Stuck (White) River Trail

* Introduction * Wheels Outside the Garden * Wheels in the Garden * Garden Trails *

* Puyallup Riverwalk Trail East * Puyallup Riverwalk Trail West * Sumner Rivers Trail * Stuck (White) River Trail *

 

This is a beautiful, short ride between two parks and along the banks of what used to be the Stuck River. In the 1800s, the White River, which then flowed into the Green River and north to Seattle, flooded the rich farmland of the Auburn-Kent valley. Sometimes it spilled over into the short Stuck River, which emptied into the Puyallup and flowed on to Tacoma. The King County farmers decided that was good, so dynamited logjams and bluffs to make it more permanent. Pierce County farmers retaliated with their own explosives to flood the King County farms. The great flood of 1906 sided with the northern farmers and sent the entire White River down a new channel it carved out of the Stuck. The feud was finally settled when the Army Corps of Engineers built Mud Mountain Dam in Enumclaw, and virtually eliminated the big White River floods for both King and Pierce County.

In the 1800s, the White River, which then flowed into the Green River and north to Seattle, flooded the rich farmland of the Auburn-Kent valley. Sometimes it spilled over into the short Stuck River, which emptied into the Puyallup and flowed on to Tacoma. The King County farmers decided that was good, so dynamited logjams and bluffs to make it more permanent. Pierce County farmers retaliated with their own explosives to flood the King County farms. The great flood of 1906 sided with the northern farmers and sent the entire White River down a new channel it carved out of the Stuck. The feud was finally settled when the Army Corps of Engineers built Mud Mountain Dam in Enumclaw, and virtually eliminated the big White River floods for both King and Pierce County.

Now this short stretch of river is a salmon restoration habitat.

 

The trail follows the Stuck River from Wilderness Game Farm Park to Roetgner Park. It is mostly level, with a few mild climbs and descents. Rolling and winding trail in openmeadows add interest. There are occasional alternate routes, including a narrow paved bypass of one steeper section. The parks offer ample free parking, restrooms, and water.

Doreen readies for the ride home.