Here's my campsite at Alice Creek on the John Wayne Pioneer Trail, a rail-trail that stretches from near North Bend all the way to the Columbia River.
It seemed like one of the first sunny, dry days in a while, and I was lucky to be able to take advantage of it.
From where I live, this is a little too far for one of those sub-24 hour bike camping trips. It's about 50 miles and quite a bit of climbing for me to get there.
As you can see in the photo below, I don't travel light. That Yakima trailer carries a tent, sleeping bag, pad, single burner butane stove, and other “essentials.” The biggest challenge is limiting the amount I carry. I'm sure the “ultralight” bike campers get a kick out of this.
In all, the round-trip took me about 30 hours.
The Alice Creek campsite has about a half dozen pads. I rode my bike up-trail to the Carter Creek campsites, and didn't see anyone else there either Tuesday night. Not surprising for the middle of the week, although I did see hikers and bikers on the trail during the day.
When I arrived back at my spot, I realized that I might have been the only person camping the entire 20-mile length of the park between the Cedar Falls trailhead and the Snoqualmie Tunnel, which is now closed because of falling rocks.
There are four small, primitive campgrounds along the trail — two west of the Snoqualmie Tunnel and two to the east. They are Alice Creek, Carter Creek, Cold Creek and Roaring Creek. I'm familiar with Alice and Carter creek sites, and they both have nearby fast-flowing streams as a water supply. I'd recommend treating it. The sites also have pit toilets.
There also are nearby US Forest Service campgrounds.
Here's more information about the Iron Horse State Park. Also, I tried my had at a video before the state closed down the tunnel. Check out “Iron Horse state park's John Wayne Pioneer Rail-Trail in Washington.”
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