Holiday Inn SEATTLE-ISSAQUAH

North Fork Falls

by GuthrieColin

North Fork Falls is a small but very easily accessed waterfall. It is only about 20 feet (6 meters) tall, however it is a nice relaxing stroll from a well used local road. Great place to bring the little ones without having to hike too far.
Just a quarter mile from the parking lot and with very little elevation change you will see the falls to your right. The reddish tints to the rock face suggest some ferrous deposits along the stream which would fit well with the history of mining in the area.

Directions:
From I-90 Eastbound exit at Lakemont and go up the hill. Follow for 3 miles to the Red Town Trail head (marked). Cross the road from the parking lot and follow a trail for 1/4 mile.

Growing Suburb in the Wooded Valley

by glabah

Issaquah was at one time a small community with an economy based on the surrounding forest and mountains. When Interstate 90 was built through the community, it started to become a suburban community for Seattle, and as housing prices in Seattle have increased so to has the number of people living here and working in Seattle.

Adding to the desirability of the place, is the scenic setting among the forests and mountains of the Snoqualmie Valley. Such scenery is growing harder and harder to find closer to Seattle.

Industry and commercial establishments beyond the local forest economy soon followed, and in the late 1980s and early 1990s Issaquah was the site chosen to manufacture new trolley buses for King County Metro.

Today, a large medical center is being constructed on top of one of the hills just outside Issaquah, and you have to wonder just how long it will be before the scenic forests and other features that made this community so desirable no longer exist.

Tourist attractions include a small depot museum in the central downtown area. There is also a zoo that focuses on endangered animals of various sorts.

Getting here is fairly easy: take Interstate 90 out of downtown Seattle and eventually you will arrive here.

There is a significant transit center and park and ride lot here, and on weekdays and Saturdays express buses operated by Sound Transit run between downtown Issaquah, the transit center, and downtown Seattle. Local bus services include King County Metro buses to the University District and bus route 209 (of most interest to tourists) that goes to Snoqualmie Falls and Snoqualmie (which have tourist activities of significant interest), as well as Falls City and North Bend (which have less tourist interest).