Miles: 6.6 miles RT
Elevation Gain/Highest: 1210ft/3543ft
Map: Green Trails Stevens Pass No 176
My favorite places to stop post hike with friends are: Grilla Bites, Route 2 Taproom and Grazing Place, Good Brewing Company, River House Cafe, Espresso Chalet, Gustav’s, Yodelin’s Broth Company, South, Dan’s Food Market, or just Pack A Cooler. You can learn more about these places in my Must Hike Must Eat Eating Out Guide.
Find out current conditions and as always, practice Leave No Trace. Pretty please.
Hike Details:
The Kelley Creek Trail is accessible from the Martin Creek Connector as part of the Iron Goat Trail system on US Route 2 near Stevens Pass. It sees much less traffic than the more popular trailheads like Scenic and Wellington. The Martin Creek trail drops down to cross its namesake and then climbs again to meet Kelley Creek. The trails offer a walk through railroad history and scads of wild blueberry bush if you time your hike right. There is currently work to restore the entire Kelley Creek Trail which eventually runs up to Johnson Ridge and Scorpion Mountain.
My hikes:
2/10/2024
I wanted to do a hike that hadn’t had a trip report in a while so when my mom shared how the Old Cascade HWY didn’t have its usual berm I thought I’d give the Martin Creek TH a try. The paved road was bare until the turn onto Martin Creek Road where it became intermittent snow on gravel. It has been a few years since driving this, I was not prepared to see all the logging as you approach the trailhead.
There were two trucks in the parking lot with snowmobile ramps and a sedan so I imagine most cars can make it. The parking lot and road that continues had a ton of snowmobile tracks so that must be the thing this time of year, although it’s mostly gravel and mud mixed with a little snow right now.
I scouted the trail down to Martin Creek and decided there was enough snow for snowshoes so I strapped them on and headed down around 10:30. It was cold but bright, I loved all the glittery sun bouncing off the icicles and snow. One could probably do the section down to the bridge without snowshoes but after that they were great to avoid postholing.
There was quite a bit of debris on the trail, and more than a handful of trees to navigate. A set of long ones about .5 miles in block at a switchback as well as the trail below. I made it past the wilderness boundary to about 1.1 miles from the trailhead when it looked like a huge uprooted tree had taken out the trail. I’m not sure when but I didn’t feel like navigating the snow berms or steep tread (more than I already had) so I made that my turn around point.
It was a tranquil time out, Martin Creek played a lyrical backdrop for the crunch of my footsteps.
I didn’t see anyone today, the other cars in the parking lot must have headed up on the Iron Goat. And as is normal this time of year, the bathrooms were closed so plan ahead.
PS: I went back to my trip report on 7/4/2020 and I had pictures of where the large tree had uprooted the trail. I guess it must still be in the same shape it was then.
7/4/2020
We gambled that this trail would be quiet even on July 4th and we were right!
Passing hordes of crowds parked at Heybrook Lookout, Eagle Falls, and Deception Falls with cars actually sticking out onto SR2 around noon, I was a little worried about our late start. And when we pulled into the parking lot at Martin Creek, there were about 9 cars leaving us just enough room for our two.
However, as reported previously, most folks head up into the Iron Goat area leaving Martin Creek for those in the know. We passed two folks heading out and two more heading in as we left so I consider it a win for social distancing.
The trail is in good shape but for a few muddy spots and a significant tree down along with 2 rootballs that have taken out the trail but overall manageable. Berries were not ripe yet but wild ginger was everywhere.
We only made it in about 2 miles as the kids had had enough but the picnic table at the parking lot was great for a little July 4th picnic. Bathrooms were not open, however.
9/14/2018
Don’t let the mundane sounding name of this hike deter you from trying out this wonderful woodland wander!
This trail has been in the works for several years as a way to connect the Iron Goat near Steven Pass with the Wildsky Wilderness area. My mom and I took some time to see what the trail looks like now that it has been extended to connect with the Kelley Creek Trail. Kelley Creek suffers from lack of maintenance and regular use but does travel to Johnson Ridge and Sunrise Mountain for those hardy enough to venture out that far.
The trail started from the same parking lot for the Martin Creek trailhead of the Iron Goat, we just walked to the end up the road a few feet to the sign that told us we were headed towards the remnants of the Horseshoe Tunnel and trestle footings of the Great Northern Railway that used to run over Stevens Pass.
It was a little like walking through a set for Planet of the Apes where you feel like nature has taken Earth back. Eroded concrete stanchions that once held a trestle that curved through the Martin Creek drainage line the trail as it took us down to the sturdy bridge over the creek. If we looked hard enough, rusty remnants of that era were littered among the ferns. You could almost imagine the rumble of the trains 160 feet overhead with the whistle blowing as it passed.
The creek glided down over jumbled boulders and rested in tranquil pools along the bank looking perfect for moments of meditation as Mom and I crossed over to the other side and up towards the junction with the lower trestle site about .4 miles into our walk. It was fascinating to see the green cloaked trestle footings disappearing up the slope to our right like abandoned toys from a giant woodland child. The trestle allowed trains to make a 170 degree turn in the narrow drainage.
We took a few minutes to climb the stone steps and visit the information panel 75 feet above on another concrete abutment that talked about how the trails used to travel into the Horseshoe Tunnel close by but avalanches and time have long ago sealed the entrance. I couldn’t help but peer into the lush vegetation in the draw behind us and guess at where the entrance might have been anyway.
We wandered back down to the junction and in a short ten minutes after continuing on the connector trail arrived at the Wild Sky Wilderness boundary and another smaller foot bridge up to where Forest Road 6710 used to meet the Kelley Creek Trail. We were just shy of a mile from the parking lot now.
There was evidence of concrete platforms and more metal framework among the wild ginger on the man-made bank the trail worked around. A plethora of wild ginger was thriving everywhere!
From here, the next 2.3 miles hugged the forested contour of Mount Fernow and followed Kelley Creek up a gradual ascent of about 1,000 feet. There were several creek crossings, including rock hopping and walking a large downed log. The trail had quite a bit of help, there were turnpikes and puncheons that allowed it to clear large old growth cedars and shored up backslopes of loose soil and clay.
There were about 10 downed trees to climb over and around and the huckleberries increased the further we went, some as big as blueberries you would find at the store. I tried to leave a few for the bears…
Kelley Creek, also, had some waterfalls to display about a quarter mile from the junction with the old Kelley Creek Trail as we took some switchbacks up the final push leveling out at 3,485 feet. I wandered a bit up the old trail but it fizzled into an overgrown bootpath I didn’t care to take with my mom. So, we took some time to pick berries and then began our return trip. It would be fun to go back someday with more time and take the trail all the way to Sunrise, the mountain I have yet to visit with views. Someday!
Directions: Head east from I-5 on HWY 2 towards Monroe, then towards Stevens Pass. After Skykomish, looks for signs for the Iron Goat Trail and the Old Cascade Highway. Turn left and drive 2.2 miles and turn left again onto FR 6710. The trailhead is 1.4 miles ahead with a good size parking lot. You will see a privy on the left and a kiosk for the Iron Goat-Martin Creek Trailhead on your right. The trailhead for the connector is at the end of the parking lot down to the left. You will need a Northwest Forest Pass.
You can read more about the railroad history in this area, including its deadly avalanche, HERE and HERE. You can find more hikes in this area on my HWY 2 page!
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