[dave allyn]

The road accessing Eightmile and Stuart/Colchuck trailheads has been gated.

[kbatku]

Is this a seasonal thing?

[dave allyn]

Yes. Should reopen just before permits are required.

[dave allyn]

It's not a problem. You just can't drive to the trailhead. The road gets skied or snowshoed probably every day of the winter.

[Randito]

The gate helps protect the road from "Jeepers" pushing up the road in high clearance vehicles, getting stuck and then doing various sorts of engineering to retrieve stuck vehicles. Later in the spring as the road melts out, it will be soft and muddy. Without a gate, the road would get a lot of potholes and erosion from vehicles traveling it while it is saturated. Given the overuse of the area, perhaps they should decomission the road beyond the gate.

[timberghost]

no

[zimmertr]

[Downhill]

Yes, it is a seasonal practice and it will reopen once conditions are safe to drive it in the spring, although some years the USFS keeps it closed a little longer to do some road maintenance before opening it to public use. It's not just jeeps and big 4x4s going places they shouldn't go in the snow. I live upriver from the junction of this road and the Icicle, and I always carry a tow strap, shovel, and gear to pull out stuck vehicles between this point and the Snow Creek parking lot (where the county stops plowing). It isn't just 4x4s, but every type of passenger car and mini-van as well getting in too deep or sliding off into the ditch. My record was pulling out 3 cars on a single trip to town and a 4th on my way back home. The other reason for gating the road at Bridge Creek Campground is to prevent a lot of people and vehicles from getting stuck, snowed in at the trailheads above if an earl-season, heavy snowfall comes and buries people in. Closing the road in advance allows the FS to clear the area while it's still possible to get people out safely. There are several sections that are prone to significant slides in the winter.

[HitTheTrail]

I went up to Leavenworth this morning for a steak and eggs breakfast at my daughter and son-in-law's house. They told me that with all the additional people out now and with more dispersed camping along the Icicle road (by climbers and boulderers since there is a lot of good granite along that stretch) that there has been a rash of vehicle prowls and break-ins by people looking for expensive climbing gear. Apparently that is now considered to be a target rich environment. So..be careful leaving your car along the Icicle.

[Randito]

[BigBrunyon]

Only been gettin worse ever since the enchantments rose to power!

[Downhill]

Update: Icicle River Road is now closed at the 4th of July Creek trailhead. The forecast is for a lot of snow for the remainder of this week, so I would expect that the "Road Closed" barrier will be moved down river to Bridge Creek/8-Mile/Mountaineer Cr junction sometime later this week - its usual wintertime terminus.