Hyak, Washington

Last updated

Hyak, Washington
Hyak Wa.jpg
Iron Horse Trailstop in Hyak, WA
USA Washington location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Hyak
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Hyak
Coordinates: 47°N121°W / 47°N 121°W / 47; -121
Country United States
State Washington
County Kittitas
Time zone UTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
  Summer (DST) UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP code
98068
Area code 509
FIPS code [1]
GNIS feature ID [2]

Hyak is an unincorporated community located on Snoqualmie Pass in Kittitas County, Washington. It is located within the Snoqualmie Pass CDP.

Contents

Hyak was established around 1915 at the eastern portal of the Snoqualmie Pass Milwaukee Road Railroad tunnel. Originally a train station, the community began to grow in the 1930s when the railroad built a world class ski area. Today there are approximately 200 full-time residences in Hyak and another 100 part-time.

Hyak is a Chinook Jargon word meaning "hurry", "fast", or "swift". [3]

Geography

Hyak is located two miles (3 km) east of the summit of Snoqulamie Pass at an elevation of 2,600 feet (790 m). It is 16 miles (26 km) northwest of Easton and is part of the Easton school district.

History

Keechelus Lake Hyak wa-keechelus lake.jpg
Keechelus Lake

In 1915, Hyak replaced Laconia as the main train station on Snoqualmie Pass. Hyak had a small school house, and a post office. The Milwaukee road built a ski area at Hyak (from 1937–1950) originally known as The Snoqualmie Ski Bowl until World War II. [4] After the war, it reopened as the Milwaukee Ski Bowl so it was not to be confused by The Snoqualmie Summit ski area located two miles north. A Class-A ski jump was built in 1941 and was said to be [ by whom? ] the largest ski jump in North America. National championship events were held at Hyak from 1941 until 1949 when the lodge was lost to fire. The train station saw its last train roll across its tracks in 1981 when the Milwaukee Road Railroad sold off the line and it was decommissioned. The old line is part of the parks system called the Iron Horse State Park.

Economy

Summit at Snoqualmie Pass Ski Area Hyak wa-Summit at Snoqualmie Pass Ski Area.jpg
Summit at Snoqualmie Pass Ski Area

Most of the residents of Hyak work in the Seattle-Bellevue area and commute 25–50 miles. Hyak is home to the Summit East Ski Area, which is 25% of The Summit at Snoqualmie ski area.

Points of interest

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Easton, Washington</span> Census-designated place in Washington, United States

Easton is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Kittitas County, Washington, United States. The population was 478 at the 2010 census. Easton is the annual site of the start/finish line for the Cascade Crest 100-mile ultra-running race.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snoqualmie Pass, Washington</span> Census-designated place in Washington, United States

Snoqualmie Pass is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kittitas County, Washington, United States. It includes the unincorporated community of Hyak. The population was 311 at the 2010 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milwaukee Road</span> Class I railroad that operated in the Midwest and Northwest of the United States

The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), better known as the Milwaukee Road, was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwest and Northwest of the United States from 1847 until 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stevens Pass</span> Mountain pass through the Cascade Mountains, Washington, United States

Stevens Pass is a mountain pass through the Cascade Mountains located at the border of King County and Chelan County in Washington, United States. U.S. Route 2 travels over the pass, reaching a maximum elevation of 4,061 feet (1,238 m). The Pacific Crest Trail crosses the highway at Stevens Pass. The BNSF Railway's Cascade Tunnel lies 1,180 feet (400 m) below the pass summit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alpental</span> Valley and part of a ski area in Washington, United States

Alpental, named after the German word for alpine valley, is both a valley in eastern King County, Washington, United States, and part of a ski area in the valley. The valley is about 50 miles (80 km) east of Seattle, Washington and is north of Snoqualmie Pass, in the Washington Cascades. It is a popular outdoor recreation destination in summer and winter. The ski area is one of four areas that make up The Summit at Snoqualmie.

<i>Olympian Hiawatha</i> 1911–1961 passenger train from Chicago to the Pacific Northwest

The Olympian and its successor the Olympian Hiawatha were passenger trains operated by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad between Chicago and the Pacific Northwest. The Olympian operated from 1911 to 1947 and was, along with its running mate the Columbian, the first all-steel train to operate in the Pacific Northwest. The streamlined Olympian Hiawatha operated from 1947 to 1961 and was one of several Milwaukee Road trains to carry the name "Hiawatha". The Olympian Hiawatha was designed by industrial designer Brooks Stevens and included the distinctive glassed-in "Skytop" observation-sleeping cars. It later featured full-length "Super Dome" cars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snoqualmie Tunnel</span> Tunnel in Washington, United States

The Snoqualmie Tunnel is a former railroad tunnel near Snoqualmie Pass in the U.S. state of Washington, located east of Seattle. The tunnel crosses the Cascade Range about three miles (5 km) south of the pass, which is used by Interstate 90, on the border between King County and Kittitas County. It is 11,894 feet long and is at an approximate elevation of 2,600 feet (790 m) above sea level, just north of Keechelus Lake. Its east portal is at Hyak.

