I was taken on this ride from North Bend to Hyak by Pam and Marc Means. They are ride leaders with Seattle's Cascade Bicycle Club- the nation's largest statewide bicycle nonprofit, focused on promoting bicycling for all ages and abilities in Washington State.
This route is a "local's favorite" gravel ride and they were wonderful tour guides, pointing out all the unique things along the route.
Not only is 95% of this route gravel but 95% of it is also on trails which are closed to mototrized vehicles.
You start out on a portion of the Snoqualmie Valley Regional Trail, a super smooth and non-technical dirt packed trail that runs alongside the Snoqualmie River. It follows the historic route of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad and offers scenic views of the river, Mt. Si, farms, forests, and wetlands, according to the Mountains To Sound Greenway Trust.
We detoured at Rattlesnake Lake, a beautiful recreation lake. In the same area, we also went to the Cedar River Watershed Education Center, both which I highly recommend!
The watershed Education Center had the most unexpected surprise- a drum garden/rain drums. The art installation includes seventeen drums representing different cultures and streams of water that are programmed to play the drums in meditative rhythms. Don't even think of skipping this- it so cool!!
At about mile 7, you'll pick up the western section of the Palouse to Cascades State Park Rail-trail (also referred to as the PTCT), which is 18-miles of a delightful gravel biking climb! The Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail, sits on the historic Chicago-Milwaukee-St. Paul-Pacific Railroad corridor, nicknamed the "Milwaukee Road". (It had been formerly known as the John Wayne Pioneer Trail and is also sometimes called the Iron Horse Trail.) It has an average grade of 1.5-2%, is non-technical and is absolutely beautiful. Along the way, you will go over several high trestle bridges with spectacular views of the valley below. In the summer, you will bike through dense forest and past colorful flowers and a waterfall. With Washington's trees and foliage, which include western red cedar, western hemlock, Douglas fir and bigleaf maple, much of the trail is shaded, making the trail cool enough to bike on a warm day.
The most unique part of the PTCT is a two-mile long tunnel. You can see the tiniest pinprick of light when you enter from the one side!
It is an out-and-back route and so the whole second half is down hill. Weeee!
Honestly there was not a single low for me on the ride, but there are a few things to note about the tunnel:
You are required to have a headlight to navigate the pitch black tunnel as it is not lit in anyway on the inside. (I was traveling and didn't have mine with me. Luckily, Pam and Mac let me borrow an extra one that they had!) Don't forget to take off your sunglasses too!
You'll also want to have some warm layers with you no matter what the outside temperature is. The interior of the tunnel is dark and damp. On a 80º day in July when we did it, the tunnel temperature was around 50º and it takes about 10 min to get through the two-mile long tunnel. Expect to encounter some puddles and get dripped on a few times as you bike.
The surface inside the tunnel is pretty smooth but it does have a bit of a crown. You'll need to slow down with the limited visibility and watch out for pedestrians and other bikers.
Do this ride if you want a unique route on rail-trails (without cars) that allows you to experience the beautiful Palouse region in southeastern Washington State and includes a two-mile long tunnel.
We started and parked at Torguson Park where there is plenty of parking and public restrooms. (You do not need a Discovery Pass to park here).
Access to the Snoqulalmie Valley Trail is through the back of the park. (The path connecting the trail to the park is not well defined and requires about 15 feet of biking through grass.)
Alternatively, you could cut off the Snoqualmie Valley Trail miles (first and last 6.5-7 miles) and start at Rattlesnake Lake. Keep in mind, if you choose this, you do need a Discovery Pass to park at this recreation area.
There are restrooms in many places along the route: Touguson Park, Rattlesnake Lake (mile 6.7), at Homestead Valley Trailhead (mile 12.7), Alice Creek Campground (mile 17.8), Carter Creek Campsite (mile 20.9), Rockdale - right before the tunnel entrance (mile 24.4) and Hyak Trailhead - a half mile after the tunnel at your turnaround point.
There are two nice water filling stations at both the Cedar River Watershed (drum garden) and at the Hyak Trailhead restrooms. You'll want to carry enough water with you for the approcximatley 25 miles between those too.
