Snoqualmie Valley Trail III: North Bend to Snoqualmie Falls


Hike Length: 5.5 miles
Elevation Gain: minimal
Hike Difficulty: easy
Map: Green Trails # 205S “Rattlesnake Mountain and Upper Snoqualmie Valley”
hike overview map


This hike tours a short but pleasant section of the Snoqualmie Valley Trail, which here travels though a series of protected parklands set in the flood plain of the Snoqualmie River. Because a section of the trail is missing, part of the route follows quiet roads to downtown Snoqualmie, where railroad buffs will enjoy the wealth of historical artifacts on display in the train museum. Snoqualmie Falls provides an exciting finale to the walk.

Getting there:

From downtown Seattle, catch the ST 554 bus from Second and Union (departs every 30 minutes), and ride it to the Issaquah Park and Ride [GPS N 47 deg 32 min 32 sec, W 122 deg 03 min 44 sec].

Here, transfer to the M 209 minibus. Enjoy the long, scenic ride as the bus travels through a good chunk of King County, passing along the way Issaquah, Preston, Fall City, Snoqualmie Falls, and the town of Snoqualmie. When the bus rounds a sharp corner and heads into downtown North Bend, signal the bus to stop. Disembark at the stop located on Bendigo Boulevard next to the downtown movie theater [N 47 deg 29 min 47 sec, W 121 deg 47 min 09 sec].

There is no M 209 bus service on Sunday.

The Hike:

From the bus stop on Bendigo Avenue, walk east two blocks on any of the cross-steets to Ballarat Ave , then turn left ( N) on Ballarat. The Snoqualmie Valley Trail crosses Ballarat just beyond a new branch of the King County Library on 4th St (good restrooms available there).

It’s worth crossing to the east side of Ballarat to view an interpretive display adjacent to the trail. The display gives a brief history of the railroad line, the Everett branch of the Milwaukee Road, that used to occupy the route of the current Snoqualmie Valley Trail. Passenger trail service was available from North Bend to Everett from 1913 to 1930, a trip that took two hours. With the increasingly bad traffic afflicting the Puget Sound area these days, many people probably wish that the railroad line were still running.

After viewing the display, recross Balarat avenue and head west on the gravel-surfaced trail, which heads past a few houses in an older neighborhood of North Bend, then turns northward and enters Tollgate Farm Park. This is a pleasant stretch of trail, shaded by tall maples and cottonwoods growing in the flood plain of the South Fork Snoqualmie River.

After a mile, the trail leaves the forest and passes through the Mt. Si Golf Course, which offers views of towering Mt. Si to compensate for the less-than wild setting. At the far end of the golf course, the trail crosses a driveway, passes over a slough formed by an old cut-off meander of the river, then enters the Three Forks Natural Area, a pretty mosaic of woodlands, wetlands, and fields surrounding the converging three branches of the Snoqualmie River.

In the middle of the natural area, a narrow dirt track branches right and left from the trail [2.0 miles, 420’]. The right hand branch is worth exploring as it heads into a mowed field with a fantastic view of Mount Si. The track soon turns into a trail which dives through a thicket of blackberries to reach the shore of the Snoqualmie River. A sandy beach here would be a fine place to hang out on a hot day. The left-branching road is the suggested continuation of the hike, as described below.

After you’ve visited the beach, return to the Snoqualmie Valley trail, which continues on a half mile to the river, which is crossed via an old steel railroad bridge. Just beyond the bridge, the trail abruptly ends at the edge of Reining Road. Here a two mile portion of the Snoqualmie Valley Trail is missing where it passes through the site of a large lumber mill.

Some day, King County may fill this missing link with a good trail. In the meantime, you must follow roads to get around the gap. The obvious route to Snoqualmie Falls along MIll Pond Road is not recommended, as there are no sidewalks, the scenery is dull, and the traffic, though light, is fast-moving. Instead, I suggest returning to the dirt road junction previously mentioned, and taking the west branching road [3.0 miles, 420’] , which travels though a field and over a slough to Park Street.

Turn right (NW) and follow Park St. as it meanders a mile into downtown Snoqualmie. Just past a small riverside park [4.0 miles,400’], Park St. reaches the edge of the river and ends; turn left onto River St., which shortly leads into the historic downtown heart of Snoqualmie. Cafes, antique stores, and a grocery can be found along Railroad St. (Highway 202).

Cross the busy highway and head left(NW), soon reaching a collection of antique train cars surrounding the Snoqualmie Railroad Museum, which is housed in the former train station. This railroad used to extend all the way to Seattle along the current route of the Burke-Gilman Trail, but the track nowadays is only used by the occasional excursion train.

If you are tired, you may stop here and catch the M 209 bus back to Issaquah (the correct bus stops are across the highway from the museum). For those with more energy, it’s worth continuing to Snoqualmie Falls. From the museum, continue hiking northwest along Highway 202, following a strip of landscaped park and a paved path which provide a bit of separation from the highway’s heavy traffic. Along the way, the trail passes another collection of rusty old steam engines and train cars. The paved path ends just beyond the major Snoqualmie Parkway intersection [5.0 miles,400’]. Follow the highway as it crosses the river on a steel bridge, beyond which it’s just a short trudge on the highway’s shoulder to the Salish Lodge complex and the park bordering the Snoqualmie Falls.

The 270 foot Snoqualmie Falls offers quite a show anytime, but is most impressive after a heavy winter rain that melts some of the Cascade snow pack. The waterfall is not only pretty, it is hard-working, too. Several hydroelectric plants located nearby tap the power of the falling water The first plant was built in 1898, located completely underground to minimize the visual impact. Later plant expansions increased the total power output to 42 megawatts, which can service 16,000 average homes.

If you have the time, be sure to hike the half mile trail that descends to an impressive vista point at the base of the falls.

Getting Back

The M 209 bus to Issaquah Park&Ride leaves hourly from Snoqualmie Falls. The Issaquah-bound bus stop is located by the east side of the pedestrian sky bridge spanning the highway. Ride the M 209 bus to the end of the line at Issaquah Park&Ride, then transfer to the ST 554 bus to get to Seattle.

Rev 02.12.06