Index-Galena Road Reopens After 17 Years

Seventeen years after major flooding washed it out, the Index-Galena Road reopened on a drenching November morning. The rain was coming down hard, but spirits were high — a small but cheerful gathering of elected officials, Forest Service personnel, first responders and residents in the area huddled under four tents next to the rushing North Fork Skykomish River.

 
Despite a torrential downpour, locals and elected officials stood shoulder-to-shoulder to officially open the Index-Galena Road. Photo by Anna Roth.

They sipped coffee and cheered, celebrating the impacts of the project's completion: restored access for residents, emergency vehicles and people who want to explore the gorgeous Wild Sky Wilderness.

Access Restored

The reopening means a huge improvement in access for this area. Since 2006, hikers and other recreators have had to access trails in this area via the Beckler River Road; a 40-mile, mostly-gravel detour about 20 miles east that bypassed Index entirely. Some locals had to use the same road to access their properties along the river.

The damage visible in the before shots (left, top) prevented residents and hikers from accessing popular parts of the Wild Sky Wilderness. Photo by Anna Roth.

• Trails now accessible from Index-Galena
• North Fork Skykomish
• Troublesome Creek Nature Trail
• Blanca Lake
• Trout Creek

The washout also meant emergency vehicles had to navigate the rough, rocky Beckler River Road. With the mostly-paved Index-Galena road reopened, emergency services will be able to respond more quickly, hikers can access popular trails more directly and locals can also get back to their properties.

There's also likely to be more visitation to the tiny town of Index, which boasts a charming and beautiful hotel with café, breweries, pubs and other shops to explore before or after your hike.

As the winter season gets underway, most of these locations will be inaccessible due to snow on trail. But you can bookmark them for later using your My Backpack account. Just sign in, and hit Save to My Backpack on the hike page, and you'll have them saved for next summer!

A sustainable solution

Snohomish County's website highlights that this project focused on minimizing environmental impacts.

"The county worked closely with local tribes and environmental agencies to ensure the design and construction of this project minimized any environmental impacts and allowed for the opportunity to repurpose any natural resources that were removed."

Attendees of the road opening check out the former roadbed, now a habitat area with kayak access (marked by the orange webbing in the photo). Photo by Anna Roth.

The road has been moved 80 feet uphill from the riverside and reinforced substantially. A 180-foot bridge now spans the creek that washed this section out, and riprap (medium-sized rock) has been tucked in around a stream coming off the hillside so that if there is flooding, the rocks will slow the flow of water. If the flow is strong enough to loosen the rocks, they'll run under the bridge rather than directly across the road, ideally preventing road damage.

Once it was cleared of the flood damage, the old roadbed was repurposed to allow kayak access. On either side of the access path, trees and shrubs have been planted to reinforce the landscape, and snags and wood piles have been placed to provide habitat for birds.

Good things come to those who wait

WTA is thrilled to have this road back open, and grateful to the hikers who spoke up with us in 2016 to support its reopening. It restores access to the Wild Sky Wilderness, adds an access point back to Glacier Peak Wilderness (accessible from the North Fork Skykomish trail) and offers improved access for hikers of all abilities, whether you prefer a short nature walk or a challenging multi-day trek. Plus, it will bring more visitation to the town of Index, bolstering their recreation economy.