Middle Fork Snoqualmie River — Thursday, Jun. 9, 2011

Snoqualmie Region > North Bend Area

Hiked from Dingford Creek bridge to Goldmyer Hot Springs following the Middle Fork Trail on the south side of the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River. Our return trip followed the road along the north side of the River. Today was a very nice day for a hike, even though mostly cloudy, as the scenery did not rely upon a lot of sun. Drive in and out: The drive follows 15 miles of dirt road with many chuck holes, taking 1 hour. The drive up the first 9 miles to the Middle Fork trail head was 30 minutes, while the last 6 was slower and also took 30 minutes. The drive is doable, but goes slow as caution is needed. The road is closed at Dingford Creek, where the trail begins. The middle fork trail was in pretty good shape but we did need to ford a couple strong fast flowing creeks. The worst creek was Thunder creek, as the water was fast, and dropped downhill fast. After we crossed, a log was being put in place for a better passage by a couple gentlemen. Most of the fallen logs have been cut, but a few big ones still cross the trail. Much of the trail after Wildcat Creek follows an old train route which was used about 90 to 100 years ago taking people to the Hot Springs. Findlng Goldmyer: At about 6 miles a sign read Burntboot Creek. This creek was much bigger than I had expected. When I saw it, I mistook it for the middle fork of the Snoqualmie. To get to Goldmyer Hot Springs or to continue up the Middle Fork trail, you will have to cross this fast flowing river (creek). A couple large logs have been put in place for crossing. I felt safe and crossed easily, but my wife was nervous while crossing. She made it okay. Before crossing, we found an old abandoned trail just before the river, which heads up to Red Mountain. The small sign read Red Mtn 4 miles. Goldmyer Hot Springs: This site is on private property and is operated by a nonprofit group. They charge $15 per person to visit the springs or grounds. We took our chances as we did not have a reservation, but we were still allowed in. Only a limited number (20) of people are allowed into the hot pools each day. (See their website: http://www.goldmyer.org for more information.) Once getting registered by the caretaker, we hiked up the hill to the Hot Springs. The springs are close to the Burntboot creek as it drops downhill over many water falls. The hot springs come out of a cave, and into a couple small pools. Inside the cave, is a larger pool, which may be 8 feet wide and may go into the cave 30 feet Return to car: we chose to walk the road back to the car. The 4 ½ mile road was mostly level and in very good shape.