Centennial Trail Snohomish to Skagit County   Park hours are 7:00 a.m. til dusk Park Features 17 miles of completed trail (Snohomish to Arlington) 6' wide paved trail parallel equestrian trial Picnic tables, benches Restrooms   Description An enormously popular recreational trail for walking, bicycling, hiking, and horseback riding accessible to persons of all levels of physical ability. The trail provides a safe alternative transportation route and currently connects Snohomish, Lake Stevens, Arlington, and points between.  The linear park also serves as a conservation corridor protecting sensitive and important natural and cultural resources.  Development of the trail began in 1989 during the state's centennial, hence the name, Centennial Trail. Trail users are invited to visit the trailhead and rest stop in the town of Machias. This facility is a replica of a railroad depot built in the late 1890s.   The depot once served a rail line which today is the Centennial Trail. The Machias Trailhead facility is available for rent.  Contact the park ranger at 335-0526 for details.   Park History The Centennial Trail is constructed on the original railway right-of-way  built north of Snohomish by the Seattle, Lake Shore, and Eastern Railroad (S.L.&E.) in 1889. The S.L.&E. eventually connected Seattle north with Canada and linked Everett east with Stevens Pass. In 1892 the Sumas Branch line between Snohomish and Arlington was purchased from S.L.&E. by Northern Pacific and later sold to Burlington Northern, in 1970. Operation ceased on the Hartford- Edgecomb section in 1972 and on the Snohomish- Hartford section in 1987. To the south in King County, a section of this same abandoned S.L.&E. line has become Seattle's heavily-used Burke-Gilman Trail, and King County's Sammamish River Trail. The railroad provided local and international mail, freight, and passenger service. It carried timber from the forests, lumber from the saw mills, and iron, copper, lead, silver, and gold from Mount Pilchuck and Monte Cristo mines. Tourists could ride in open rail cars to Monte Cristo and back for the day, winding through the steep canyons of the South Fork Stillaguamish River, or go to the Big Four Inn at the ice caves on the "Mountain Loop" to the east.