Tolt River-John MacDonald Park

Beautiful park. Hike was lovely and an easy day hike. Views where spectacular.
7 years ago (16-03-2018)

Beautiful 574 acre park in Carnation, at the confluence of the Tolt and Snoqualmie rivers. This spacious park has something for everyone, including hiking (up to 12 miles, with lots of shorter loops possible, plus easy access to the 27-mile long paved multiuse Snoqualmie trail), camping (tent, yurt, RV, and even a converted shipping container), a playground, a barn for events, and river access for fishing, etc. Parking is free and ample, and you reach most of the park from the parking lot by crossing a spectacular, very swingy, 500-foot long wooden suspension bridge built by the Army Reserves. The park was originally constructed by the Boy Scouts in the mid-70s, so the camping area has an open, summer-camp, everyone-can-see-everyone feel, rather than a cabin-in-the-woods feel (though there are some more remote sites). Trails lead from the main camping area through riparian hardwood forest, and they are mostly wide, flat, and well-maintained, though you can head uphill if you want more of a challenge. Wildlife is plentiful, ranging from bears to songbirds to garter snakes sunning themselves along the path, and in the fall you can look for Coho in the river about half a mile or so from the suspension bridge. The location is gorgeous -- the area where the park sits is the historic wintering grounds of the Snoqualmie-area tribes -- and the Cascade foothills add to the beautiful views from the river. You're not very far from cities big and small and the park is popular, but it's also large enough that it's easy to find solitude and quiet if that's what you're looking for. Bathrooms are the usual outhouse-style. Running water is available. Dogs allowed on leash (and all the dogs we saw really were on leash). A wonderfully detailed map is available online.
7 years ago (12-03-2018)

It was.ok but not a big fan of not having a flushsble toilet. All they have are out houses, not portable toilets but a black hole with a toilet seat. Never again will i go over night . Give me a nice Holiday Inn anyday
7 years ago (19-02-2018)

This is a great park! Fishing, hiking, camping, kite flying, frisbee. You name it. Plus the sport field's are huge.
7 years ago (05-02-2018)

The river is very pretty and was great for a hot summer day. The camping spots are literally on a huge lawn, no trees whatsoever. The sites are crammed together (we had to listen to a guy and his allergies all night, hooray). The town is within walking distance and everyone we interacted with was polite and helpful, but there's not much more than a grocery store and an ice cream shop. Hiking was one trail going up a steep hill, no rewarding views at the top or interesting markers. Good place for a trip to work on your camping kit until you're ready to run with the big dogs.
7 years ago (18-08-2017)