Franklin was a coal mining town from around the turn of the century. Not much remains except an interesting old cemetery and a very deep vertical mine shaft covered with a metal grate. The trail is unmarked but should be very easy to find with the following directions. Go south on Hwy 169. In the town of Black Diamond, turn left on Lawson Rd which becomes SE Green River Gorge Rd. Go about 4 miles. The Entrance to the trail is on the right. It is gated with an old poorly constructed steel wire fence with no parking and tow away signs on it. The Entrance is located 400 feet before you reach the single lane bridge which crosses the Green River Gorge. The only place park is a small pullout on the opposite side of the road next to the bridge. Definitely walk out onto the bridge to get a suprisingly airy view of the river below. The hike starts on a dirt road. In about 1/4 mi you reach an old coal car donated by Palmer Coker Co. In about 1/2 mi you reach an old coal mine shaft. It is covered with a sturdy steel grate that is safe to walk on. The shaft goes down 1300 ft to a point 500 ft below sea level! If you drop a rock down the shaft it takes about 4-5 seconds to hear it hit bottom. After the mine shaft the tread becomes narrow overgrown and muddy in places. A pair of clippers would be useful to beat back the black berry vines. At about 1 mile you reach the first grave stone. A small side trail to the right leads to a few other head stones. Overall a worthwhile hike if you happen to be in the Black Diamond area.

After seeing hikingwithmybrother's write-up (from 3/12/2012) I put this one on my mental to-do list. Today was the day. Their description is good. The trailhead is actually an old rusty gate w/ No Parking and Towing signs on it. Beyond you can see a yellow gate w/ the WA State Parks logo on it. There are many no parking and no trespassing signs in the area. A place that is ok to park is on the other side of the street closer to the Green River Gorge bridge. There is a turnout that can accomodate 3 to 4 vehicles. I was the only one around today. Despite there being private property signs it is ok to walk the gravel road to the yellow gate where it is WA state parks land (there's apparently an easement thru the private land). I got caught in a downpour heading up to the site of the old ore cart labeled Franklin. It is probably less than a mile to this junction which is signed. If you go right, it heads to sites of old foundations for structures (houses?). I passed one foundation before seeing a No Trespassing sign so I turned around. I then headed straight (which would have been left going up) which took me to mine shaft entrance #2 which is covered with a metal grate for safety purposes (in 1984). This mine was over 1300 feet deep. The hayday of the mine was from about the late 1800's to the 1910's. After the mine shaft the trail changes from a road width trail to a single track. There is water and mud across the trail in several places and also foliage over the trail in a few places. I noted an old elevated trestle not too long before the cemetery off to the right. Apparently this was part of the system of water pipes that delivered water to the town of Franklin back in the day. I came upon the cemetery almost without realizing it. It is becoming quite overgrown. I noticed at least 10 or so grave markers. A few of babies (quite sad). It is probably close to 2 miles to the cemetery. The trail beyond the cemetery quickly joins a gravel road. I did not explore to find out where the road came from or led to. There is a sign stating Franklin Cemetery facing toward the gravel road. The rest of my time on these trails the sun came out & quickly dried me off. Pretty serene other than the constant gunfire off to the west (which got louder/closer as I hiked the trail). I didn't hear any stray bullets, thank God. Interesting area worth exploring.

Continuing this winter’s theme of visiting ghost towns and abandoned places, we recently explored the Franklin Townsite near Black Diamond. Like many former mining communities in Washington, much of the once-bustling town is now gone, much of it reclaimed by nature. Still, enough cement and metal remains to hint at the coal-centered community that called Franklin home for more than 30 years. The trickiest part of a trek to Franklin is finding it. Although the Franklin Townsite is owned by King County Parks, there is no motorized access and there is not much in the way of parking. Access is located just before you cross the Green River Gorge Bridge, marked by chain-link gate covered in No Parking Signs. There is room for one vehicle on the opposite side of the road a little closer to the bridge. If that is taken, most people drive down to a little cemetery a quarter-mile or so back toward Black Diamond. Once you’re parked, head back to the chain-link fence, you can see a yellow gate in the distance, which is the beginning of King County Park Property. The property in between is private, but King County has an easement along the road, so just stick to the gravel road and head toward the gate. Things are easy once on the trail. Head up to a signed junction complete with an ore cart donated by the Palmer Coking Company. Veer left for the mine and cemetery. While there are foundations on the right, you need permission from Palmer before doing much in the way of exploring on their land. Checkout the full report here: http://www.hikingwithmybrother.com/2012/03/franklin-ghost-town-cemetery.html Jer