Information about this hike provided in partnership with
Mountaineers Books.
Copyright © Craig Romano/The Mountaineers Books Lime Kiln Trail
Featured In:
Day Hiking: North Cascades,
by Craig Romano.
A portion of all book sales from the links above benefits WTA and helps protect and maintain our trails. Before embarking on this historical hike, take time to read the informative kiosk at the trailhead. It'll help you more fully appreciate the journey you are about to set off on. The wide and graveled trail takes off through a scrappy forest recovering from years of timber harvesting. The way temporarily leaves the park to traverse private land. Please stay on the path. Cross a small creek and emerge onto an old road. Continue on a slightly rolling course, following directional signs, and after 0.75 mile reenter the park, leave the road, and continue once again on real trail. Pass Hubbard Pond, a shallow body of water surrounded by old cedars and thickets of salal. Cross its outlet creek on a sturdy bridge, then follow another old road a short distance to a well-marked junction. Here a sign directs you to head left and leave the roadway for a descent into a cool, lush, emerald ravine. Amid giant cottonwoods, Hubbard Creek provides a background score of tumbling tunes. Emerge on a bench high above the roaring waters of the South Fork Stilly. Now using the former railbed of the old Everett and Monte Cristo Railway, the trail travels upriver through a narrow canyon. Under a canopy of towering moss-draped maples, the fern-lined trail continues on its way to the old limekiln. En route you'll pass scores of historical relics literally littering the forest floor. Old saw blades, bricks, bottles, stove parts, and bed frames testify that this remote locale once supported a thriving community, Cut-Off Junction (please leave all artifacts in place for others to enjoy). Just up ahead (2.6 miles from your start) lies the source of this past activity, the limekiln, which remains remarkably intact (please stay off of it to ensure it stands another hundred years). Beyond the old kiln, the trail continues for another 0.8 mile, ending at where a rail bridge once spanned the river. A short loop path takes off left, leading to a graveled bar on the river-a perfect spot to sit and reflect on the area's history and its natural beauty.
Driving Directions:
Follow State Route 92 east to Granite Falls. At the blinking-light four-way stop in town, turn right onto Granite Avenue. Continue south for three blocks, turning left onto Pioneer Street and then reaching the city limits in 0.3 mile, where Pioneer Street becomes Menzel Lake Road. Continue another 0.9 mile and turn left onto Waite Mill Road. In 0.6 mile (just beyond a school bus turnaround sign), bear left at a Y intersection onto a gravel road. Reach the turnoff for Robe Canyon Historical Park in 500 feet and then turn left into the trailhead parking area (elev. 575 ft). Privy available. Recent Trip Reports
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Day hike
Issues:
Blowdowns | Mudholes | Water on trail
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It was a just about perfect sunny day for a hike. This was the third timed I have hiked...
It was a just about perfect sunny day for a hike. This was the third timed I have hiked this trail and it was the first time for my friend that came along. The Lime Kiln Trail is easy to find lying just SE of Granite Falls. It runs through mostly forest and eventually drops down to the South Fork Stillaguamish and follows the old rail bed that led to Monte Cristo many miles away. The trail is full of history and artifacts with plenty of signs at the trailhead and along the way to tell you all about it if you don't know the train/ mining/ logging history of the area.
Getting to the trail was no problem as all but the last few yards of the drive are paved. The snow is all but gone even in this shady area and the trail tread is in good shape. There are some areas of standing/ flowing water and mud but all were easy to cross or go around. There were a lot of blowdowns starting at the bridge where horse riders have to turn back. Once you reach the rail bed they become more frequent but all could be moved over, under, or around. The big washout is still there shortly before the lime kiln but of my three trips here it was by far the easiest time I've had of crossing it but still watch your step. The Stilly was running high and fast with the warmer temps and made for a very soothing sound. Sun would filter through the trees and light up sections of the water and forest, it was great. Once we reached the rail bed my friend soon discovered a rare treat I had heard of but never seen, hair ice! It had formed on fallen twigs and we nearly mistook it for plastic or twine until we touched some! The lime kiln is always cool, sitting as a monolith in the forest now covered in moss and ferns with plenty of artifacts lying around it. Its kinda crazy to think about what was going on there 100 years ago and now the forest is being allowed to reclaim the area. Down at the river beach some 3.4 miles in we came to the end of the trail and took a break on the river. The warm sun lit up the other side of the river and was making steam rise off the vegetation making for a unique scene. We encountered just one other couple all day passing them about 1/2 back to my truck. A fine day on the trail after nearly 2 months off because of all the crazy weather. Day hike
Issues:
Blowdowns | Mudholes | Snow on trail
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We arrived at the trailhead parking lot at 10:30 am. There were a few cars there at the time. The...
