Tolt Pipeline Trail — Monday, Dec. 28, 2015

Puget Sound and Islands > Seattle-Tacoma Area

For all those snowphobes, this trip report is guaranteed to be avalanche zone, hypothermia and frost bite free. Taking a page from Mr. Manning's original Footsore 1, I walked the Tolt Pipeline Trail between Avondale and the Snoqualmie Valley Monday afternoon parking at the lot right off Bear Creek Rd NE. Plenty of space there, but there is more parking a block west along Avondale Rd NE, (though you do have cross the busy street.) Total distance is just shy of 6 miles round trip. Total gross vertical is only 300-400ft - a relatively easy walk with just enough distance and hill to get the blood moving. Bear Creek is running high and there is some nice relatively new ecological signage at the crossing point. The trail is typical utility right of way - but more rural than much of the western portion of this trail. Many of the property owners along the trail are equestrian estates and/or breeders and you will likely run into folks out with their horses on the trail. Woodpeckers, a raven, thrush and a couple smaller raptors were all out this afternoon along with the horses. This portion of the trail goes nearly all the way to the Snoqualmie Valley, though today there were limited views due to the fog/clouds - on a clear day you can see the cascades off the eastern end. One other point of interest is the large water pipeline coming in from the big Seattle Public Utilities South Fork Tolt Reservoir. It pops out of the ground for a few hundred feet in one of the valleys along the trail. It's not a bad thing to know how your water gets to your kitchen faucet. An easy to get to, nice walk through eastern King County suburbia.