Saddlerock Hiking Trail Officially Reopened Friday

Saddle Rock's hiking trail officially reopened on Friday, with the City of Wenatchee Mayor Frank Kuntz cutting the ribbon.

Saddle Rock was closed off to the public since July 18, while crews worked on a months-long remediation project, cleaning up contaminated soil during the trail’s mining era.

Saddle Rock used to be a mining site, leaving behind piles of waste rock that contaminated nearby soil with arsenic and other toxic metals.

The trailhead received over $2.1 million from the  Washington State Department of Ecology grants and the city of Wenatchee to improve the trail and drainage spots.

The City of Wenatchee Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Department wrote that there are still some things that still need to be done on the remediation project.

Along with clean-up, crews worked on improving the trails and making the trails more sustainable in the long-term.

More recently, volunteers helped plant native plants on Saddle Rock for Make a Difference Day on Oct. 22.