If you’ve never hiked in Black Diamond Open Space, you should check it out! There are miles and miles of trails shared by pedestrians, bikes, and sometimes even horses. ** This hike is an easy one and is more of a nature walk, suitable for younger kiddos or folks that don’t want too much elevation. This trail is called the Lake Sawyer Railroad Company Trail, but it is nicknamed the “Fairy Trail” because there are fun fairy doors on the trees.
Here is a good trail map. As always, we suggest you prepare for your hike by packing the Ten Essentials.
** Keep in mind that this is a multi use trail, and you should be ready to yield to horse or biker riders. We heard from one reader who was concerned about hikers with young ones not being able to get out of the way of bikes, so keep that in mind if you decide to try this one.
The parking area is located off of Highway 169, at the north edge of Black Diamond near Maple Valley. If you are driving south on Highway 169, there is a small, gravel parking lot on the west side of 169 soon after you pass 288th street in Maple Valley. There is no sign. If you reach the larger parking area on the other side of 169 (like I did) you’ve gone too far. Just turn around and go back.
To find the trail head, take the trail that starts just past the Port O’ Potty. You won’t see any signage or trail markers until further in. When you come to the first intersecting trail, stay straight. At the next intersection, you will see the Lake Sawyer Railroad Co sign on a tree.
Turn left onto Lake Sawyer Railroad Co trail. Once you are on the path, keep your eyes peeled! These fairy doors are tiny, only an inch or two in size. They are stapled onto the trees. Be sure to look high and low! This is a short stretch; once you get to the next trail sign, just turn around and go back.
I’d heard that there is sometimes fairy furniture too, but we didn’t see any. Unlike the Gnomes Trail, which has actual gnome statues, here you will only find the doors to fairy homes. I guess fairies are shy!
We found several painted rocks too!
Just FYI, other than the aforementioned portable potty, there are no facilities. We brought our dog, but there were no trash cans or waste bag stations. The trail is not gravel, so there are roots and rocks, but overall it was a pretty easy walk. If you want to walk a bit more, one offshoot from this trail goes to Ravensdale Creek. (Marked Ravensdale Creek). It will add about a half mile to your trek. As always, make sure this hike is a good fit for your hikers and their needs and abilities.
Enjoy!
Tiffany Doerr Guerzon
PS If you like this hike, don’t miss the Gnome Trail!
