Once faced with closure, public trails at Mount Si, Little Si, Rattlesnake Lake and the Snoqualmie River’s Middle Fork are here to stay.

The Washington State Legislature preserved funding for Valley trail access, passing its supplemental budget early Tuesday morning, April 13.

The state budget kept $278,000 in recreation funding for the Washington Department of Natural Resources, a spokeswoman for State Sen. Cheryl Pflug’s office said.

DNR would have closed the Valley facilities this spring without the money.

“We’ll be able to keep recreation facilities open, which is just great news,” said Mark Mauren, recreation program manager for DNR. “Things will basically stay the same.”

“That is fabulous news, the best possible outcome,” said North Bend Mayor Ken Hearing. “We’re an outdoor recreation community. We have to cater to tourism.”

“Rattlesnake Ledge, Big Si and Little Si are very popular,” aid Fritz Ribary, executive director at the Snoqualmie Valley Chamber of Commerce. “On any given Saturday or Sunday, when the weather is nice, people come pouring through North Bend and Snoqualmie.”