Entry No. 58 — the Seattle file — filed under: ghost town
Franklin Ghost Town
Established in the 1880s as a coal mining town, Franklin was once a bustling community of over 1,000 residents before declining and being abandoned in 1919. Today, hikers can explore the forested site to find concrete foundations, a rusted coal cart, and a 1,300-foot-deep mine shaft sealed with a safety grate. A quiet, overgrown cemetery on a nearby hillside contains weathered headstones of miners, including some who perished in a tragic 1894 mine fire.
The story
In the 1880s, Franklin wasn't a quiet stretch of King County timber—it was a loud, filthy coal mining center with over a thousand residents, heavy machinery, and coal trains chugging through the Green River Gorge. The town's luck ran out quickly, marred by labor disputes and a devastating 1894 mine fire that killed 37 miners deep underground. By 1919, the commercial coal dried up, the town was deserted, and the Northwest forest moved in to erase the street grid.
What remains today is a scatter of heavy industrial skeletons hidden in the thick underbrush. Scramble off the main railroad grade and you will bump into mossy concrete footings, abandoned rail iron, and a heavy, rusted iron coal cart left right where it stopped a century ago. The defining relic is a vertical mine shaft plunging 1,300 feet straight down into the earth, capped off with a thick steel grate so you can stand above the void without falling in.
Further up a quiet, fern-choked hillside sits the town cemetery. Weathered, moss-covered headstones mark the graves of miners and their families, including victims of the 1894 fire, sitting in almost absolute silence less than an hour southeast of Seattle.
What it's like
You will park in a designated private lot right near the trailhead—make sure you have $5 in cash on hand to drop in the pay box before heading out. The main trail follows a gentle 2.5-mile round-trip route along a flat, gravelly old railroad grade inside the Green River Gorge Conservation Area. Scrambling off the flat grade up to the hillside cemetery or over to the fenced mine shaft requires sturdy shoes, especially when the trail turns to slick clay after rain. Visit on a weekday morning if you want the ruins and the heavy forest silence entirely to yourself.
The move: Hike the 2.5-mile round-trip trail together to photograph the historic coal cart, peer down the gated mine shaft, and pay respects at the peaceful, moss-covered cemetery.
📍 Before you go The site is legally accessible via a public hiking trail within the Green River Gorge Conservation Area. While the trail itself is free and open, visitors must pay a $5 cash parking fee at a private lot at the trailhead, and the deep mine shaft is securely fenced and grated for safety.
- 📍 Black Diamond
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Low-key
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: Black Diamond, WA 98010, USA
Hours: Added 2026-07-20 — confirm current access before you go.
Pair it with
- Melmont Ghost Town Hike — Double down on early-1900s Puget Sound coal mining history by hiking another overgrown company town abandoned in the 1920s.
- Ford Slope Mine — Compare Franklin's 1,300-foot vertical shaft with the preserved slope mine entrances and underground workings at Cougar Mountain.
- Abandoned Clay Pit — Trade early coal mining ruins for a mid-century open-cut industrial mine pit tucked into the nearby King County trail system.
Good to know
How long is the hike and how difficult is it?
It is an easy 2.5-mile round-trip hike along a mostly flat, gentle old railroad grade, though short off-trail scrambles to the cemetery can be slick.
Is there an entry or parking fee?
Hiking the trail within the Green River Gorge Conservation Area is free, but parking at the trailhead lot is on private property and costs a $5 cash fee.
Is the 1,300-foot mine shaft dangerous?
The deep vertical mine shaft is securely enclosed by a perimeter chain-link fence and topped with a metal grate for safety.
Where is the cemetery located?
The historic cemetery sits on an overgrown hillside off the main railroad grade trail, marked by mossy 19th-century headstones.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Wikipedia · wta.org · alltrails.com · adventurespnw.com · Reddit
last checked: 2026-07-20