Cristy Lake, Deputy Director and History Hike Guests, attending a History Hike
The rails of old may disappear but the paths they occupied are preserved beneath your feet. NRM is lucky to be surrounded by several “Rail Trails”. A “Rail Trail” is a path (for biking, walking, running,) that was once an old rail bed. Rails to Trails is a non-profit organization that helps create and manage these new uses for railbeds.
These trails inspired a new program we tried this year: History Hikes. Using local rail trail sections on the Snoqualmie Valley Trail, the Rattlesnake Lake Recreation Area, and the Preston Snoqualmie Trail, the education department created four hikes. Each hike had four stops. At each stop, guests enjoyed 5-minute interpretations with pictures. To welcome people of all ages and abilities, we made sure the round-trip hikes did not go over 2-miles. Our hikes happened rain or shine and were at most two hours. We had partnerships for each hike to engage local non-profits and parks, split the revenue, and advertise their upcoming events. We partnered with Si View Metropolitan Park District, Fall City Historical Society, and the Snoqualmie Valley Museum.
Example of Selected Route: Lake Alice Road Trailhead going East along the Preston-Snoqualmie Trail
1930s – Drop Off at Cedar Falls Depot – NRM Collection
What were the hikes about? Three were on the Milwaukee Road (or “The Road”), or the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad and one covered the Seattle, Lake Shore, and Eastern Railroad (SLSE). The first hike, along a section of the Snoqualmie Valley Trail near Bolach Blvd, covered the general history of “The Road”. The second hike, along the Preston-Snoqualmie Trail, covered the history of the SLSE. Our third hike started at the Cedar River Watershed Education Center and went back to The Road. Specifically, it highlighted the legal battles between Seattle and the railroad company and the town(s) of Moncton and Cedar Falls. Our final hike on August 24th will bring us back to the Snoqualmie Valley Trail and focus on the Everett Branch of the Milwaukee Road with a few highlighted towns in the valley. Tickets may be purchased online.
NRM and all the partner organizations had a great time getting outside and digging deeper into the railway history embedded in the hills. We hope to try new adult programs like this in the future!
Special thanks to the Snoqualmie Tribe for providing the education grant that funded this program and many of our other educational programs this year! The Northwest Railway Museum is built on the traditional lands of the Snoqualmie Tribe and other Coast Salish Peoples. The Museum’s railway runs through land and features considered sacred to their beliefs, values, and heritage since time immemorial.
