The Whitehorse Trail is a

rail trail A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetcar ...

in northern

Snohomish County, Washington Snohomish County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. With a population of 827,957 as of the 2020 census, it is the third-most populous county in Washington, after nearby King and Pierce counties, and the 75th-most populous ...

, connecting the cities of Arlington and Darrington. The trail uses a former

Northern Pacific Railway The Northern Pacific Railway was a transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest. It was approved by Congress in 1864 and given nearly of land grants, whic ...

spur built in 1901 and abandoned in 1990. The trail has been in development since the county government purchased it in 1993, with some sections open to the public. The trail's name is derived from the "Whitehorse Express", the historic name of the railroad, which in turn was named for Whitehorse Mountain.

Route

The western terminus of the Whitehorse Trail is in Arlington, at a junction with the

Centennial Trail A Centennial Trail is either a trail created to celebrate a centennial, or the memorialization of a path or trail that has endured for a century. These can be, but are not necessarily, rail trails. Centennial Trails in the United States * Centen ...

on the north side of the

Stillaguamish River The Stillaguamish River is a river in the northwestern region of the U.S. state of Washington. It is mainly composed of two forks, the longer North Fork Stillaguamish () and the South Fork Stillaguamish. The two forks join near Arlington. From ...

at the confluence with its two forks. The Centennial Trail continues north towards

Bryant Bryant may refer to: Organizations * Bryant Bank, a bank in Alabama, United States * Bryant Electric Company, an American manufacturer of electrical components * Bryant Homes, a British house builder, part of Taylor Woodrow * Bryant University ...

and south towards Snohomish along another former rail corridor. The Whitehorse Trail continues northeast, following the North Fork Stillaguamish River upstream to a

trailhead A trailhead is the point at which a trail begins, where the trail is often intended for hiking, biking, horseback riding, or off-road vehicles. Modern trailheads often contain rest rooms, maps, sign posts and distribution centers for information ...

in Trafton, where it crosses the river on a historic

trestle bridge A trestle bridge is a bridge composed of a number of short spans supported by closely spaced frames. A trestle (sometimes tressel) is a rigid frame used as a support, historically a tripod used to support a stool or a pair of isosceles trian ...

. The trail turns east, following State Route 530 on the south side of the North Fork, towards Oso. The trail, east of Oso, passes a memorial to victims of the

2014 Oso mudslide A major landslide occurred east of Oso, Washington, United States, on March 22, 2014, at 10:37 a.m. local time. A portion of an unstable hill collapsed, sending mud and debris to the south across the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River, ...

, which had destroyed a section of the trail's corridor. From Oso continuing towards Darrington, the Whitehorse Trail passes through the historic towns of Fortson and

Hazel The hazel (''Corylus'') is a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K. (1999). ...

, and the modern community of Swede Heaven, which hosts a trailhead. The trail splits north of downtown Darrington, with one branch heading northeast to Whitehorse Community Park on the Sauk River and another heading south to Railroad Avenue in downtown, passing Darrington Municipal Airport. The majority of the planned trail will be wide and have a surface of compacted

gravel Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gravel is classifi ...

. It has been designated for use by walkers, cyclists and

horseback riders Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, Driving (horse), driving, and Equestrian vaulting, vaulting ...

History

The

, owners of the railroad through Arlington, built a

branch line A branch line is a phrase used in railway terminology to denote a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Industrial spur An industri ...

to Darrington in 1901. The railroad primarily delivered lumber from Darrington and intermediate

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

s to Arlington, Everett and other towns, but also carried weekly passenger service. In 1970, the Northern Pacific was acquired by

Burlington Northern The Burlington Northern Railroad was a United States-based railroad company formed from a merger of four major U.S. railroads. Burlington Northern operated between 1970 and 1996. Its historical lineage begins in the earliest days of railroadin ...

, who continued to run a declining number of lumber trains on the branch as Darrington's remaining sawmill switched to truck transport. In November 1990, major

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

s in the Stillaguamish River basin left the railroad damaged and unusable, leading to its formal abandonment by Burlington Northern. The county government debated acquiring the railroad for use as either a recreational trail or a scenic railroad, the latter requiring millions spent in repairs. In November 1993, the

Snohomish County Council The Snohomish County Council is the legislative body of Snohomish County, Washington. The county council was created in 1979 and consists of five members serving four-year terms. Members ;Notes History The county council was created on No ...

approved $550,000 paid to Burlington Northern to acquire on the corridor, with the intent of converting into a recreational trail. The first section of the trail, named the Whitehorse Trail, opened in 2002 near Darrington and covered of the planned trail. An unfinished section of the trail was destroyed during the

Oso mudslide A major landslide occurred east of Oso, Washington, United States, on March 22, 2014, at 10:37 a.m. local time. A portion of an unstable hill collapsed, sending mud and debris to the south across the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River, e ...

on March 22, 2014, along with State Route 530. In the aftermath of the mudslide, which killed 43 people, the Whitehorse Trail became a key project in the recovery of the area, employing local workers and drawing tourists. A $75,000 grant from the

State of Washington Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

, along with private donations, funded the cleanup of of the trail and repair of older bridges. A segment of the Whitehorse Trail from Oso to Cicero Pond was expected to be completed in 2018, using $4.24 million in funds from the county government,

Washington State Department of Transportation The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT or WashDOT, both ) is a governmental agency that constructs, maintains, and regulates the use of transportation infrastructure in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. Establi ...

and

Federal Emergency Management Agency The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Exec ...

(FEMA). Rebuilding of the section destroyed by the Oso mudslide was completed in 2016, using FEMA funds.

References

{{Rail trails in Washington Rail trails in Washington (state) Protected areas of Snohomish County, Washington Transportation in Snohomish County, Washington Arlington, Washington 2002 establishments in Washington (state)