A deal was made by Monte Cristo Resorts, Inc. in 1994 to sell their holdings to the U.S. Government. The areas included are the parking lot, resort cabins, rail turntable area, and other properties that were owned by MCR. These areas are now under management by the U.S. Forest Service. A conservation group called the Monte Cristo Preservation Association has been working with the USFS and Snohomish County to maintain the road from Barlow Pass, and to help manage the use of the area. The road is gated and locked, and only useable by property owners and the FS. Like many conservation groups, the MCPA would like to keep the area as a museum to the past, and to limit public use. See:
http://www.mcpa.us/history.html
There are many pieces of property at Monte Cristo that are privately owned and not managed by the Forest Service. The USFS would like to see these private land owners out of there. The land owners do have property rights, and not all agree with the management policies of the USFS and MCPA. There are valid mining claims in the area that are still being held by individuals and companies. Land use battles will never cease as public and government entities act to control the use of privately own land. The FS can not prevent bottle digging on private property.
Turn north onto the Index/Garland Hot Springs Road from Hwy 2. Keep an eye out for Trout Creek. A trail (used to be a road) ascends the mountain to your right and goes by Index Mining's Copper Independent Mine tunnel and mill site. There is not much there but the mill foundations.
Another area of historical interest is the town of Mineral Center. Continue ahead on the road until you see a concrete bridge on your left that crosses the North Fork of the Skykomish River. Park your car. You have reached the townsite of Galena, which was named for the galena mineral occurance that crosses the road just South of the access to the bridge. There are the remains of houses just up to the East on the hill overlooking the road. Bottles, insulators, door knobs, and other collectibles have been found around the remains of these buildings.
The road to Mineral Center crosses the bridge and runs along Silver Creek for a short distance until it is blocked by a berm. What is left of this road passes several mine shafts as it travels about 3 miles toward the site of Mineral Center where gold, silver, and galena were discovered in this area. The small town grew as ore was mined and loaded on mules for transport to the railhead at the town of Skykomish. Mineral Center was located at the end of the road. Towering above the townsite is Silver Peak and Silver Lake which are the headwaters of Silver Creek. The miners that discovered the minerals at Monte Cristo were working in Mineral Center at the time. A trail rises over the mountain and crosses Poodledog Pass, and then descends into Monte Cristo.
No, the mule trains from Mineral Center to Skykomish didn't travel by way of the road to Index. The mules followed a trail that went over "Jackass Pass." The continuation of the Index/Garland H.S. road takes you along the route of the old trail that descends along the Beckler River to Skykomish. The road across the mountain is now called Jack Pass.
Some of the property along the Silver Creek Road is still privately owned. The F.S. started destroying the buildings along the road and in the area in 1955. Homes, mill sites, and other properties were razed in the name of conservation. The road was damaged several times by fierce winter storms and was closed by the F.S. early in 1980s. This deprived property owners and mining claim holders access to their properties by motorized vehicle. The area surrounding Mineral Center and Monte Cristo is part of the Henry M. Jackson Wilderness Area, which was created by Congress in 1984, however the road and adjacent property is not.
Court battles still occur around the country based upon RS2477 which requires that public roads built before 1996 be kept open for public access. Unfortunately, most government agencies have little accountability to the public they are supposed to serve. Federal agencies write their own regulations, and the regulations become law when entered into the Federal Register. The road to Monte Cristo should never have been closed, but it would take a lawsuit to get the road opened to motor vehicles.
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