iron horse trail

the views are awesome, the trails well kept and the people few... There seems to be plenty of parking and bathrooms too.

Got on the trail in Iron Horse State Park, near Rattlesnake Lake & Cedar Falls Rd (West end of trail). The trail is in great condition and is packed ballast/small gravel. It was raining quite a bit but went anyway and the trail remained in good shape with a few muddy spots easy to maneuver around. Beautiful climb in with a slow grade uphill and what a ride back. Only went about 10 miles in and passed over about 5 train trestles with incredible views of the mountains and forest. Many opportunities for great pictures. Even saw some road bikers on the trail, but we had hybrids. Could be rough for a road bike though. This is a rail to trail and more information can be found on their website. Trail is located outside of North Bend, WA... with limited places to stay... stay in Issaquah, WA

I hiked this yesterday with a group of Boy Scouts from Troop 745. We were dropped off at the Snoqualmie tunnels parking lot at Hyak (exit 54 off of Hwy 90) and hiked all the way to Rattlesnake Lake. According to my mapping app, the route was 22 miles, although, by the time we were done my Vivofit was showing just over 23 miles. Of course we picked one of the hottest days of the year to do the hike, but we all made it, and apart from the odd blister, and some sore feet we all had a great time.Once you leave the parking lot, you arrive pretty soon at the Snoqualmie Tunnel. Everyone in our group had great flashlights, and you do need them, because you are in the tunnel for over 2 miles. There is a picnic table on the far side of the tunnel, and we were all glad to take a break there, and remove the jackets that we'd needed in the tunnel despite the hot temperatures outside.Beyond the tunnel, all the way to Rattlesnake Lake, the trail is a wide, mostly flat, well maintained gravel path, which crosses several bridges. The scenery is gorgeous, and our eagle eyed scouts spotted a few small snakes, a frog, and a rabbit, in addition to all the birds, and plant life that grows along the edge of the trail. We picked salmon berries, and bathed our tired feet in some of the many small waterfalls running along the edge of the trail. You can also detour off to Annette Falls and Twin Falls if you have the time, or camp at one of the two back country camping sites that we passed, but our goal was to achieve the 20 miles in a day, so we kept on walking right by. I was pleasantly surprised by the number of bathrooms that we passed, although there seemed to be a long stretch in the middle of our hike where we didn't see any.If you plan to do this hike, bear in mind that the end of the trail is actually the Cedar River Watershed Education Center on the shore of Rattlesnake Lake. If you are meeting a driver, you should know that the road from the Rattlesnake Lake parking lot up to the Education Center closes at 6pm, so you will have to walk down the road (or around the edge of the lake) to the parking lot. It helps, with coordination, that there is solid cell phone coverage throughout the hike.

This is a long gravel road, as wide a single lane road, that run from Western Washington to Eastern Washington. It is part of the reclaimed Rails to Trails as this used to be the route for trains coming across the mountains.I rode from the I-90 pass to North Bend which is roughly 20 miles, all a gentle downhill suitable for a family of riders. I started at Hyak exit where there was good signage to find the parking spot. This is also the entrance for a 2.2 mile tunnel. Make sure to have a Discovery Pass. When you start the tunnel, you need to have good lights because it is completely dark.From this point all the way to Rattlesnake Lake, this is a gentle decline for 22 miles with regularly spaced out-house restrooms. Along the way there are three bridge overpasses as you run in parallel with I-90.I think this is a great, scenic ride and worth your time if your looking to get some exercise and see the forests of the great Pacific North West.If you are looking for more of a challenge, ride up from Rattlesnake Lake and then back down.Don't forget your Discovery Pass; you will need it on both sides for parking on state park lands.With 10 year old kids, it would be 3 hours or so.Have fun!

The Iron Horse Trail is great for bikes and leisure walks, the trail is gravel and quite wide with many bridge crossings that offer expansive views. the trail has many hiking trails that spur off of it and is quite popular with the climbing community due to the accessibility to exposed and well traveled climbing routes.

scenic beaty for all levels of hikers. Great for bicycles too

If you're from an area where "mountain biking" means obstacles, ups and downs, drops, etc., you will be very diappointed. If you want an easy access road style trail that the whole family can ride, this is for you.

There are several trailheads you can start from and most will take you by waterfalls. You can stay on the old railway line or take side trips off into the forests.

Dropped off at Exit 62 of I-90 and rode south for about 1 mile to pcik up the trail. Turned right onto the trail and then enjoyed a very scenic and pleasant ride through woods, along a lake and then through the tunnel. After the tunnel - it is all DOWNHILL to Rattlesnake Lake. Once at Rattlesnake Lake, picked up the Snoqualmie Valley Trail and rode on that until it abruptly ends at the end of a trestle near Tokul Road. Getting on Tokul Road and then traveling 3 miles - the trail picks up again and you can take it 11.3 more miles to Carnation (actually it goes an additional 9 miles to Bothel). Average speed: 10.8mph. Time: 4.5 hours with breaks.

