We chose a beautiful late September day to make the drive up I-5 and visit the grounds of the former Northern State.  We've enjoyed visiting here before in the fall, as it has wonderful colors, a little spookiness (although the baby is too young to appreciate that yet) and flat paths he can work on toddling on.

The parking lot is large and was maybe 1/2 full when we arrived around 10am.  Once we got on the trails, there were a few people here and there, but the area is large enough everyone can spread out and enjoy peace and quiet if they want it.

We enjoyed a meander through the fields, mixing open sunny areas with more shaded path ways.  We explored for roughly a couple of hours, at which point the baby fell asleep in the backpack

I got out for another transit-to-hike adventure, this time on SR 20.  I had been eyeing hikes along 20 and it looked like Concrete was as far as I would get by bus so I made a plan to take the bus to there and then make my way back on the Cascade Trail with a hike at the Northern State Ghost Town (Northern State Recreation Area).

I would need the 70x from Mount Vernon and since the first one of the weekday was not until 9:15, I didn't leave Everett until 7:50 on the 90x. The fee was $2.

Arriving in Mount Vernon with about 40 minutes to spare, I had time to bike over to the Skagit River Walkway for a 2 mile stretch out and back towards the Kulshan Trail.

Catching the 70x, I was in Concrete about 10:30am and as many do, I stopped for brunch at 5Bs and enjoyed the sunny morning on their patio. The fee for the 70x was $1, I am using the UMO app which is super convenient.

I started the Cascade Trail on Douglas Vose III Way, passing the concrete silos and entering the forested tunnel that most of the trail consists of.  Being later in the season, I didn't encounter any water over the trail, except for the stream mentioned in a previous report that has eroded a trench across the trail not that far from Concrete.  There was also a significant tree down a short ways after that but it was possible to navigate around it.

It was fun to see where the Cascade Trail intersects with various roads, it would be easy to stop at places like Birdsview Brewery or make a ride up Bake Lake Road to Grandy Lake or further. The blackberries near Hamilton were ripe enough to nosh and the views along the Skagit River near the town of Lyman were spectacular. 

At about 22 miles where a large gravel parking lot on Franks Road has been cleared east of the Fruitdale trailhead, I left the Cascade Trail and crossed SR 20 to head up Helmick Road to visit Northwestern and the ghost town.  I was surprised to see such a nice trailhead and the Veterans Memorial!  I hiked around the old farm buildings for about 30 minutes before making my way back to the Cascade Trail.  If on 2 wheels, know that the ghost town is littered with broken glass.

I continued on to Sedro Woolley and the end of the Cascade Trail.  A wide gravel trail continued into town from here.  It was a little confusing getting from the trail to the park n ride but I made it for a total of 27 miles.  I thought I had been paying attention on the ride in but my mistake was thinking that the bus had come in on SR 20 when it had come in on Cook Road.  Just remember it is by Walgreens and Food Pavilion on West Ferry!

My ride on the 70x back to Mount Vernon was free and my ride back to Everett on the 90x was another $2 making my total today $5. It was a long day, 7:30am to 7:30pm but I didn't have to drive, I got plenty of knitting done on the bus and I visited basically 3 trails with lots of time outdoors and ate at one of my favorite bakeries.

The hike guide mentions route #717, but that bus only runs around the town of Concrete itself with the exception of 2 runs from Mount Vernon on Saturdays (11 and 3 something). You want 70x to move along SR 20 the rest of the time, it makes quite a few stops along the way.

Having explored the old farm buildings and trails many times before, today we focused on the newer trails that have been expanded on the northwest side of the park and the old hospital campus.

First, parking and such: plenty of parking available and nice new flush bathrooms were appreciated. A shaded picnic area is also provided.

Heading out from the parking lot we worked our way north and west, crossing over to the old hospital section, now called SWIFT and managed by the Port of Skagit. The buildings that are still in use and their surroundings are off limits, but they have really nice signage explaining the buildings you can go up to, how they were used, and how they were named.

Returning to the Northern State side, we continued north to the newly built Pumphouse and High Creek trails. Both are monthly shaded and form a nice loop with a couple add on loop options. Tip: the map on the website (included in a picture here) is more up to date than any of the signs at the start of these trails. Yes, there was a pumphouse and creek as advertised. we also found some gorgeous surprise wild (and some not so wild) flowers in a section of the High Creek trail.

Of course we also had to swing by the main farm buildings to check out the current graffiti and introduce Miles to the ghosts.

There were tons of blackberries all over, some of which already looked ripe, most need another week or two.

I am once again hiking to raise money and awareness for WTA with their annual Hike-A-Thon, and Miles is a long for the ride. If you can donate, any amount will help WTA keep trails like these accessible:
give.wta.org/jenchilada2025

#hikeathon

Parking Lot: The Veterans/County have made a glorious setup. A parking lot with split rail fences, excellent bathrooms, covered picnic tables and clear paths. It's a pristine start to the visit. There were 4+ cars in the mostly empty lot.

On first approach, it's a WIDE open area. The sun blasted away any ghost town vibes.  We saw the Dairy Barn Buildings, all in states of decay, many with graffiti tags. They stand in bright, sharp contrast to the structures. I had built this place up to something quite bigger in my mind, which it certainly was, back in it's day. What a dark history. 

Starlings have sequestered the buildings and bring quick flight to the quiet shells from the past.

We got about a mile wandering around but opted to search for a full forest experience on that full sun day!

Great trail conditions! Lots of work has been done here- great dry trails and sturdy bridges. Neat to see the ruins of the farm building. My teen boys said the graffiti adds to the vibe but I’m not sure. But a great day out with the river, woods, meadows, flowers, salmon berries, etc. We did five miles, and could have done more if we had more time. Also the veterans memorial was a nice place to reflect, am especially on Memorial Day.