Lime Kiln Trail

The Lime Kiln Trail is half of the Robe Canyon Historic Park (the other half is the Robe Canyon Trail, described below). The trail follows the route of the old Everett & Monte Cristo Railway, starting about 2 miles from Granite Falls just off Waite Mill Road, an easy to find trailhead thanks to good signage.
A quarter mile from the parking area you enter private forest land for 3/4 mile until reaching Hubbard lake and the park proper. There's good trout fishing here, but you have to bushwhack your way to the lake to find a spot to wet your line. The trail soon begins its descent, a mere 200' elevation loss, first following the lake's outfall creek, then turning to follow the South Fork Stillaguamish River at the same point you pick up the old E&MCR route at around 1 1/2 miles. Along the way pass historic markers, saw blades, pots, pans and old stoves (please do not remove artifacts) until you reach the lime kiln a mile later, covered in moss and ferns and rising from the forest like an ancient Mayan ruin. You can still see remnants of the last load of lime in the ovens.
So far you will have been parallel to but up above the river, but over the last mile you gradually descend to the river's edge. The boulder filled river has a sandy bank here, so enjoy a picnic lunch, watch the water dippers skim the rapids in search of bugs, or just enjoy the peaceful sound of the river before the easy hike back.
One caveat, which applies to any hike: check road/trail conditions before you go. On this February hike we found the trail to have a few fallen trees to crawl under/over, and the ground had slumped in a few places, but with minimal effort these obsticles were overcome. The bottom line is safety; if an unexpected change of terrain exceeds your comfort level, err on the side of caution. There's always another hike.