wayne Pioneer Trail follows the former railbed of the Chicago-Milwaukee-St. Paul-Pacific Railroad two-thirds of the way across Washington. The light gravel pathway offers hikers, bicyclists, equestrians, wagons and cross-country skiers a chance to travel along the historic Milwaukee Road right-of-way on a gentle, easy-to-negotiate grade.
The 100-mile portion from Cedar Falls (near North Bend) to the Columbia River near Vantage is managed as Iron Horse State Park.
In the 1980s Washington State Parks acquired the abandoned Milwaukee Road corridor that was built by Chicago-Milwaukee-St. Paul-Pacific Railroad the worlds first electric rail line. This article talks about the trail on the Eastside of Snoqualmie Pass.
Some people call the trail the John Wayne Trail west of Snoqualmie Pass and the Iron Horse Trail east of Snoqualmie Pass, while others call the entire trail the Iron Horse Trail.
The trail is most often used by mountain bikes. It's an easy ride that runs along the freeway about 300 feet above, to avoid the noise of the trucks.
If you look at a map there are two Exits 38: Exit 38 west and Exit 38 east, about two miles apart and connected by a side road. You can access the trail from either exit.
The river down below is called the Snoqualmie River. The trail itself is approximately 16.5 miles to Hyak and rises steadily from exit 38 to an elevation of approximately 2500 feet.
At its peak elevation, just after Humpback Creek, the trail enters Snoqualmie Tunnel (a 2-mile long tunnel). The tunnel is indicated by yellow on the map. Snoqualmie Pass, the lowest point at which it is possible to cross the mountains here, is at 3,000 feet. The amount of snowfall at that altitude in winter is so great that it would have been difficult to keep the railroad open all winter if it ran over the Pass, to say nothing of the climb required. So it made sense to the builders of the railroad to make a tunnel through the mountain at this point.
NOTE: The ride through the tunnel can be extremely DARK. At two miles in length, the far end is just a small pinpoint of light. Be sure to have a good light and where a jacket. The tunnel is very dark, wet and cool inside. As for the trail its self, the gravel path is level and smooth making for an easy ride. Also, the tunnel is usually closed from November 1 to May 1.
Once through the tunnel at Hyak, its time to return to the trailhead. The return is all downhill making for a quick ride (the whole trip is approximately 33 miles, round-trip).
Another option is to drop off a car at each end and then just ride one way or start at the East end of Snoqualmie Tunnel and ride downhill one-way.
For directions and current conditions check out the Washington State Parks website at http://www.parks.wa.gov/parks/?selectedpark=Iron%20Horse - 2368
The 100-mile portion from Cedar Falls (near North Bend) to the Columbia River near Vantage is managed as Iron Horse State Park.
In the 1980s Washington State Parks acquired the abandoned Milwaukee Road corridor that was built by Chicago-Milwaukee-St. Paul-Pacific Railroad the worlds first electric rail line. This article talks about the trail on the Eastside of Snoqualmie Pass.
Some people call the trail the John Wayne Trail west of Snoqualmie Pass and the Iron Horse Trail east of Snoqualmie Pass, while others call the entire trail the Iron Horse Trail.
The trail is most often used by mountain bikes. It's an easy ride that runs along the freeway about 300 feet above, to avoid the noise of the trucks.
If you look at a map there are two Exits 38: Exit 38 west and Exit 38 east, about two miles apart and connected by a side road. You can access the trail from either exit.
The river down below is called the Snoqualmie River. The trail itself is approximately 16.5 miles to Hyak and rises steadily from exit 38 to an elevation of approximately 2500 feet.
At its peak elevation, just after Humpback Creek, the trail enters Snoqualmie Tunnel (a 2-mile long tunnel). The tunnel is indicated by yellow on the map. Snoqualmie Pass, the lowest point at which it is possible to cross the mountains here, is at 3,000 feet. The amount of snowfall at that altitude in winter is so great that it would have been difficult to keep the railroad open all winter if it ran over the Pass, to say nothing of the climb required. So it made sense to the builders of the railroad to make a tunnel through the mountain at this point.
NOTE: The ride through the tunnel can be extremely DARK. At two miles in length, the far end is just a small pinpoint of light. Be sure to have a good light and where a jacket. The tunnel is very dark, wet and cool inside. As for the trail its self, the gravel path is level and smooth making for an easy ride. Also, the tunnel is usually closed from November 1 to May 1.
Once through the tunnel at Hyak, its time to return to the trailhead. The return is all downhill making for a quick ride (the whole trip is approximately 33 miles, round-trip).
Another option is to drop off a car at each end and then just ride one way or start at the East end of Snoqualmie Tunnel and ride downhill one-way.
For directions and current conditions check out the Washington State Parks website at http://www.parks.wa.gov/parks/?selectedpark=Iron%20Horse - 2368
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Need some new hiking, backpacking and mountain biking trails? Take a look at this wilderness trails site for a neat resource new trails. They also have rock climbing routes and campgrounds.
posted by Frank Potter at 2:18 AM
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