We arrived at the trailhead parking lot at 10:30 am. There were a few cars there at the time. The directions in the description were accurate. It was a cloudy day, but that did not diminish the hike; it likely improved photographic conditions for all of the interior and river views along the way.
Many hikers were out, including a group of grade school-aged children learning how to take compass readings. The trail was not crowded, though. The trail was adequately wide, though there are numerous mud patches currently. There are small amounts of snow in places, as well as numerous blowdowns--all of which are passable. One member of our group noted that there are fewer artifacts along the trail than there were two years ago--sadly, it appears that artifact looting is continuing. Along the way, we enjoyed the cool, damp day and the abundant moss. Water was flowing everywhere, including small waterfalls making their way down to the green waters of the Stillaguamish. We traveled past the Lime Kiln, where we took pictures of artifacts, and we made our way to the Railroad Bridge viewpoint (not very thrilling) and then to the river bank, where we took a break and enjoyed some snacks. One aspect of the trail that is not clear from the description is that it descends along the OUTBOUND leg--one descends to Robe Canyon, then past the Lime Kiln, and then finally to the banks of the South Fork Stillaguamish River. The return trip is the part where the elevation gain occurs, but it is not rough at all. Afterwards, we went to downtown Snohomish for hot chocolate, scones, and cinnamon roles, where Ground Frog Day festivities were in full swing.
Lime Kiln Trail
— Jan 27, 2012
— Marie
Day hike
Issues:
Blowdowns | Mudholes | Water on trail | Snow on trail
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Not having a lot of time and not wanting to deal with the condition of the Mountain loop we opted...
Not having a lot of time and not wanting to deal with the condition of the Mountain loop we opted for Lime Kiln. It was a beautiful day..crisp air and blue skies. You can see Lake Hubbard and the creek is running. There's a little bit of patchy snow here and there. The trail has a few muddy, wet spots especially past the kiln on the way to the river. The main obstacles were the trees. Last weeks snow and wind did their damage. There were no less than 20 trees down, not counting broken branches and widow makers. It was still good to get out of doors.
Day hike
Issues:
Blowdowns | Mudholes | Water on trail | Snow on trail
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We decided to try a low level hike this weekend and avoid the snow that was forecast for Saturday evening....
We decided to try a low level hike this weekend and avoid the snow that was forecast for Saturday evening. No dice. The snow started about halfway through our hike and was accumulating on the trail by the time we returned to the trailhead. It was just enough snow to make things pretty, but not enough to be a real hazard on the trail.
The trail to the Lime Kiln itself is in pretty good shape right now but there are a number of significant mudholes that require some creativity to navigate. I visited this trail about three months ago and not much has changed. I included some general information about the trail in that trip report and here is the link: http://www.wta.org/[…]/trip_report.2011-10-23.7020892593 In terms of other obstacles on this trail, we also noticed that many of the planks that are laid out to make the trail easier to navigate actually make it more dangerous because they are icy. There are some recent blowdowns that have to be accounted for, but none of them require anything more than bending down to get under the trees. I have done this hike three times but it is always neat to hike here and try to imagine how the trail was once a part of a bustling railroad system between Monte Cristo and Everett. We hiked to the terminus of the trail and had lunch on the shore of the Stilly while it was snowing. All in all it was a nice day to hike. We only saw a couple of other groups out braving the elements, so for the most part we had the trail to ourselves. Day hike
Issues:
Mudholes | Water on trail
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Decided to go for a nice hike today so me and the wife loaded up our dogs Bandit and Jazzy...
Decided to go for a nice hike today so me and the wife loaded up our dogs Bandit and Jazzy and headed to the Lime Kiln Trail. ITs funny how close this trail is and I have never been on it. The morning started off a little chilly but not to bad. Lots of muddy spots along the way which made the dogs happy. Saw a bunch of Hair Ice (aka silk frost). IT was all over making a really cool sight this morning. Passed a total of 3 other groups of people. The hike was nice, there was not a lot of neat stuff to see. The lime kiln was huge and interesting in its own right but see where the old train bridge was and how much the forest has reclaimed was really neat. There was a corner or two that seems like they are close to being washed out and the wooden bridges were a little slick. It was definitely a nice winter hike for getting such a nice beautiful day!!!! Happy Hiking!!!!
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One of the best parts of the Lime Kiln Trail is finding old relics from its mining, railroad and logging past - like this old metal saw. Photo by Opus.
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Great Hike & Beautiful Weather
Hope you all have a chance to experience this great trail on a sunny day!!