Critical USFS trail decision coming soon to Seattle

IMBA Trail News
Volume 12, Number 4
September 1999

photo by John Zilly

The USDA Forest Service will soon issue a proposed decision regarding the fate of bicycle use on one of the premier trails near Seattle, Washington the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River Trail. IMBA encourages mountain bikers to write to keep the trail open. Please check our website for information on the proposed action and how to influence the final decision.

The Snoqualmie River flows out of the Cascade Mountains into the Seattle region. The singletrack paralleling the Middle Fork crosses cascading creeks and passes through groves of ancient trees. Close to the urban area and readily accessible from Interstate 90, it's a popular and dramatic landscape for many people.

The Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest is writing an Access and Travel Management Plan that will determine the fate of this route.

Conservation organizations in Washington have long desired to expand the Alpine Lakes Wilderness to encompass the trail and river. The large Washington Trails Association, a hiking group, has insisted that the trail be closed to bicycling. The Backcountry Bicycle Trails Club (BBTC) has been working to keep the trail open for several years.

BBTC leader John Zilly commented in the BBTC newsletter, "The Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie Rier Trail is the only true trail in the entire North Bend Ranger District that has ever been open to bikes. While we enjoy the experience of riding on old roads, riding on a narrow soft-surface trail is a completely different experience. We believe that with hundreds of miles of trails in the District, keeping one trail open to bicycles is not an unreasonable request." He notes that in 1995, a state agency gave money to rebuild the trail with the condition that the route be managed as multi-use.

"The Middle Fork Trail has one of the easiest grades in the District, with plenty of good sight distances, making it easy to avoid user conflict a perfect multi-use trail," he wrote.

To comment, write: North Bend Ranger District, 42404 SE North Bend Way, North Bend, WA 98045.