Also known as the Monte Cristo railroad grade, built in 1893. The trail traces the route of the old railroad that once played a vital role in the mining history of the area, when trains carried ore from Monte Cristo to Everett. It's now part of the Robe Canyon Historical Park.
Several interesting features of the railroad grade remain, such as the tunnels -- probably the high point of the hike for many. Railroad buffs will also enjoy hiking the section of trail where the railroad line was blasted into the rock and into which slots were cut to hold the railroad ties.
Landslides closed the railroad line several times during the mining era, but it was kept open during the 1920s for tourists, until a flood closed it permanently in 1930. In 1936 the track was dismantled.
Unfortunately, when we went there were only 2 tunnels accessible--the first was probably about 150 feet long and the second possibly 50-75 ft. There was a washout right after the second tunnel, about 1.2 miles in. It was still pretty neat to see the old tracks and tunnels starting to crumble. A little scary in some parts, too. I would not do this trail during the rainy season, if for no other reason than the landslide/washout factor would be too frightening while scrambling over some of the rocks to get to parts of the trail.
