Historic Tokul Creek Trestle reopens on Snoqualmie Valley Trail

The 400-foot-long Tokul Creek Trestle on the Snoqualmie Valley  Regional Trail has reopened for business.

Tokul Bridge reopened on Snoqualmie Valley Trail

The timber trestle, spanning a 120-foot-deep canyon since 1911, had been closed since last September when King County decided it was time to close the old railroad trestle for repairs.

Visiting bicyclists will notice that contractors replaced the cement deck panels. Not so visible, but perhaps more important, are some structural timbers that were replaced as well. The cost of the repairs came to about $2.1 million.

Reopening the bridge, located close to Snoqualmie Falls, means that bicyclists won’t have to detour to State Route 202 on the valley floor when traveling between the towns of Carnation and Snoqualmie.

They’ll still have to leave the trail and climb a short slope to reach Tokul Road for the detour through Snoqualmie.

The trail runs for 31.5 miles between Duvall in the valley and Rattlesnake Lake in the Cascades. The detour through Snoqualmie is the only gap on the trail.

Historic Tokul Trestle under construction

The Snoqualmie Valley Record reported a few years ago that many people visit the trestle to relish the views across the valley from the deck.

The trestle was built by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad for a spur line that ran between Cedar Falls (Rattlesnake Lake) and Everett. It was rehabbed in 1949, but abandoned in 1973 as the Milwaukee Road prepared for bankruptcy.

If you ride your bike on many of the trails in King County, you’re probably used to riding across these huge trestles left behind by the Milwaukee Road.

There are several on the Snoqualmie Valley Regional Trail and the John Wayne Pioneer Trail. The chasms they span always create a break in the tree-line, enabling spectacular views.