Hyak is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

located on

Snoqualmie Pass Snoqualmie Pass is a mountain pass that carries Interstate 90 (I-90) through the Cascade Range in the U.S. state of Washington. The pass summit is at an elevation of , on the county line between Kittitas County and King County. Snoqualmie Pass ...

Kittitas County, Washington Kittitas County () is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 44,337. Its county seat and largest city is Ellensburg, Washing ...

. It is located within the

CDP. Hyak was established around 1915 at the eastern portal of the Snoqualmie Pass

Milwaukee Road Railroad The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), often referred to as the "Milwaukee Road" , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwest and Northwest of the United States from 1847 until 1986. The company experienced ...

tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

. Originally a train station, the community began to grow in the 1930s when the railroad built a world class ski area. Today there are approximately 200 full-time residences in Hyak and another 100 part-time. Hyak is a Chinook Jargon word meaning "hurry", "fast", or "swift".

Geography

Hyak is located east of the summit of Snoqulamie Pass at an elevation of . It is northwest of Easton and is part of the Easton school district.

History

In 1915, Hyak replaced Laconia as the main train station on Snoqualmie Pass. Hyak had a small school house, and a post office. The Milwaukee road built a ski area at Hyak (from 1937–1950) originally known as The Snoqualmie Ski Bowl until World War II.Lost Ski Areas of Washington
retrieved on July 22, 2009 After the war, it reopened as the

Milwaukee Ski Bowl Milwaukee Ski Bowl was an alpine ski area in the northwest United States in Washington, which operated between 1937 and 1950. It was southeast of Seattle in the Cascade Range at Hyak, on the east side of Snoqualmie Pass. Executives of th ...

so it was not to be confused by The Snoqualmie Summit ski area located two miles north. A Class-A ski jump was built in 1941 and was said to be the largest ski jump in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. National championship events were held at Hyak from 1941 until 1949 when the lodge was lost to fire. The train station saw its last train roll across its tracks in 1981 when the

sold off the line and it was decommissioned. The old line is part of the parks system called the

Iron Horse State Park Iron Horse State Park, part of the Washington State Park System, is a state park located in the Cascade Mountains and Yakima River Valley, between Cedar Falls on the west and the Columbia River on the east. The park is contiguous with a ...

Economy

Hyak wa-Summit at Snoqualmie Pass Ski Area

Most of the residents of Hyak work in the Seattle-Bellevue area and commute 25–50 miles. Hyak is home to the Summit East Ski Area, which is 25% of

The Summit at Snoqualmie The Summit at Snoqualmie is a winter resort in the northwest United States, located on Snoqualmie Pass, Washington. It provides alpine skiing and snowboarding, Nordic skiing, and winter tubing. Owned and managed by Boyne Resorts, it is east o ...

ski area.

Points of interest

Keechelus Lake Keechelus Lake () is a lake and reservoir in the northwest United States, near Hyak in Kittitas County, Washington. Approximately southeast of Seattle and a few miles southeast of Snoqualmie Pass, it is the source of the Yakima River. Keechel ...

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Washington (state) Unincorporated communities in Kittitas County, Washington Chinook Jargon place names

Geography

History

Economy

Points of interest

See also

References