Iron Horse State Park Info
To get to the Hyak trailhead: From Interstate 90 just east of Snoqualmie Pass, take Exit 54. At the end of the exit ramp, take a right and then a quick left onto Spur 906. (Follow signs for Snoqualmie Tunnel.) Go right in 0.5 miles; the Hyak Trailhead parking lot is just ahead. There is a $5 day-use fee for parking at Hyak.
To get to Rattlesnake Lake: From Interstate 90 east of North Bend, take Exit 32. Go south on 436th Avenue Southeast, which becomes Cedar Falls Road Southeast. The first of several Rattlesnake Lake parking lots (no fee) is about 2.9 miles from I-90. There is a John Wayne Trail/Iron Horse State Park parking lot just up the road from Rattlesnake Lake; parking costs $5.
Tunnel travel: Built between 1912 and 1914 (as the dates just above the tunnel's east entrance inform), the Snoqualmie Tunnel doors remain open from about May through October, depending on snow level. It's closed the rest of the year because of the giant icicles that form inside during the cold weather months, which could injure trail users.If you plan on riding the tunnel, always take a headlamp or handlebar-mounted bike light with extra batteries. Because the tunnel is chilly even on the hottest days of the year, pack a jacket
The John Wayne Pioneer Trail, the centerpiece of Iron Horse State Park, follows a 110-mile stretch of the old Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, known informally as the Milwaukee Road. The trail is named after the Duke because, according to an interpretive sign near the Hyak trailhead, Wayne "symbolizes for many the positive spirit of the West."
Trains first started making their way via this line in 1908; it was the last built of the transcontinental railroads. Nine years later, however, it became the first electrified transcontinental railway in the country. In the 1930s and '40s, the Milwaukee Road Snow Train took passengers from Seattle to the Snoqualmie Ski Bowl, an early ski area. It was a two-hour trip from Seattle, 2-1/2 from Tacoma.
In 1980, when the railroad company filed for bankruptcy, the state of Washington began acquiring bits and pieces of the old railroad bed. Four years later, the state opened the first sections to the public for recreational use.
Eventually, plans are for the John Wayne to link up with the 132-mile Columbia Plateau Trail from East Pasco to Cheney, and the Spokane River Centennial Trail, which extends across the border to Idaho's Centennial Trail. A rider, or hiker or equestrian, will be able to hop on the trail at Rattlesnake Lake — or farther west if you add connections such as the Upper Snoqualmie Valley Trail — and ride or hike all the way to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.