We started this hike later in the afternoon around 4:30 and it was perfect. It added a certain ambiance to an old ghost town. There are a ton of cool structures there. The mine is crazy awesome. 1400 ft straight down. Booooooooooom. After checking out the mine we walked up the hill and checked out the old cemetary on the hill. There were graves all over the hillside. Very cool, I would love to do more reserch on the town of Franklin. It was an easy hike and we only ran across one other couple out there. The dogs loved it too. As far as pictures, it is great for finding awesome textures. I will return and it is close to home, I would like to walk up the hill further to see what migth be there. I love exploring!

Was really looking forward to this hike and it was easy to find the start of the trail, but when we got there there is nowhere to park! Through the chain link fence is an area suitable for parking many cars, but we were kicked out by a kayak club who kayaks on the Green River and rents the small field from to park their vehicles from the property owner. When the club isn't using the lot they lock the gate. So we thought "no problem, we'll park outside the gate on the side of the road"; there are "NO PARKING ANYTIME" and towing signs all over the narrow road shoulders. You drive past the neighbor's and businesses' driveways and they have towing and no parking signs as well (I have a strong suspicion they would rat you out to a towing company if they saw you parked there). The Green River Gorge road was narrow with very small shoulders that were pretty unsafe to park on. We drove on looking for parking in a cemetery located 1/4 mile away at 33263 Green River Gorge Rd. that someone in one of the trip reports stated had a parking lot, but couldn't find that cemetery either! My gps only showed that address as being a residence on 293rd Ave SE (293rd is the same road as Green River Gorge Rd. it just changes names a block or so before the bridge). We kept driving looking for a suitable spot to park, but only found a couple of tiny shoulders off the road and feared leaving the car alone there would attract thieves and tweekers. We finally gave up and headed to Pinnacle Peak in Enumclaw - I was super bummed, I was really looking forward to hiking through the old grounds. On a positive note, the old circa 1915 one lane high bridge over the Green River is GORGEOUS as is the view! Too bad there are towing and no parking signs EVERYWHERE or else I would have gotten to get a better look, UGH!

Sadie dog and I tried this trail for the first time today. What a pretty spot. It's more of a walk than a hike. It would be an easy outing for kids. No boots required unless it has rained recently, then the trail could be muddy. We parked at the cemetery up the road as the trail description recommends. On the way up the trail there are great views of Mt. Rainier. When you get to the old cemetery make sure to take the very short spur loop off to your right to explore the other grave sites. Return back to your car the way you came.

We only made it to the mine shaft so we don't know how the trail conditions are past that. We love it for our family, and will come back to continue on to the cemetery. We just pooped out because it was a crazy windy day and our first road to the site was blocked by a downed tree :-) I think the best time to visit might be sometime before spring growth starts. A lot of leaves had fallen, but the blackberry bushes still had a lot of leaves on them, so I'm wondering if things were covered up. We didn't think the cemetery would be very visible so we decided we'd come back another time. You can see fossilized leaves in the clay next the mine shaft, which is very cool if you have kids. We're not King County people, and I'm wondering if groups purposely don't show that there's any trail from the road. We had to go over the one lane ridge, then back track, and then find it. Lots of "no parking" signs. With kids, we weren't going to park way back at some other cemetery that was mentioned... Those paths that lead downward after the yellow gate are for whitewater people because this is apparently a great place to go! The "Hiking with my Brother" website is where I found this first, and it says there's one parking space, but our family found a lot of "no parking" signs! However, you can find some great targeted photos along the trail. I don't understand the 'getting permission from the Palmers' for heading straight past the sign. That should have more clarification. Anyway, it's crazy if you look at satellite photos and maps, and this is not as in the middle-of-nowhere as it may have once been. Us city folks driving thought it was interesting to encounter a one-way bridge, but if you look at the map, it's surrounded by developments! We felt we definitely in the middle of nowhere, and couldn't believe there'd actually be a cemetery at the end of the hike if we'd have followed it!

The closest parking is in the cemetery's parking lot located at 33263 SE Green River Gorge Rd. From there walk down toward the one lane bridge and the trail to the remnants of the town is on the right just prior to the bridge. The tailhead is at 47.18.043N, 121.57.171W. The trail is gravel path heading up the hill. The forks before you get to the train car all head down to the river or bluffs, we did not find anything historical down those trails. Once you walk up the path and get to the train car, take the fork to the left if you want to get to the mine shaft, railway tracks, or old headstones. If you go to the right, you will continue on the gravel path and find some old foundations of the town. If you are having difficulty finding the train car, its up the hill at 47.17.889N, 121.57.578W. Hope this helps. Oh, and take bug spray if bugs bother you. They were not bad today, but we saw a lot of mosquitos flying around in the hidden valleys/quarries we were exploring.