Northwest Profiles: Route of the Hiawatha

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Produced in 2003, a look at the history of the Hiawatha rail line and it's rebirth into a recreational trail.

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[douglasengle]

I came up with term Rail-Trail when working with the Coalition for the Capital Crescent Trail in 1991 in Bethesda Maryland. It is so good to see that has inspired the preservation of railroad alignments as bicycle paths as was my intention.

[garryhatchett]

We’ve ridden this trail 4 times and love it! We will ride it as often as we can and highly recommend it.

[WildOutdoorLiving]

By far the best video on the route of the Hiawatha that I have been able to find.

[clintgolub]

At some point, this now bike trail is expected to be connected to St. Regis, Montana, and Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes on the Idaho side via the rough old Northern Pacific trail which you currently need a solid mountain bike or extremely capable gravel bike to complete. If Rails-to-Trails could pave further out from the Trial of CdAs, that would make a massive distance you could travel secluded away from Interatate traffic in ease! And if they ever complete the connection from Tekoa WA, to Plummer ID. You could ride all the way from Seattle to the Silver Valley via the John Wayne Pioneer Trail!

[WAL_DC-B]

"After salvage operations, the decades old Chicago to Seattle rail line was abandoned" (3:21).  This quote from this story isn't entirely true.  For nearly ALL the old Milwaukee Road Hiawatha trackage is still very much in use between Chicago and the Twin Cities.  It is owned and operated by the Canadian Pacific Railway (Soo Line RR Co.).  It sees 79 mph Amtrak Hiawatha train service between Chicago and Milwaukee and Amtrak's Empire Builder between Chicago and the Twin Cities (whereby the "Builder" continues west via BNSF).   It's in Montana and west were nearly all the former Milwaukee Road tracks were abandoned.  Nonetheless, still a great story by KSPS and thanks for sharing!

[mmitchell]

A great bicycle trail if there ever was!

[scottclukey]

The Rail Road was also responsible for starting the 1910 Wildfire