Stampede Pass is a mountain pass in the northwest United States, through the Cascade Range in Washington. Southeast of Seattle and east of Tacoma, its importance to transportation lies almost entirely with railroading, as no paved roads cross it. It is approximately twelve miles (20 km) south-southeast of Snoqualmie Pass, the gap for Interstate 90, and two miles (3 km) south of Keechelus Lake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Summit at Snoqualmie</span> Resort in Washington, United States

The Summit at Snoqualmie is a recreation area in the northwest United States, located on Snoqualmie Pass, Washington. It provides alpine skiing and snowboarding, Nordic skiing, mountain biking, winter tubing, and scenic lift rides. Owned and managed by Boyne Resorts, it is 52 miles (80 km) east of downtown Seattle on Interstate 90.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail</span> Rail trail in Washington State

The Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail, formerly known as the John Wayne Pioneer Trail and the Iron Horse Trail, is a rail trail that spans most of the U.S. state of Washington. It follows the former railway roadbed of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad for 300 miles (480 km) across two-thirds of the state, from the western slopes of the Cascade Mountains to the Idaho border.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keechelus Lake</span> Natural lake, reservoir in Washington, U.S.

Keechelus Lake is a lake and reservoir in the northwest United States, near Hyak in Kittitas County, Washington. Approximately fifty miles (80 km) southeast of Seattle and a few miles southeast of Snoqualmie Pass, it is the source of the Yakima River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 90 in Washington</span> Interstate Highway in Washington

Interstate 90 (I-90), designated as the American Veterans Memorial Highway, is a transcontinental Interstate Highway that runs from Seattle, Washington, to Boston, Massachusetts. It crosses Washington state from west to east, traveling 298 miles (480 km) from Seattle across the Cascade Mountains and into Eastern Washington, reaching the Idaho state line east of Spokane. I-90 intersects several of the state's other major highways, including I-5 in Seattle, I-82 and U.S. Route 97 (US 97) near Ellensburg, and US 395 and US 2 in Spokane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Catherine (Washington)</span> Mountain in Washington (state), United States

Mount Catherine is a mountain peak in the Cascade Range in Washington state located near Snoqualmie Pass and Keechelus Lake. It is accessible via Forest Road 9070 except in winter. The Nordic Pass snowshoe trail starts near the Summit East ski area, and ends at this popular destination at a low point on the west ridge of Mount Catherine. Winter ascents of Mount Catherine are frequently done by continuing up the ridge to the summit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Cle Elum Yard</span> United States historic place

The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad South Cle Elum Rail Yard located in South Cle Elum, Washington, was a division point on the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad's Coast Division. It was established by the railroad in 1909 during construction of its "Pacific Extension".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington State Route 906</span> State highway in King and Kittitas counties, Washington, US

State Route 906 (SR 906) is a 2.65-mile-long (4.26 km) state highway in the U.S. state of Washington, serving Snoqualmie Pass and its associated ski areas in King and Kittitas counties. The highway travels southeast between two interchanges with Interstate 90 (I-90) in Snoqualmie Pass and Hyak. SR 906 was formed out of segments of the former Sunset Highway that were bypassed by the construction of the controlled-access Interstate Highway over the pass. Between 360 and 2,100 vehicles use the road on an average day in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snoqualmie Pass</span> Mountain pass in Washington state, U.S.

Snoqualmie Pass is a mountain pass that carries Interstate 90 (I-90) through the Cascade Range in the U.S. state of Washington. The pass summit is at an elevation of 3,015 feet (919 m), on the county line between Kittitas County and King County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ski train</span>

A ski train is a passenger train which is marketed to carry passengers to ski resorts. A ski train may only operate during the winter sports season, or it may operate more frequently and have extra capacity during the winter sports season.

Milwaukee Ski Bowl was an alpine ski area in the northwest United States in Washington, which operated between 1937 and 1950. It was southeast of Seattle in the Cascade Range at Hyak, on the east side of Snoqualmie Pass.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin, Washington</span> Ghost town in Washington (state)

Martin is an extinct town in the northwest United States, in Kittitas County, Washington. Stampede Pass is near to the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tinkham Peak</span> Mountain in Washington (state), United States

Tinkham Peak is a double summit mountain located on the common boundary of King County and Kittitas County in Washington state.

References

  1. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  2. "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  3. Phillips, James W. (1971). Washington State Place Names. University of Washington Press. ISBN   0-295-95158-3.
  4. Lost Ski Areas of Washington, retrieved on July 22, 2009

47°23′34″N121°23′34″W / 47.39278°N 121.39278°W / 47.39278; -121.39278