We started from just below the gate above E Ames Lake Drive NE. There was parking on the next road above - 288th Ave NE - but we continued up the rutted dirt road to the gate. There were 4 vehicles there with room for about 5 more. Three of the vehicles belonged to bikers and one to a couple with a dog as we later came to find out. This is not part of the county park, but leads to it via a network of biking trails.
We walked around the gate, which had no trespassing signs prohibiting ATVs. The initial climb was up a gravel road with several faint trails dropping down onto it. We veered onto an unnamed biking trail then onto a series of trails marked with painted stones - names like Green Mamba, Hot Wok, and Sticks and Stones each had their own colorful identification. Blair Witch Project was the final trail before we entered Tolt-MacDonald Park. I had my phone handy as we were looking for the most circuitous route to get to the Snoqualmie River on the other end. The trails were all in good condition and not muddy. Through the park the elevation change was minimal. These trails were less obvious biking trails, as they lacked the berms and log obstacles, but did have lots of turns and small ups and downs. The park portion of the hike was more shaded and green as more mature trees prevailed.
We headed down Quail Trail, which was most of our elevation change. We dropped down and passed the yurts and cabins and headed to the bridge. The bridge had a deck of interspersed slats that allowed you to see the water below and the side rails had metal mesh affording an even more open view. We could feel the bridge sway as we walked across. It was subtle, not like a rope bridge, but just enough to have to verbally confirm it was actually moving. There's a viewfinder on the bridge looking south with an image imposed of the old bridge just ahead of the current Tolt Hill Road bridge. It explains how it was the last of its kind in the US.
We saw our first human here, with her two dogs. Then all of a sudden another dog walker, three bikers, and a hiker with a baby onboard. The road along the river to the south was fenced off because of landslide concerns. We considered returning up the steep trail above the cabins we had seen in a previous report, but it's not a legitimate trail and it's an erosion concern. We returned back up our outgoing trial then did some of the outer loops on the NW part of the park before returning to the car.
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