Hyak is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

located on Snoqualmie Pass in

Kittitas County, Washington Kittitas County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. At the 2020 census, its population was 44,337. Its county seat and largest city is Ellensburg. The county was created in November 1883 when it was carved out of Yakima ...

. It is located within the Snoqualmie Pass CDP. Hyak was established around 1915 at the eastern portal of the Snoqualmie Pass Milwaukee Road Railroad

tunnel A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...

. 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 Chinook Jargon (' or ', also known simply as ''Chinook'' or ''Jargon'') is a language originating as a pidgin language, pidgin trade language in the Pacific Northwest. It spread during the 19th century from the lower Columbia River, first to othe ...

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 to 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 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, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

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

Iron Horse State Park The Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail, formerly known as the John Wayne Pioneer Trail and the Iron Horse Trail, is a rail trail that spans most of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. It follows the former railway roadbed of the ...

Economy

Hyak wa-Summit at Snoqualmie Pass Ski Area

Hyak is home to the Summit East Ski Area, which is 25% of

The Summit at Snoqualmie The Summit at Snoqualmie is a recreation area in the Pacific Northwest, northwest United States, located on Snoqualmie Pass, Washington (U.S. state), Washington. It provides alpine skiing and snowboarding, Nordic skiing, mountain biking, winter ...

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. Keech ...

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Washington (state) Unincorporated communities in Kittitas County, Washington Chinook Jargon place names Washington (state) placenames of Native American origin

Geography

History

Economy

Points of interest

See also

References