Things to Do in Enumclaw

Among the Old Mill Adventure Park’s 315 verdant acres sliced through by miles of gravel and tarmac roads, DirtFish Rally School’s seasoned instructors impart their driving savvy upon pupils of all experience levels via dirt-lined rally courses of varying lengths. A pre-instructional driver's meeting in a classroom inside the 10,000-square-foot main building enables vehicular gurus to expound upon essential driving skills such as weight transfer, skid control, and how to stop Keanu Reeves from trying to stop the speeding car. Immune to inclement weather, DirtFish staff foils nature’s attempts at forcing drivers to stay indoors with all-season lessons that wend along demanding routes in rain, sleet, and snow. DirtFish’s meticulously maintained fleet of all-wheel-drive Subaru rally cars effortlessly hurtle along the high-speed slalom course and slide across the Skid Pad thanks to competition-ready features including Tein suspension, rally tires, and OMP safety equipment. Upon the course’s completion, DirtFish staffers welcome guests back into the main building where men’s and women’s showers and locker rooms facilitate spruce-up sessions and a museum peppers brains with information nuggets pertaining to the art of rally.

Today, Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad stands as a bridge to the past, whisking passengers through timbered foothills, alongside mountain streams, and across wooden trestles aboard trains led by restored locomotives. But roughly 30 years ago, the company was just an idea bouncing around the head of Tom Murray Jr., who made it his mission to preserve the sights, sounds, and experiences of a bygone era.

With the help of a friend, and later, many volunteers, Tom established MRSR as a tourist train service, a title the company retains to this day. As a result, the last three decades have been filled with weekly excursions that send customers chugging around the forestry that unfurls in the shadows of Mt. Rainier. Volunteers still maintain the majority of the company, and with every ride, passengers are reminded that railroads have linked the United States in a manner that airplanes, cars, and gas-powered pogo sticks never could.

Following a strict Leave No Trace philosophy, Backcountry Adventure Guides instills environmental stewardship in each of its participants as they venture on fitness-filled nature jaunts. Whether climbing, skiing, or snowshoeing, the trio of guides—all of whom boast extensive outdoor sports backgrounds—uses each trek as an opportunity to stress the importance of preserving our natural surroundings and refusing to shave Bigfoot no matter how much money he offers.