Washington wilderness is the stuff of postcards. Mount Rainier and its majestic glaciers stand guard to the south of Seattle, but its visage is on every license plate. The North Cascades give the Alps a run for their money, and wild Pacific waves crash on the Olympic Coast. Out in the Palouse, one waterfall is so picturesque that road trippers make long detours just to sit and stare.

All that grandeur has a way of leading Seattleites to overlook some other corners of the state. Tucked behind North Bend, the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River contains a national park's worth of wonders, all in a relatively compact package, and is less than an hour from the city.

A 12-mile paved road runs up the valley, starting in a North Bend neighborhood and heading northeast. Along that route are trailheads, river access, and campgrounds, plus remnants of the state's timber and mining industries. (If you're hiking on a trail that seems kind of wide, odds are it used to be a logging road.)

Known colloquially as the Middle Fork (though of course there are other middle fork rivers across the state), the region contains a patchwork of lands, including the Middle Fork Snoqualmie Natural Resources Conservation Area overseen by the state and Mount Baker–Snoqualmie National Forest. The northernmost part reaches into the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area. There are even a few enclaves of private land, and King County maintains a road built by the Federal Highway Administration. Basically, everyone has a stake here.

Though it's been a busy valley for more than a century, including heavy logging, today it's a haven for hikers. After a major road refresh in 2017, the last few years have meant a spate of repairs and upgrades to recreational infrastructure. In 2019, a brand-new trail to Garfield Ledges was opened, a short but sweet route up to a stunning viewpoint that rivals the more popular Rattlesnake Ledge trail back in North Bend. 

Along the valley floor, the Middle Fork Snoqualmie Trail itself, which traces the river, got a major cleanup  after a washout and reopened in November 2021 with a new bridge.

At the top of the road, just outside North Bend, the trailhead for popular Mailbox Peak draws crowds on weekends. The peak (featuring a mailbox on top, naturally) has two trails that head upward, both challenging trips with a big rewards up top. But further down the road, less popular trailheads still offer fabulous outings; a journey up the Taylor River leads to stunning Otter Falls, and Camp Brown has a trail with river views built to ADA accessibility standards.

This is also where you'll find Goldmyer Hot Springs, though the most popular launching point for that trek lies up the infamously rough Dingford Creek Trailhead road. (Reservations are required to access the springs themselves.) Campsites are reservable at the Middle Fork Campground, and there's some dispersed camping on U.S. Forest Service land as well.

The Middle Fork can't quite be considered a hidden gem; it's fairly well used by North Bend and greater Seattle outdoor recreationalists. But with a smooth-as-silk paved road down its middle and hikes of every level of difficulty, it's almost unparalleled in its accessibility. Thick forest, placid river, craggy rocks: a little bit of everything, and you can still get home in time for dinner.