The Historic Sunset Highway
in Washington
North Bend to Snoqualmie Pass
The Historic Sunset Highway
in Washington
North Bend to Snoqualmie Pass
This segment of the old highway begins on current Highway 202 as you enter North Bend. Originally the old road turned right onto Sydney Ave N. then toward W. North Bend Way. Then onto W. North Bend Way to Ballarat Ave N. You then turned left onto E. McClellan St.
The first American settlers to the area now known as North bend was in the early 1860's when Joseph fares and his wife Lucinda arrived and built their cabin next to the abandoned Fort Smalley. In 1862, Josiah Merritt arrived and built a cabin near Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River. He was known to the locals as Uncle Si and his cabin was also next to the mountain that came to be called "Uncle Si's mountain". Today it is simply called Mount Si. The first settler to build a cabin in what will become downtown North Bend was in 1865, when Matts Peterson arrived. Peterson only lasted a few years before he sold his place to Jeremiah Borst who was the one of the first American settlers in the Snoqualmie Valley.
Not much can be found about Tanner. From what I could find is that this little town was home to the Tanner Sawmill. It operated from the 1900's to the 1960's. The town was situated along the old channel of the river.
Olallie State Park is a 2,500 acre day use park on the western slopes of the Cascade Mountains featuring dramatic waterfalls, cliff formations and old-growth trees over 10 feet in diameter. The park is a popular location for hiking, picnicking, fishing and rock climbing.
The Old 1915 Sunset Highway can still be found in a few places inside Olallie State Park. In 1926 the highway was improved and many of the curves were smoothed out and the steep grades were lessened. At the west end of Olallie Park there is a small section of the original highway. This is a curve in the old highway that was smoothed out in 1926 when the highway was improved. If you look closely in the dark dense forest you can still see the old grade.
Weeks Falls is a waterfall on the South fork of the Snoqualmie River, located just south of Interstate 90 at exit 38. The falls are at the end of the road that goes past the Olallie State Park ranger headquarters. From the gravel parking lot, there is a paved accessible overlook to see the falls and a small area around the hydro-electric plant.
Fifteen Mile Crossing was the first fording over the Snoqualmie River after leaving North bend. It is located about 15 miles east of North Bend. James Beard became one of the toll collectors when the wagon road became a toll road in 1883. Beard built a cabin at the 15 mile crossing about 1890 and he ferried travelers across the river for an additional fee. Later he built a toll bridge over the river and named it Fifteen Mile Bridge. A few years later, he built some log cabins for tired travelers and called the new camp "Bide A Wee". This rest stop served weary travelers for many years. In 1893, the County took over the wagon road and it became County Road No. 353 and all tolls were removed.
One of the conditions of the toll road company was to improve the wagon road and reduce the 17 crossings of the Snoqualmie River between Fifteen Mile and the Summit. in 1883, when the toll company took over, a new wagon road was constructed from the Fifteen Mile Crossing to the next crossing of the river at the mouth of Rockdale Creek. In 1893, the County took over and ended the tolls. The highway then became County Road No. 353.
The road that travels down from the summit of Snoqualmie Pass is the old 1915 Sunset Highway. Today it is now Forest Service Road 5800. Where FS 5800 meets FS 9034, the original 1915 road continued directly across FS 9034 at the bottom of the pass. The old highway then turns to the right just before the interstate and then merges with FS 9034 just after the on-ramp to the freeway.
This old section of road is just east of the Granite Mountain Trailhead. This is the part of FS 5800 that crosses over FS 9034 heading west from the Summit. FS 9034 was originally a section of the 1926 Sunset Highway.
The 1926 Sunset Highway - West side of Snoqualmie Pass
The 1915 "26 Mile" Bridge Replica
This bridge over the Snoqualmie River was called "26 mile Bridge" as it was 26 miles from North Bend. The first crossing was just downstream about 50 yards. In 1867 it was a ford over the river and in 1883 the first wooden bridge was built for the toll road. In 1915, a new steel bridge was constructed for the new Sunset Highway. This bridge was replaced in later years with a replica of the original bridge.
The Denny Creek Campground began as an auto camp for travelers on the new 1915 Sunset Highway. The new highway allowed more people to be able visit visit far away towns in the west and these people needed a cheap, convenient, comfortable and safe place to sleep. To meet this need the automobile tourist camp was born. In the beginning, a community would set aside some land for the tourists to park their cars and set up a tent. There was next to nothing in the way of amenities and the campers were basically on their own. By the early 1920’s the auto camp developed into a park with good clean restrooms, bath houses, cooking stations and swimming pools.
The Horse/Radiator Water Trough
Traveling up the western side of Snoqualmie Pass was a steep climb and was hard on the early automobiles. In the heat of the summer, many a motorist became stranded because of an overheated auto. The assist these stranded travelers, the road dept built a water trough next to a year around spring in the side of the hill. The trough was built so horses could take a drink.
The new Sunset Highway eliminated the steep grades on the route. Some of these were 25% grades. On the Western side of Snoqualmie Pass, switchbacks were constructed to ease the steepness. Because of the steepness, 3 switchbacks were needed.
Franklin Falls is a waterfall on the South fork of the Snoqualmie River. The falls are located near Snoqualmie Pass, between the north and south lanes of Interstate 90, just east of exit 47. The falls actually consist of three tiers, totaling about 135 feet. The first drop is a very scenic 15-foot block-shaped fall. The second drop is a 25-foot fanning cascade. The final drop begins as a 25-foot slide, which bends to the right, then plunges over the final 70-foot drop seen from the base of the falls. The falls are popular hiking destination.
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