Fall City to Kirkland
By Curt Cunningham
January 20, 2016

Before the Yellowstone Trail was rerouted in 1925 to follow the Sunset Highway from Spokane to Seattle, the original route from Fall City to Seattle passed through Redmond and Kirkland. From Kirkland, travelers would take a ferry across Lake Washington to the foot of Madison Street in Seattle, then continue up and over the hill into the city. The drive from Snoqualmie Falls to the Kirkland ferry dock covers about 20 miles. Although the last seven miles have been fully developed, much of this route remains unchanged from how it was 100 years ago.

We began our journey at the base of Snoqualmie Falls, located a few miles east of Fall City. The area now features a visitor parking lot where you can walk to a viewpoint to see the bottom of the falls or follow a trail tracing the path of the old Sunset Highway up to the top. This section of the road was used until the completion of the "big cut" 3 miles east of Fall City near Tokul Creek around 1917. Near the bottom of the falls the original road curved along the river at Fish Hatchery Road, but by 1925, the hill was cut out which led to a straighter route.

The was first major challenge for early automobiles on the route just after leaving Fall City on the way over Snoqualmie Pass. Just before reaching Fall City from the falls the highway crosses the Snoqualmie River. There were four different bridges constructed here over the years. The first, built of wood in 1889, collapsed into the river in 1900 and was quickly rebuilt. By 1915, when the Yellowstone Trail passed through, the first concrete bridge was under construction and completed in 1917. This bridge served until 1980, when it was replaced with the current structure. 

The Fall City Historical Society has documented these early bridges in detail and you can read their brochure at the link found on this page. When the Yellowstone Trail arrived, it brought increased traffic, sparking a local tourism boom. Hotels, restaurants, and gas stations popped up, and five of these historic landmarks still stand today:

1. The Riverside Tavern, built in 1925, is now known as The Roadhouse Inn. It is located at the junction of the Yellowstone Trail and the Sunset Highway. By 1933, it expanded into a lodge and operated under various owners until 2005, when it became The Roadhouse Inn.

2. The Fall City Hotel & Restaurant, now home to El Caporal Mexican Restaurant.

3. The Model Garage, which opened around 1920, relocated to its current site in 1926 and still operates under the same name.

4. On the east side of the garage on the corner was once a Red Crown gas station, which operated under various owners from the 1920's until it shut down in 2013 and at that time it was an Arco station. It has since been reopened and is now a Chevron station.

5. About a mile west of town is a small building on the north side of the road that was once a gas station owned by Henry and Florence Stone in the 1920s and 1930s.

At that old gas station SE 40th St. continues due west as the Yellowstone Trail veers to the right. This road (SE 40th St.) was originally King County Road #65 also known as the Cyrus Darst Road constructed in 1878 and ran up Duthie Hill to connect with the road to Issaquah

Continuing on the Trail and about a mile west of the old gas station just past the baseball fields, we stopped to photograph an old road fragment which is now SE 31st St. The original alignment veered off the current highway to the right just past the ball field and crossed Patterson Creek and connected to SE 31st Street. This area has retained much of its historical charm despite modern development.

From here, the road follows its original alignment for the next 12 miles. It’s a scenic drive through the valley, lined with farms and pastures. One notable roadside oddity was "The Lamp Lady," a local landmark. Although most of the road is on the original route, some sections were realigned in the 1920s.

Just past Hamilton Road, we encountered the first realignment where the old road veered right around a hill. Today this is now a driveway on the east end and at the west end it is now NE 39th Place. Then about a mile and a half west, the old road diverted from the current highway onto what is now NE 50th St. However, our drive was briefly interrupted by flooding from Evans Creek, forcing us to detour back to the main highway before reconnecting with NE 50th St. Driving along NE 50th St. felt like a step back in time. The road still maintains its original width, though it's now paved with asphalt—much better than the muddy conditions drivers would have faced a century ago.

Upon reaching the intersection of NE 50th St. and 196th Ave NE, we arrived at the Happy Valley Grange, built in 1909 and is still in use today. Turning north onto 196th Ave NE, we traveled along the Red Brick Road, named after James Mattson, who petitioned for it to be paved with brick in 1913. Today, only the northern 1.25 miles of this road remains as brick. Due to increased traffic on Highway 202, access to 196th Ave NE is now restricted, so we rerouted back via Sahalee Way.

After a quick photo stop at the old road curve built in the 1920s, we continued north on the Red Brick Road to a new kiosk for more pictures before turning left onto Union Hill Road, named after Civil War veterans who homesteaded the area.

Next, we entered Redmond, originally a small logging and farming town along the Yellowstone Trail. Established in the 1870s, Redmond became known for its rich agricultural land and was incorporated in 1912. Today, it’s a bustling tech hub, home to Microsoft, Nintendo, and other companies. The original route continued south along Leary Way, crossed the old Seattle Lakeshore and Eastern Railroad near Marymoor Park, and then ascended a switchback hill toward Kirkland.

Kirkland, which once aspired to be the “Pittsburgh of the West” thanks to Peter Kirk’s efforts to establish a steel industry in the 1890s, is now a suburban enclave. Although Kirk’s dream of a thriving steel town collapsed with the 1893 financial panic, many of the Victorian homes and Craftsman bungalows built for steel workers still stand today.

Kirkland’s history includes shipbuilding and wool milling. The first wool mill in Washington was established in Kirkland in 1892, producing goods for Alaska Gold Rush prospectors and the U.S. military during World War I. Kirkland’s shipyards, located along the Lake Washington waterfront, built and repaired ferries in the early 20th century.

During World War II, the shipyard produced more than 25 warships for the U.S. Navy. In Kirkland, we stopped at the corner of Kirkland Ave and Lake Street, near what used to be the ferry dock. During its heyday, the ferry S.S. Lincoln operated from 1915 until 1940, when the Lake Washington Floating Bridge was completed.

Although the ferry service continued until 1950, the area has since been transformed into a city marina and park. It’s also worth noting that Kirkland was the site of the Kirkland Heritage Society, which aims to preserve the city’s history, and the city is known for its vibrant arts scene and numerous parks, reflecting its growth and development over the decades.

Our drive, rich in historical sights and stories, was a wonderful experience. In the early days, this journey might have taken hours, but today, it’s a quick 30-minute trip via the interstate.