Monte Cristo
| Distance: | 0 miles | |
| Time: | 0 hours | |
| Elevation Gain: | 0ft | |
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Description:
This hike is the first to include a little mountain bike action. The trailhead for the hike is 4 miles from the town site. The trail is a gravel road that is mostly flat. There are some stream crossings that may some creative bridge building to keep your feet dry.
I am planning on taking my mountain bike to ride on the road to the town site. Once at the town site, there are several hiking trails to choose from. The town site has several ruins of buildings, including a railroad turntable that still turns.
If you don't bring a bicycle, you can still walk the road to the town site. Plan on bringing a lunch, and dress for fall weather.
History from the Monte Cristo Preservation Association web site.
"Monte Cristo became Washington state's most famous gold and silver mining town of the 1890s.
Located in the rugged Cascade Mountains of Washington State in eastern Snohomish County, its mineral resources first were located in 1889.
With investment in the mines by a New York syndicate backed by John D. Rockefeller, a railroad was constructed to bring down ore for smelting at the new city of Everett, also a Rockefeller development.
Hit by financial disasters during the panics of 1893 and 1907, active mining ended shortly before World War I.
In the years since, the site has become a popular destination for thousands of hikers, mountain bikers, climbers, and families fascinated both by the history of the town and its spectacular setting, surrounded by peaks up to 7000' high in the Henry M. Jackson Wilderness area."
Directions:
From Everett, go east on US Highway 2, then east on State Highway 204, then north on State Hwy 9, and finally east on State Hwy 92 to Granite Falls, where State Hwy 92 becomes Stanley Street. Pass through Granite Falls, turn left on Mountain Loop Hwy toward Monte Cristo, and zero out your odometer. At 11 miles, pass the Verlot Ranger Station ( you can get a NW Forest Pass here). At 30.8 miles, just before the road turns to dirt at Barlow Pass, turn left into the parking area for the trail to Monte Cristo.