Keep in mind that the Snoqualmie Tunnel is closed Nov. 1 - May 1, and the re-opening date is weather dependent.
If you are interested in doing this route as a bikepack, there are two primitive campsites with several tent pads, picnic tables and a vault toilet - Alice Creek Campground is a little more exposed (mile 17.8) and Carter Creek Campsite has more shade (mile 20.9). They are available on a first-come-first serve basis.
We gave the route 3 out of 5 mountains for difficulty, but it is only for the amount of miles and duration of the climb. Surfaces are non-technical and the climb is extremely gradual making it pretty beginner friendly.
Pro tip: do this on a week day if possible for a quiet experience. Weekend traffic makes the trails much busier!
You have options if you want to extend the route. The Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail West section continues east beyond Hyak and ends in 80 miles at the Columbia River and beyond!
Check out the full trail map and remember that the Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail is not a fully improved, continuous "cross state" trail. Several sections are closed to public access due to safety concerns, active rail use and private property. Exploring the PTCT much further beyond this route requires informed planning and preparedness and, in the eastern section, pre-registration. Please familiarize yourself with the trail before visiting and make sure you do your research and follow the rules and regulations.
Laura Karpinski
I got a bike as a young child and quickly set off making trips up and down the driveway then loops around my neighborhood, but I fell away from the joy of cycling as more and more of my free time was occupied by ballet training (around age 10). It wasn’t until I gave up my professional dancing career and moved to Colorado in 2000 that I began cycling seriously.
From infancy, and well into my late 20’s, I suffered from exercise-induced asthma and was afraid of cardio activities that made me wheeze. If my asthma was triggered by an intense activity, I was advised to stop immediately and use an inhaler.
I was into yoga and Pilates back in 2000 (Still am today!), so when one of my friends suggested we go to a spin/yoga class (30 min of spin, followed by 30 min of yoga), I was game to at least try something new. Even though I had trouble breathing in the classes, the safety of an indoor spin class gave be the ability to choose how hard to push myself, and at just 30 min, I slowly learned to tolerate the stress on my lungs. The fact that the spinning was followed by yoga gave me space to work with calming my thoughts and my head which said: “I can’t do this!”. As I got stronger and more confident and my cardio endurance increased, my asthma problems became less and less, and therefore, my willingness to try more adventurous and strenuous activities increased! I went from seeing cyclists biking up Lookout Mountain in Golden, CO and thinking, “they are crazy!”, to, “that looks kind of fun and I wonder if I can do that?”. And then I bought a bike, joined a club and tried biking up that mountain! My Asthma is nearly non-existent and I have been hooked on outdoor biking ever since.
I currently live in downtown Denver and have been car-free for about 10 years, typically biking 7,000+ miles a year between commuting, road riding and gravel bike adventuring. I have been a member of Naked Women’s Racing Team, and Colorado Women’s Cycling Project.
I teach Pilates and Yoga for a living and have been doing it for over 20 years. In 2001, I went out on my own and began a private-practice Pilates Studio called Align.Move.Breathe. I am a self-proclaimed “body nerd”, constantly reading, attending continuing education workshops and learning as much as I can about movement, bio-mechanics, alignment, anatomy and Ideokenesis.
I love to teach my clients how to relax and have fun with all movement, as well as have new and positive experiences with their bodies while gaining strength and flexibility in body, mind, and spirit. I strongly believe in both Pilates and Yoga as safe, supportive, and healing practices which can profoundly transform one’s every-day life!
If you are in the Denver area and interested in the intersection of biking and Pilates or Yoga, contact me at align.move.breathe@gmail.com.
Laura’s favorite Gravel Route: There are so many great rides it is REALLY hard to decide, but if there was one ride I would do over and over, it would be Four Mile Canyon and Switzerland Trail to Sugarloaf. It’s quiet, beautiful, challenging and fun!
Laura’s Gravel Bike: Rodeo Adventure Lab's Titanium Flaanimal 5.0 custom build with SRAM Force AXS 1x12 mullet (10-50 cassette) and WTB Riddler TCS 700x45 Tires.
