Iron Goat Trail

This hike has been on my to-do list for awhile, and it did not disappoint. It combined hiking, history, and trains! Really, it doesn't get much better than that for me. Iron Goat Trail is a six to nine mile loop on an old Great Northern Railway grade. It was constructed in the 1890s and was the scene of a terrible avalanche in 1910 which swept two trains off the track and killed over 100 passengers. A safer lower track was built in 1929 which is still in use today, and some dedicated volunteers built the Iron Goat Trail in the 1990s, utilizing the old abandoned grade.

I arrived at the Iron Goat Interpretive Center trail head to find the gate locked, so I parked below the gate and started up the trail past the locked pit toilets, the informational kiosks and red caboose. 

I huffed and puffed up the short cut to the Windy Ridge viewpoint, gaining 700 feet in about a mile. There were plenty of switchbacks, but a few places were steep enough to warrant steps. Occasionally I'd get a whiff of the earthy smell of decaying leaves that shouted, It's Fall! 

When I finally reached the top I turned right towards the Windy Ridge look out point. At Windy Ridge I gazed over the valley, and also checked out the the toilet sign. I'm always intrigued by the toilets that you find in the wilderness, and this one was no exception.

Not a lot of privacy with this toilet!

But the view from the toilet is pretty dang good!

Way below is the train tunnel that replaced this rail section

From Windy Point I turned around and started the trail down the upper grade, passing numerous little waterfalls that splashed onto the trail. Despite the water the trail was in good shape, although occasionally muddy and a little flooded in a couple places. 

Water pours over the old concrete snowshed wall

Another waterfall

I peered into the black and scary tunnels with the "extreme danger" signs in front of them, reading about their history and the men who had created them.

Great view down the valley with the tree leaves gone

old relics litter the trail

After about three miles, the trail took a steep turn down hill to the lower grade. There were many more interpretive signs to stop and read along the way and I found the information and history extremely interesting. 

Remnant of an old snowshed. The white pole ahead on the left marks the mileage from St. Paul, MN

Leaf covered trail

Another scary partially collapsed tunnel

Cool bridge over a steep ravine

Eventually I ended up back where I had started. I had skipped the section up to Wellington where I would have been able to see the scene of the avalanche that swept so many people to their deaths. Although the trail was snow free, previous reports said that snow increased beyond Windy Point up to Wellington, so I decided to give it a skip. It gives me an excuse to go back again!