Bike Along The John Wayne Pioneer Trail
By Kari Lutcavich May 21, 2014
This article originally appeared in the June 2014 issue of Seattle magazine.
!–paging_filter–pstrongWHERE:/strong The John Wayne Pioneer Trail. strongWHY:/strong To bike the more than 100-mile section of the trail running from the trailheads at Cedar Falls (near North Bend) and Army East (part of the U.S. Army’s Yakima Training Center, near Vantage, on the Columbia River). strongWHAT: /strongThe longest Rails-to-Trails conversion in the country—the full length stretches more than 250 miles to the Idaho border—the John Wayne trail traverses the state along the former path of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad. The westernmost portion of the trail, which runs through Iron Horse State Park, is the most hospitable for average bikers and includes spectacular scenery. The gravel path (mountain bike tires recommended) travels through terrain that turns from mountainous to farmland to desert scrubland, and takes riders over high trestles and through tunnels. strongBYO LIGHT SOURCE:/strong Under Snoqualmie Pass, the trail takes riders through the 100-year-old Snoqualmie Tunnel—an exciting (and chilly! and dark!) 2.3-mile trek right through Cascade Mountain rock. strongPICK YOUR PORTION:/strong Choose to do a subsection of the trail, or pack your gear onto your bike rack and plan to camp at one of the many sites along the route. Visit a href=”http://www.parks.wa.gov” target=”_blank”parks.wa.gov /afor maps (look for Iron Horse State Park) and info./p
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