Snoqualmie Tunnel — Local services in North Bend

Went with the family on Oct 12, 2014. It was partly cloudy in the mid 60s, about noon, a typical October day in the Cascades. Finding it is not hard, just past the ski resort. Arriving at the tunnel requires a short 0.4 mile hike from the lot.

Once there, it feels like a portal, like you're about to walk into another world. Think C.S. Lewis's "Lion, Witch and Wardrobe." I'll call it the haunting passage to paradise. Multiple legends surround the tunnel's abandonment and some say it's spooked. But no matter: the tunnel's impressive size and massive wooden doors of yore will have you feeling dwarfed and mystified, perhaps intriguingly affright.

Step in. It's 50F degrees, breezy, damp and with a faint mist. Word is it's like this year round; 90 or 19 outside matters not. A few hundred feet around the gradual curve and you'll see a brilliant pinpoint of light resembling Venus on the horizon--that's the other end, 2.3 miles away. But just as Venus does not light the sky, the speck of light at the far end does nothing for the maddening darkness within the tunnel walls, buried deep below the mountain peak.

The ground is generally smooth and flat. There aren't any humps, holes or other physical hazards to be encountered. That said, a light source is not necessary. But your mind will fill in all sorts of strange apparitions that will be either frightening or fantastical, depending on your disposition. Go brave or go home....

The sounds within are harrowing yet contemplative: dripping water, pattering footsteps, eerie voices, all of which fade slowly to an indistinguishable echo that never quite goes away. You'll come to realize a striking similarity between this and all that you encounter in life.

Walking toward the light at the other end is quite like a curious dream for much of the journey: you're walking toward a mysterious, bright object in an otherwise dark and unfamiliar room. You seem to be getting closer to the object, yet it never really becomes clear as to what it is and continues to be just out of your reach...

...Until you actually do make it to the other end... It's comparable to walking out of a frigid catacomb--where the dead rest and the living resist--to an area of paradise: The enormous peaks and deep valleys of the beautiful Cascade range stand in their glory. A relief of the tension that some may even liken it to Dante's Paradiso.

But...

Going thru the tunnel once necessitates a trek back thru in the opposite direction, making the entire round trip just shy of 5 miles. You'll notice that there is no point of light guiding the way back because of the gradual curve at the other end. Instead, a faint glow becomes apparent about 1/2 to 2/3 way thru and intensifies till the end where the shadows of ordinary objects become extraordinarily fictional, assuming a life of their own. Plato's Cave comes to mind.

Movies that this experience reminded me of: Indiana Jones, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Labyrinth, The Goonies.

All told, I had a great time doing this spooky hike with my wife and 2 children who are 4 & 7 years old. At first my kids were a bit spooked, but it became a great "just before Halloween" adventure for us and apparently several other families, too. As stated before, you don't need a lamp, but bring one just in case. Some people also bicycle thru the tunnel, in which case if you're bicycling, you'll need a...

I parked the Sprinter van in the Hyak parking lot and started my walk. It's about a half mile from the lot on a trail that is smooth and easy as it is a decommissioned rail track. After about 5 minutes and around a bend, there it is. It's a giant hole in the mountain.

Freezing cold even in early October with a stiff breeze pouring out of the tunnel and yes, it's completely dark. There is no way I'm going more than 30 yards in without a flashlight, a second flashlight and a THIRD flashlight. It's DARK.

Constructed between 1912 and 1914, it was part of the rail line from Chicago to Seattle. It saved a whole lot of train troubles going over the mountains with this 2 mile long tunnel that is part of the Iron Horse Trail. It's a crushed rock trail so no problem for...

This tunnel is like nothing you have experienced. Two miles of pitch blackness visible only by the lamp on your head. If you are a fan of the strange dark and mysterious then you have come to the right place, as it is delivered in hands-on form.

We visited during the Geocaching 20th anniversary, so the tunnel was pretty full of fellow cachers. On an off day one can most likely have the whole two miles to themselves.

We explored the stalagmites and inside coves by mountain bike, which helped us enjoy more of the hiking trails on the way out.

This was the highlight of my five day weekend in Seattle. Only an hour drive from the city center, so do make this a stop...