Information about this hike provided in partnership with
Mountaineers Books.
Copyright © Dan A. Nelson/The Mountaineers Books Asahel Curtis Nature Trail
Featured In:
Day Hiking: Snoqualmie Region,
by Dan A. Nelson and Alan L. Bauer.
A portion of all book sales from the links above benefits WTA and helps protect and maintain our trails. Minnesota-born Asahel Curtis moved to Washington in 1888 at the age of fourteen and started working in a family-owned photo studio when he was twenty. He soon became the preeminent photographer in the Seattle area, documenting the natural landscape, the native people, and the historic elements of the Pacific Northwest right up until his death in 1941. The Washington State History Museum holds more than sixty thousand of his photographic images. This trail named for Curtis gives a taste of what inspired him. It first meanders away from the trailhead, following Humpback Creek through the refreshingly cool old forest. This moss-laden woodland felt the bite of axes in the early part of the twentieth century, but today the scars of logging are limited to old stumps--many now nursing new trees in the old, rotting cores. The short path loops through these old forests, exploring both natural and human history while providing a wonderfully peaceful walk through the forest primeval.
Driving Directions:
From Seattle drive east on I-90 to exit 47 (Asahel Curtis/Denny Creek). Turn right from the off-ramp and continue 0.25 mile, then turn left on Forest Road 5590. You'll find the parking area in 0.3 mile. Recent Trip Reports
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Day hike
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I chaperoned my son's summer camp on the Asahel Curtis Nature Trail today - 15 kids 5 to 7 years...
I chaperoned my son's summer camp on the Asahel Curtis Nature Trail today - 15 kids 5 to 7 years old, two teachers and me. As we pulled into the trailhead a different group of yellow-shirted kids was piling into a school bus. I guess we weren't the only ones with the idea.
Nevertheless, our group didn't pass another hiker during the hour it took to make the loop. And despite their exuberance, we still managed to see a small and cute bird (wren?), two caterpillars and a slug. Plus enormous red cedars and Douglas firs, moss, fungi, three kinds of fern, a few wildflowers and more. I talked to the kids about nurse logs - of which there were many. We picked up bark that bugs had tunneled along. And they announced all water they saw. Although they were a bit noisy, the kids were very respectful of the natural environment, and I was glad to help introduce a few to hiking. This is an easy trail - a toddler could walk the whole thing - and one that has so much to look at along the way. It is an interpretive trail as well, but don't count on there being any trail guides. I couldn't locate it online either. Seeing number posts without any explanation drove the kids batty, but I improvised. Day hike
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Segment 1: 1.3 mi loop, +/-250 feet, Asahel Curtis Nature Trail #1023
Segment 2: 1.0 mi one way, +440/-0 feet, Annette...
Segment 1: 1.3 mi loop, +/-250 feet, Asahel Curtis Nature Trail #1023
Segment 2: 1.0 mi one way, +440/-0 feet, Annette Lake #1019 Trailhead 47.39296, -121.47443, 1920 feet, Annette Lake Trailhead Endpoint 47.38425, -121.47164, 2360 feet, Annette Lake Trail crossing of John Wayne rail trail Decided to take advantage of a wet day and go play in the rain. The Asahel Curtis Nature Trail is a fun and educational hike, even though there are rarely trail guides available at the trailhead. It is on a fairly level alignment and travels through an old growth forest. Along the first few hundred feet, kidlets and puplets should be kept on a short tether as the trail runs along raging Humpback Creek. The Annette Lake Trail starts off much the way I remember it from eight years ago. The entire route was a steady, but not strenuous, climb. The road just to the right (west) of the trail does not cross the trail again, although it comes close just above the bridge across Humpback Creek. Just past the bridge, the trail follows a clearcut powerline right of way. Eight years ago, the trail passed through trees with the powerlines above. The trees must have grown enough in eight years to need to be removed. Further on, the trail crosses another powerline right of way. AFter a steady climb, the trail crosses the John Wayne rail trail. To the right (west) is the old snowshed and Bandera siding; to the left (east) is the Snoqualmie Rail Tunnel (closed as of this writing). And the gear did the job keeping me warm and dry. Sure, it's already proved itself in a Texas thunderstorm, but rain at eighty degrees is a lot different than rain at fifty. Day hike
Issues:
Blowdowns | Water on trail | Snow on trail | Road to trailhead inaccessible
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The parking lot is too full of snow for my car so we parked right as you turn in. Nobody...
The parking lot is too full of snow for my car so we parked right as you turn in. Nobody else was there but there were tracks that looked like someone had been stuck.
It was raining. There is snow on a lot of the trail and bridges. We wore studs on our boots. Many trees have blown down across the trail, we were able to get over/under them without too much trouble. Humpback creek is flowing super fast with lots of falls. It's awesome! It you go a little ways up the Annette Lake Trail there is another bridge over the creek with more amazing water. Day hike
Features:
Fall foliage
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What a lovely hike for young kids. Short enough that even my 2 year old did it without being carried,...
What a lovely hike for young kids. Short enough that even my 2 year old did it without being carried, but long enough to see lots of great NW stuff. Old growth, water, plants, slugs....This would also make a good walk with anyone new to the NW. Great introduction to our area. There is a bathroom at the trail head, but no TP. Bring your own.
Asahel Curtis
— May 18, 2009
— PNA
Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
Blowdowns
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Just did a quick stop to check out this trail I've never been on before. The road...
Just did a quick stop to check out this trail I've never been on before. The road and parking lot are clear, although not much used yet. There are a few appliances in the parking lot, if you need a washer or dryer...
There are several large (2' to 3') trees down across the trail, including one right across the first footbridge. There are also a number of smaller trees and branches on or across the trail. But it is fairly easy to get around everything. Lots of swamp lanterns blooming, and trillia, and a few violets. There are some nice trees there, although somehow I can't quite appreciate them properly with the constant roar of vehicles on the highway. Saw a goldfinch and heard winter wrens here. No snow anywhere in the vicinity. Note that Tinkham road is closed with concrete blocks well east of exit 47, immediately east of the Tinkham campground (which is still closed), so you've got to come and go via exit 47. They did, however, just grade the closed road today. Maybe they'll do the potholey section to Asahel Curtis trailhead tomorrow. |
Interesting tree along the nature trail. Photo by Solo Steve.
2010, 2011
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