Formerly Cottonwood Park, the 23-acre Cedar River Park lies under the shade of branches on the bank of the river and is a popular picnic ground during summer and spring months. The Carco Theatre, Renton Community Center, and Henry Moses Aquatic Center are located in the same complex.

Mile: 25

The expansive lawns of the public Maplewood Golf Course enhance the charm of the languid woodland setting. A public course, it continues to be a favorite with locals. The tour crosses the Cedar River and penetrates a valley dotted with truck gardens, dairy farms, and dwellings. The river and the tracks of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad run alongside the road.

Mile: 23

Built in 1927, this towering wooden frame skeleton was a combination office and shop for the Pacific Coastal Coal Company’s new (at the time) Black Diamond mine, with a powerhouse located in the east end of the building. In 1948, King County purchased this for use as shop for road crews. The building can be difficult to see, as it is located behind several dirt piles, and set back on...

Mile: 20

Located just north of present-day Maple Valley, it was consistently mined from 1884 through 1947. Although the mine never produced as much coal compared to other mines in the area, it averaged 90,000 tons per year and employed hundreds.

Mile: 18

The tour crosses the Cedar River and enters a valley where dairy cattle graze in lush pasture lands. Then the road passes a stretch of stumps and second growth trees and swings westerly through an aisle formed by dogwood, tall firs, and maples. These are all mature forests today.

Mile: 16

In 1879, the town was founded by George W. Ames of Seattle, and platted in 1890. In 1888, the name was chosen by George Ames, when a post office was established. It was not for the abundant western maple trees in the area, but for the Maple family (Jacob and Samuel), who settled on the Duwamish River before the Denny party arrived at Alki Point. Today Maple Valley is like...

Mile: 15

Between 1880 and 1885, most of the population of Nortonville, in Contra Costa County, California, moved here to live in the coal mining town that was established by, and named for, the Black Diamond Coal Company. By 1885, the Black Diamond mines had the largest production in King County. A majority of the early population was from Welsh ancestry. The town was once readily identifiable as a mining town by...

Mile: 8

Sometimes called “The City of Good Water,” because of the cool, clear water with which the community was supplied. First known as “Perkins’ Landing,” it became White River Siding when the Northern Pacific Railroad built through the settlement. It retained this name until 1888, when Alexander Wickersham platted the townsite and called it Buckley in honor of the division superintendent of the Northern Pacific. The White River Shingle Mill was...

Points of Interest

Buckley Park

At the turn of the century, it was an important coal-mining center. By 1927, the mines closed. It was named for Charles H. Burnett, operator of the South Prairie Coal Company. For a time Lower Burnett, on the creek level below had the railroad station and other buildings. A row of homes on the east side of the Carbon River road at Burnett at one time showed the place to...

Mile: 19

Tour passes a coal-loading chute built on the edge of a pasture. The railroad parallels the highway. Climbing along a deep valley, the road winds along a cut in the hillside and reaches a wild canyon with stone cliffs among the young second-growth trees. The Carbon River rises from the Carbon Glacier on the north slope of Mt. Rainier and drains nearby Russell Glacier through Cataract Creek, and then flows...

The bridge swings high over a deep gorge through which rushes the waters of the Carbon River. This riveted steel arch across the Carbon River was purported to be the highest span in the state in construction in 1921. At 494 feet long, it consists of a 240-foot three-hinged braced rib steel arch, two 14-foot steel towers and 16 timbered trestle approach spans.

D. B. Voight was an early settler of the upper Puyallup valley. In 1866 the Voight family consisted of D.E. and Amelia Voight homesteaded on land near the creek. The creek flows northwest from near the western edge of the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest and joins South Prairie Creek near Crocker to flow into the Carbon River at Orting. The tour winds back and forth in ascending an abrupt mountain...

Mowich River runs along the floor a thousand feet below as the tour passes through a deep basin walled with sheer cliffs. Along the forested floor is the river, its roar reaching through the stillness of the forest.