Overview
Riverfront Park is an undeveloped four acre park that has 1,000 feet of footage on the South Fork of the Snoqualmie River. The park is located directly across Bendigo Boulevard from the Gardiner Weeks Memorial Park. The multi-use trail along the river includes opportunities for fishing and swimming inside of the park. Riverfront Park is the perfect place to hike or bike along the river in North Bend. The trail along the river runs all the way through to the Snoqualmie Valley Trail.
Riverfront Park Trail along South Fork Snoqualmie River
We are going to document the Riverfront Park Trail starting from Bendigo Boulevard and running through to the Snoqualmie Valley Trail. The total distance is 0.8 miles one way and the trail is virtually flat and follows the Snoqualmie River South Fork downstream.
Gardiner Weeks Memorial Park to Railroad
The trail starts at the gate next to the river on Bendigo Boulevard right by the bridge where it crosses the river. On the other side of the street is Gardiner Weeks Memorial Park. Bendigo is a busy street so you might want to walk down to the stoplight and cross there if there is too much traffic to cross at the river. Start down the pleasant trail through the forest along the river and in about 0.1 miles there is a path down to a wide shallow area.
Past the shallows, the trail continues through the forest another 0.15 miles to a bend in the river. At this bend there is a deep pool which is a favorite for fishermen and swimmers in the summer.
After the pool, the trail curves along the river to the railroad bridge/track. This is the track for the Northwest Railway Museum trains which run between Snoqualmie and North Bend.
Railroad to Snoqualmie Valley Trail
At the track, turn right to follow the track briefly to an underpass. Then turn left and pass under the track. It’s only 0.1 miles total from the fishing pool to the track underpass.
Soon (0.05 miles) after you pass under the tracks, it’s necessary to cross North Bend Way. Cross the street at a break in traffic and proceed another 0.2 miles along the river to another road crossing (Bendigo again but heading towards Snoqualmie). This time there is a very low clearance trail under the road. Watch your head!
It’s just another 0.2 miles until the Riverside trail ends in a “T” junction at the Snoqualmie Valley Trail. Despite the two busy road crossings, it’s a very pleasant trail providing ample river access and opportunity for water based activities. The trail is very hikable, runnable, or bikeable. At the Snoqualmie Valley Trail, turn left across the river to access Tollgate Farm or Meadowbrook Farm. Or turn right to head back towards downtown North Bend along a different route.
Location
Access From Gardiner Weeks Memorial Park
Cross Bendigo St and you can zoom in on the map and see the trail going along the river and passing under the railroad. Though the map does not show it, the trail continues to the Snoqualmie Valley Trail as described above on the same (East) side of the river.