Riding the Milwaukee Road
The Milwaukee Road laid track in the Pacific Northwest beginning in 1906, connecting Chicago with Seattle and Tacoma. In 1979 the western portion of the route was abandoned. What's left is a recreational trail created from the original roadbed. It starts at Cedar Falls, 20 miles east of Seattle, and extends east across Washington, with portions preserved across Idaho and Montana.
On June 8, 2018 a friend and I cycled the 22 miles from Renslow, where a trestle (currently closed to pedestrians and cyclists) carried the main line over Interstate 90), to the bridge at Beverly, shown here spanning the Columbia River.
The first 4 miles of the trail from Renslow to Tunnel 45 (also known as Johnson's Creek Tunnel and the Boylston Tunnel) at Boylston, were sandy and uphill, making for laborious cycling which occasionally required walking. However, once past the tunnel, the next 18 miles were all downhill with a 2.2% grade on firmly packed dirt, making for sensational high-speed cycling. The elevation drop from Tunnel 45 (2,467 ft) to Beverly (548 ft) is 1,919 ft -- just over twice the height of Seattle's tallest building, the Columbia Center (1,866 ft). This 2.2% grade was the steepest in the entire Milwaukee Road system. Compare this with the 1.74% grade between Snoqualmie Pass and Cedar Falls.
With lots of stops for photos, it took us 5.5 hours to cover 22 miles. The combination of varied trail and wind conditions made for a great workout. The wind varied in speed (up to 45 mph) and regularly shifted from tail wind to head wind to side wind, and occasionally there was no wind. Temperatures were mild, wild grasses were green, and flowers were in full bloom. From our experience I would venture to bet that May and early June will usually offer ideal cycling conditions -- comfortable temperatures (75F to 90F) with lots of greenery and wild flowers. In spite of these ideal conditions, we didn't see another soul on the trail the entire day.
A major character of the trail between the Boylston and the way-point named Doris is a series of over a dozen cuts, created as the line sliced through hills along the route. This photo shows my companion getting ready to zoom through several of the cuts.
Until recently, the Milwaukee Road trail running across Washington state was named the John Wayne Pioneer Trail. The western portion of this trail, from Cedar Falls to the Columbia River (at Beverly) carried an additional name -- the Iron Horse State Park Trail. This meant that the there were two names for a portion of the trail, which created confusion. This changed on May 17, 2018 when the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission replaced both names with a single new name -- Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail. My proposed recommendation is the Washington State Milwaukee Road Trail, which could eventually connect with the Idaho Milwaukee Road Trail, and that could then connect with the Montana Milwaukee Road Trail. It's never too late for another name change.
Riding the Milwaukee Road
The Milwaukee Road laid track in the Pacific Northwest beginning in 1906, connecting Chicago with Seattle and Tacoma. In 1979 the western portion of the route was abandoned. What's left is a recreational trail created from the original roadbed. It starts at Cedar Falls, 20 miles east of Seattle, and extends east across Washington, with portions preserved across Idaho and Montana.
On June 8, 2018 a friend and I cycled the 22 miles from Renslow, where a trestle (currently closed to pedestrians and cyclists) carried the main line over Interstate 90), to the bridge at Beverly, shown here spanning the Columbia River.
The first 4 miles of the trail from Renslow to Tunnel 45 (also known as Johnson's Creek Tunnel and the Boylston Tunnel) at Boylston, were sandy and uphill, making for laborious cycling which occasionally required walking. However, once past the tunnel, the next 18 miles were all downhill with a 2.2% grade on firmly packed dirt, making for sensational high-speed cycling. The elevation drop from Tunnel 45 (2,467 ft) to Beverly (548 ft) is 1,919 ft -- just over twice the height of Seattle's tallest building, the Columbia Center (1,866 ft). This 2.2% grade was the steepest in the entire Milwaukee Road system. Compare this with the 1.74% grade between Snoqualmie Pass and Cedar Falls.
With lots of stops for photos, it took us 5.5 hours to cover 22 miles. The combination of varied trail and wind conditions made for a great workout. The wind varied in speed (up to 45 mph) and regularly shifted from tail wind to head wind to side wind, and occasionally there was no wind. Temperatures were mild, wild grasses were green, and flowers were in full bloom. From our experience I would venture to bet that May and early June will usually offer ideal cycling conditions -- comfortable temperatures (75F to 90F) with lots of greenery and wild flowers. In spite of these ideal conditions, we didn't see another soul on the trail the entire day.
A major character of the trail between the Boylston and the way-point named Doris is a series of over a dozen cuts, created as the line sliced through hills along the route. This photo shows my companion getting ready to zoom through several of the cuts.
Until recently, the Milwaukee Road trail running across Washington state was named the John Wayne Pioneer Trail. The western portion of this trail, from Cedar Falls to the Columbia River (at Beverly) carried an additional name -- the Iron Horse State Park Trail. This meant that the there were two names for a portion of the trail, which created confusion. This changed on May 17, 2018 when the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission replaced both names with a single new name -- Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail. My proposed recommendation is the Washington State Milwaukee Road Trail, which could eventually connect with the Idaho Milwaukee Road Trail, and that could then connect with the Montana Milwaukee Road Trail. It's never too late for another name change.