Name: Middle Fork Trail #1003
Rating: 4.6

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Features River/Creek · Wildlife

Floods on the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River and debris flows from tributary streams destroy short segments of the trail on a regular basis. Stream fords may be difficult or dangerous to cross during high water.

Find several campsites along the trail as well as junctions with other marked trails such as Rock Creek Trail #1013.1 and Dingford Creek Trail #1005 which both access Alpine Lakes Wilderness.

Description

This trail gets a grand start in the form of a cable-hung bridge that crosses below the confluence of the Middle Fork Snoqualmie and Taylor Rivers. After crossing the bridge, proceed left at the intersection and head upstream to enjoy hiking between the river and overhanging cliffs that ornament this trail. You can follow the Middle Fork Trail #1003 for miles on a mix of singletrack and abandoned 1930s-era railroad beds through mature second-growth forests with occasional old-growth remnants and intermittent views of Garfield Mountain and the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River.

At 0.75 mile, the trail turns away from the river and passes beneath a prominent knob known by locals as Stegosaurus Butte. Further along, the trail follows an old logging railroad grade that was used by the North Bend Timber Company. Around the three mile mark, the trail descends back to the river level.

At milepost 5.8 a bridge across the river takes hikers to the Dutch Miller Gap Trail via the Dingford Cutoff trail which ends across from Dingford Creek Trail #1005. At milepost 8.5 the trail intersects with Rock Creek Trail #1013 as it heads to Snow Lake. A pleasant detour to the Goldmyer Hot Springs can be taken around mile 11.0 (private fee to access). Otherwise continue to the end near the Dutch Miller Trail.