DARRINGTON — Snohomish County’s picturesque 27-mile Whitehorse Trail stretching between Arlington and Darrington might start to see key improvements this year, including a parking lot at the trail head.
The Snohomish County Council approved spending about $57,000 to buy a half-acre in Darrington on the trail.
Much of the trail is gravel railroad bed and hasn’t been upgraded, said Tom Teigen, county parks director. The county needs to inspect about 18 different trestles and crossings along the trail, which runs along the North Fork Stillaguamish River and Highway 530, he said.
For now, trail users, including horse riders and hikers, can only use short segments of the trail. That is expected to change later this year once the county starts regularly maintaining parts of the trail, Teigen said.
Other improvements are expected in future years.
“We’re in the planning this year, looking at what parts of the corridor do we go after first,” Teigen said.
“Combining the Whitehorse and Centennial (trails), there’s over 50 miles of trail. It’s a great corridor. It’s just going to take a number of years to move forward with all the different plans for it.”
The new trail head in town might someday include a picnic shelter, restrooms and RV hookups for year-round anglers, Teigen said.
Reporter Jeff Switzer: 425-339-3452 or jswitzer@heraldnet.com.
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