Sept 24, 2005: My intent was to bicycle (in 2 days) the entire Iron Horse trail (AKA John Wayne Pioneer Trail), from Rattlesnake Lake (AKA Cedar Falls) near North Bend to Vantage on the Columbia River. 108.6 miles according to the brochure available at most trailheads. Parking at trailheads costs $5. Bring water (I brought 6 qt). Pit toilets & portapotties are spaced along the trail, but little water.The trail follows the old Milwaukee Railroad grade. It is unpaved but the western half is reasonably well-packed gravel so I made good time on the 18-mile upgrade to the tunnel (2.2% maximun grade). The first few miles go through forest land so you could start at Twin Falls (4.5 from start) and still get the good views. Some people also park where the trail crosses Garcia Road, about 7 miles from start (you need a 4WD for that). Bring a camera, there are awesome mountain vistas everywhere. About 2 miles before the tunnel I put on sunglasses so my eyes were somewhat adapted to the darkness when I got there. You need lights in the tunnel. It’s 2 miles long and pitch dark. It's closed from October through April.The East portal comes out at Hyak where they’ve built a restroom with indoor plumbing & showers in the style of an oldtime Railway station. Water is available only at the rest room washbowls.East of Hyak the trail is much less used. I passed lovely Lake Keechelus and started the long downgrade into Easton (18 mi from Hyak). Less scenic than the Western side, but I still got some great shots. Two short tunnels. Lights not needed, but helpful.Easton is a working Railroad town. The trail parallels the BNSF tracks on and off for quite a way. I even saw a train. Water is available at the Easton trailhead.Easton to S. Cle Elum (11.5 miles): The trail gets flatter and the looser gravel makes the going more difficult. This is mostly farmland with some nice views of the Yakima river. I spent the night in Cle Elum.Sept 25, 2005:East of Cle Elum the going gets harder. Deep loose gravel getting generally worse the farther East you go. I let some air out of my tires, which helped a little. I averaged about 4 MPH for the day, wishing the whole time for a mountain bike.Here the trail enters semi dessert with irrigation farming and ranching. Sun block is essential. The trail goes through a canyon with some interesting rock formations and fine views of the river. Beyond is cattle country, with gates across the trail to keep livestock in (I dismounted, opened the gates and closed them after myself). There are two tunnels between Cle Elum and Thorp (lights needed for one of them). I passed an abandoned family farm. A relic of a vanishing lifestyle.Thorp (18 miles from Cle Elum) is not much but just beyond is a Fruit and Antique store on the Freeway where you could probably get some water.The 7 miles from Thorp to Ellensburg West were the hardest yet. Straight and fairly flat, but oh that gravel! There were stretches where I had to get off and walk my bike. At this point I decided to cut my ride short. I had ridden 6 hours and I was exhausted, with only 25 miles to show for the day and 33 miles of trail left. It was obvious that my bike (Novara XR) was not up to the challenge. East of Cle Elum you REALLY need a mountain bike! After a quick cell phone call (there are a few dead spots, but cell phones work over most of the trail) my wife picked me up and we headed for Vantage by car.East of Ellensburg the terrain gets really arid. The freeway goes over a high ridge (about 1000 ft) before descending to the Columbia. The brochure shows the trail going through a tunnel about there, so maybe its elevation gain isn’t that large. The last 20 miles of the trail go through an Army firing range. It ends about 12 miles South of Vantage near Huntzinger Road.I hope to ride the rest of the trail someday soon on a mountain bike. When I do, I’ll finish this review.

I am fortunate enough to be able to ride up the Iron Horse Trail from my back yard and do so on a weekly basis during the spring and summer months. The scenery is beautiful, the ride is much improved since the removal of the original tressels, (which were at times fairly scary depending on the height of the tressel). We recently decided to take a different approach and experience the trail in a different manner, we drove up to the East Snoqualmie summit exit and picked up the trail there, walked through the two mile tunnel. As we approached the tunnel I could feel the cold air coming from within, I was wishing I had brought an extra layer of cloths. With flashlights in hand we entered the darkness. As we got into the tunnel and our eyes adjusted to the darkness we could see the light at the end of the other end of the tunnel. As promised the tunnel did not disapoint, it was dark to the point of dis-orienting at times, cold and damp with drips, to down right down poors from above. Once through the tunnel we made our way to Rattlesnake lake and from there back home. There are a few porta pottys along the way, with plenty of side ares for a picnic, watch the novice rock climbers learn skills or to just rest, re-hydrate and enjoy the many different views. One extra benifit is that the other cyclists are courtious and are willing to help those who may need a hand with flat tires or other minor maitenance repairs that can and do happen on occasion. Still lots to explore on this trail even though we have lived and rode on this trail for 11 years. "Bottom" comfort level at the end of the ride.......sore, but worth it. Have a good ride!

Take two trucks/ bike carriers. Park one at Rattlesnake Lake or which ever trail head you want to end at. Drive the bikes up to Snoqualmie pass, Hyak parking lot. Unload bikes, start toward tunnel. If you have no flash light/headlight. Load bikes back up and leave. You won't make it thru the tunnel without a light. Over 2 miles of pitch black. If you failed to bring a rain coate (bare minimum) prepare to freeze your tail off. Lots of dripping from above! The novelty wears off before the light at the end of the tunnel. But its memorable. Then things get fun. Great scenary, high rail road trussel crossings, optional side trails, and all down hill! Its a very gradual grade that requires very little effort. Kids from 8 years up with some riding skill. Great ride!