UPDATE: Tunnels 46-49 are currently closed, though 48 and 49 are anticipated to be reopened in spring/summer 2013. See the
Washington State Parks site for detour instructions.
The Iron Horse State Park trail was constructed from the western section of the Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad bed and is part of the
John Wayne Pioneer Trail. The 66.5 miles of trail managed by Lake Easton Area extends from Twin Falls near North Bend above the Snoqualmie River valley, through Snoqualmie Pass and east along the Yakima River valley through riparian woodlands, dry coniferous forest, broadleaf forest and open agricultural lands to Thorp. Here it connects with the Kittitas section of Iron Horse. The trail elevation descends from 3,100' to 1,500' at a 2% grade or less.
There are 30 substantial trestles, 4 tunnels (one of which is 2.3 miles long), 2 snow sheds and 3 developed trailheads located at South Cle Elum, Easton, and at a US Forest Service area at Hyak.
A shuttle bus service for hikers and bicyclists operates summer weekends and holidays between Cedar Falls and Hyak on the Western Slope of the Cascades.
The Iron Horse State Park was featured as a 'Trail of the Month' by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy.
There are multiple places to park along the trail; for directions, visit the
Washington State Parks website.
8.7.2012 , Hyak, WA (Note: TrailBear uses paragraphs. TL jams it all into one gigantic paragraph. Sigh.) TrailBear and his trike have gone off trestle hunting. The list: Snoqualmie Tunnel, the Last Snow Shed and the Hansen Creek Trestle. All on the John ...
Now here is an idea TrailBear likes - a shuttle bus between Rattlesnake Lake trailhead and Hyak.
That means that you can start at the top, do the tunnel, then head downhill to Rattlesnake Lake. The summer schedule is service on Friday - Sunday and holidays. ...
This section of the Iron Horse Trail from South Cle Elum Depot to Tunnel 47, one of the two closed Thorp tunnels, does not see much bicycle or hiking traffic while the tunnel closure continues. Tunnel 50 (Snoqualmie Pass) fortunately has been reopened ...