Fall City

Ride Report: Middle Fork Snoqualmie

Nick vdH1 Comment

Getting there is half the fun

I first learned about Middle Fork road in 2018 from a post on The Urbanist. I don’t know how I let 3 years go by without trying it, but I rectified that mistake on Wednesday. I took the authors advice and went on a weekday in order to take advantage of less recreational traffic. It worked well on Middle Fork Road itself, where I saw just about as many bikes as cars! Another piece of advice I took was getting there by bus, but I started a little further away than North Bend. I took the Sound Transit 554 to Issaquah Transit Center and started my 76 mile round trip from there.

I had prepared for the partial closure of the Issaquah-Preston Trail (which is closed until 2023) by starting my route through downtown Issaquah and up E Sunset Way to connect to the trail which goes through the Issaquah Highlands. I took the trail all the way to SE Issaquah-Fall City Rd which worked better than expected. I know some like to take Highlands Dr NE (which I have done during a group ride), but it is a busy road with two lanes in each direction, so I thought I would skip it. SE Issaquah-Fall City Rd has seen some upgrades since I last was on it, including a couple of traffic circles which work pretty well. One of the things I was looking forward to was the fun downhill on the more rural part of SE Issaquah-Fall City Rd which continues on SE 40th St. It’s a nice gradual straight downhill and fun to pick up a little speed on! This is also the reverse route of Cascade’s Flying Wheels. On Flying Wheels it’s an uphill towards the end of the ride which never seems to end, so this is a much more fun version!

I then navigated through Fall City onto State Route 202 (SE Fall City-Snoqualmie Rd). This is a very busy road with many big trucks and not much of a shoulder, so not much fun. I went onto SE Fish Hatchery Rd for a temporary respite, but as part of the road is closed due to a bridge removal, I was back on the 202 quickly. The only other way I can think of bypassing this part would be to take 356th Dr SE to the gravel Snoqualmie Valley Trail, but that might not work for those with thin tires. After Snoqualmie Falls, the ride became more pleasant. At the traffic circle I turned right be mistake instead of going straight, but quickly corrected myself.

At the end of SE Mill Pond Rd, I ran into the unexpected detour which most impacted my route. I had intended to take SE Reinig Rd to 428th Ave SE on my way to North Bend. However, a portion of SE Reinig Rd is closed until mid October. This detour made my trip shorter as I took Medowbrook Bridge and went to North Bend south of the river. If you are up for some hard packed gravel riding, the Snoqualmie Valley Trail is an option here. On this part of the ride, there is also a paved trail from Centennial Fields Park to Medowbrook Farm, but it is narrow in places and includes a gate in the middle. The road is pretty low traffic, so I would stick to it unless you can’t handle anymore cars by this point.

OK! We’ve made it to North Bend! Almost there! Good news – you can skip the last three paragraphs and get a 23 mile head start by starting at North Bend P&R! On weekends, Trailhead Direct’s Mount Si route will get you there! Metro 208 also gets you to North Bend. You could also try the Snoqualmie Valley Shuttle. There are a few ways to get from North Bend to Tanner where the turn off to Middle Fork Road is located. You can crush gravel on the Snoqualmie Valley Trail, take the busy SE North Bend Way, or SE Cedar Falls Way and SE Tanner Rd. At the end of Tanner Rd, you can continue onto a short gravel path onto a paved trail, or turn onto North Bend Way there.

Into the forest

When you first turn onto Middle Fork Road and pass a middle school, an industrial area, and the outer reaches of suburban sprawl, you start to wonder if you’ve made a wrong turn. Seconds later you find yourself completely immersed in the forest. A one way road leads you to a sign welcoming you to the Middle Fork Snoqualmie Natural Resource Conservation Area. With very few cars, long sections can be enjoyed without interruption. Moments of serenity and connection to nature is what makes this 12 mile section of road so special. Riding alongside the river, trees everywhere, and tall mountain peaks to the east. This is my idea of bliss. The road takes you into Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. Near the top there are a couple of small sections of gravel, but these are so short you can walk your bike if you have thin tires. If you are into biking and hiking this would also be a great route with many trails along the way. The grade is also very gentle making it an easy ride for people of all levels. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and I found myself back to North Bend in no time.

The return journey

I went back through the town of Snoqualmie and used the short Snoqualmie Centennial Corridor Trail which also doubles as a railway museum. Then came the climbing to Snoqualmie Ridge. Snoqualmie Parkway has a wide shoulder, but I opted to use the trail which takes you to the top. Then there is riding through a neighborhood, and the use of an access road to get to Lake Alice Rd SE. Here there is a VERY steep downhill, which I thankfully survived with no cars buzzing by me. You can continue down to Preston-Fall City Rd SE, but I prefer to take the paved Preston-Snoqualmie Trail. There is a gravel switchback section you have to walk down. After you go through Preston and SE High Point Way, turn onto the gravel Issaquah-Preston Trail. This is 3.5 miles of hard packed gravel, and my 700c x 25mm tires worked fine, though that might not be the case in non summer months. After the trail, you find yourself on the wrong side of E Sunset Way. You have two options, if you don’t see anyone using the sidewalk you can take that. I got lucky and the protected left turn lights turned green with no cars coming off the highway, so I took that opportunity to get onto the correct side of E Sunset Way. All that is left after that is a ride through downtown Issaquah back to the transit center.