| Washington State's John Wayne Pioneer Trail follows | | | | the Snoqualmie River. The trail itself is approximately |
| the former railbed of the Chicago-Milwaukee-St. | | | | 16.5 miles to Hyak and rises steadily from exit 38 to an |
| Paul-Pacific Railroad two-thirds of the way across | | | | elevation of approximately 2500 feet. This is high |
| Washington. The light gravel pathway offers hikers, | | | | enough so that one can expect snow here in the |
| bicyclists, equestrians, wagons and cross-country | | | | winter. At its peak elevation, just after Humpback |
| skiers a chance to travel along the historic Milwaukee | | | | Creek, the trail enters Snoqualmie Tunnel (a 2-mile long |
| Road right-of-way on a gentle, easy-to-negotiate | | | | tunnel). The tunnel is indicated by yellow on the map. |
| grade. The 100-mile portion from Cedar Falls (near | | | | Snoqualmie Pass, the lowest point at which it is |
| North Bend) to the Columbia River near Vantage is | | | | possible to cross the mountains here, is at 3,000 feet. |
| managed as Iron Horse State Park. | | | | The amount of snowfall at that altitude in winter is so |
| The trail was created in the 1980's when Washington | | | | great that it would have been difficult to keep the |
| State Parks acquired the abandoned Milwaukee Road | | | | railroad open all winter if it ran over the Pass, to say |
| corridor. In its heyday, the Milwaukee Road was a vital | | | | nothing of the climb required. So it made sense to the |
| trade link between Seattle and the Midwest and was | | | | builders of the railroad to make a tunnel through the |
| the world's first electric rail line. This trip specifically | | | | mountain at this point. |
| documents the section of trail between exit 38 East of | | | | NOTE: The ride through the tunnel can be extremely |
| North bend to exit 54 at Hyak on the Eastside of | | | | DARK. At two miles in length, the far end is just a |
| Snoqualmie Pass. | | | | small pinpoint of light. Be sure to have a good light and |
| The railroad tracks have been removed and the area | | | | where a jacket. The tunnel is very dark, wet and cool |
| has been turned into a state park, known as Iron | | | | inside. As for the trail its self, the gravel path is level |
| Horse State Park. Some people call the trail the John | | | | and smooth making for an easy ride. Also, the tunnel is |
| Wayne Trail west of Snoqualmie Pass and the Iron | | | | usually closed from November 1 to May 1. After you |
| Horse Trail east of Snoqualmie Pass, while others call | | | | leave the East end of the tunnel at Hyak, it's time to |
| the entire trail the Iron Horse Trail, yet still others refer | | | | backtrack to the trailhead. The return to the trailhead is |
| to it as the John Wayne Trail in Iron Horse State Park | | | | all downhill making for a quick and easy ride (the whole |
| (Oh well). The trail is relatively smooth, but not paved | | | | trip is approximately 33 miles, round-trip). |
| and because of this along with its length, most people | | | | If you want, it's just a short ride on the old railroad |
| use it as a mountain bike trail. | | | | grade East to Lake Keechelus for a nice lunch spot. |
| It's an easy ride with spectacular views. On average, | | | | Another option is to drop off a shuttle car at exit 38 |
| the trail is about half a mile from the highway and | | | | and the leave from the East end of the Snoqualmie |
| about 300 feet higher, so that the noise and exhaust | | | | Tunnel and Pass and ride downhill one-way. |
| fumes of the trucks on the highway are not | | | | Directions: Take Exit 38, 38 miles east of Seattle, |
| bothersome. As you can see from the map, there are | | | | Washington, along Interstate I-90. As you can see from |
| two Exits 38: Exit 38 west and Exit 38 east, about | | | | the map, there are two Exits 38: Exit 38 west and Exit |
| two miles apart and connected by a side road. You | | | | 38 east, about two miles apart and connected by a |
| can access the trail from either exit. At the time this | | | | side road. You can access the trail from either exit. At |
| trip was documented, the trestle over Hall Creek, | | | | the time this trip was documented, the trestle over Hall |
| about a mile East of Exit 38 west, was broken and | | | | Creek, about a mile East of Exit 38 west was broken |
| could not be crossed, although plans were in the | | | | and could not be crossed. Although, plans were in the |
| works to fix this trestle in the near future. | | | | works to fix this trestle in the near future. |
| The river between the Interstate and the trail is called | | | | |