Weekend Closure: Middle Fork Snoqualmie River Road

Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River by Monty Vanderbilt.

The Middle Fork Snoqualmie River Road will be closed the weekend of July 23-24 at Mailbox Peak trailhead. This closure is required to construct a retaining wall above the river. The road between Valley Camp and the Mailbox Peak trailhead will be open to hikers from noon on Friday, July 22-noon on Monday, July 25.

Saying goodbye to car-swallowing potholes

This closure is part of multi-year project to pave the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River Road. In the past, recreators on the Middle Fork had to contend with what might charitably be called a rugged experience just getting to their trailhead. Car-swallowing potholes, tire-sucking mud, and road rough enough to break an axle or flatten a tire.

Thanks to this project, those experiences will be a thing of the past. By it's completion, ten miles of the road will be paved from the end of the current pavement at the Mailbox Peak trailhead to the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River Campground.

Better access for hikers, a win for the river and fish

Each year, more than 100,000 visitors venture to the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River Road corridor to hike, camp, kayak and fish all year-round. The Middle Fork Snoqualmie River Valley—in the backyard of North Bend and only a 45-minute drive from Seattle—is incredibly scenic, with jagged peaks, towering old-growth trees and a raging river along the road. The road is the main access route for a number of popular hiking trails like Mailbox Peak, the Pratt River Connector, and Otter Falls—to name just a few.

By paving the road, people can enjoy easier and safer access to their favorite places. In addition, water quality in the Middle Fork valley will improve due to a decrease of sediment run-off that flows off dirt roads and into streams. Old road culverts (those metal pipes that run under roads to allow streams to continue flowing downstream) will also be replaced and made more fish-friendly so trout can migrate upstream.

WTA sees this project as a win-win for hikers and the environment.

How will construction impact my trip to the Middle Fork?

With a few exceptions, (like the one listed above) the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River Road opens to the public between noon on Fridays and closes by noon on Monday.

This closure might be just the reason you needed to explore a new set of trails, maybe the Issaquah Alps, the Teanaway region or along Highway 2.