Green River Gorge - Black Diamond, Washington
Posted by: 
Hikenutty
N 47° 18.066 W 121° 57.070
10T E 579288 N 5239158
The Green River Gorge is a beautiful, deep canyon, found between Black Diamond and Enumclaw. Although you can no longer access the trail down to the bottom (as far as we could know,) the view from the bridge is amazing.
Waymark Code: WM38EG
Location: Washington, United States
Date Posted: 02/25/2008
Views: 82
The following excerpt is from tour 1D of the book, "Washington: A Guide to the Evergreen State":
Left on this winding thoroughfare to GREEN RIVER GORGE, 4 m. Here, Green River cuts through sandstone and shale to form a deep, rugged canyon with numerous "kettles" and other grotesque formations carved by the water. Small falls gush down the rocky walls. A bridge from which an excellent view of the Gorge is to be had spans the river, but vehicles are not permitted to stop on it. Catwalks are provided at lower levels. Heavy forest growths creep to the brink of the five-mile canyon. Tourist resorts have commercialized the gorge to some extent, and motorists are usually charged a parking fee of 25 cents, which permits the inspection of the canyon at close range. Cabins, provisions, and meals are also available.
I grew up a few miles from the gorge and it is interesting to hear what it was like in the early 40's. My memories of the gorge are from the late 70's and early 80's and by then the Green River Resort (the ones that charged 25 cents) had turned the cabin areas into a type of hippie commune. School buses aplenty parked next to the resort and the "numerous kettles" that had previously been used as swimming holes, became known as a nude swimming area. The resort controlled access to the gorge completely and so there was no way to hike down (at least that I knew of.)
When we visited to waymark it we found that the resort is now closed, but unfortunately the access to the trail was still blocked off as private property. There were still a few RV's parked there, but no school buses or the associated wild, naked children running around. There were only peacocks sitting on the deck of the resort preening.
The bridge that is mentioned was shut down to automobile traffic in the 1980's. It was originally built in the 1920's and couldn't handle the weight of modern cars. In the 1990's it was shored up and renovated, reopening as a one lane bridge with a light at either end controlling traffic. Sidewalks were added on both sides of the bridge to make sight-seeing a bit safer.