Explore the best rated trails in Centralia, WA. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Cushman Trail and Yelm-Tenino Trail. With more than 24 trails covering 195 miles you’re bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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The 14-mile Yelm-Tenino Trail travels through the rural towns of Yelm, Rainier, and Tenino on a paved route through agricultural areas, forests, and wetlands. Commuters can access Olympia, Lacey, and...
The Sylvia Creek Forestry Trail is located in Lake Sylvia State Park north of Montesano on Washington's Olympic Peninsula. The interpretive trail winds through the deep forest and alongside scenic...
Commuters move between the cities of Olympia and Lacey along a former Burlington Northern corridor now known as the Woodland Trail. The Chehalis Western Trail runs north and south from the midpoint of...
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The Interurban Trail (South) connects several towns south of Seattle along the historic route of the Puget Sound Electric Railway. The trolley ran between Tacoma and Seattle from 1902 to 1928, falling...
Sumner Link Trail provides an important connection between the Interurban Trail and the Puyallup Riverwalk Trail. Along the way, the trail follows the White River, offering views of the water,...
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Castle Rock's popular Riverfront Trail originates at its main trailhead in Lion's Pride Park, which offers covered picnic areas. Following a dike north along the Cowlitz River from the park, the trail...
The Foothills Trail is a 30-mile collection of six unconnected segments of the old Burlington Northern Railway that served the farming, coal-mining, and logging economies near the base of Mount...
The Chehalis Riverfront Walkway provides a scenic route from the south side of Aberdeen to the sprawling Bishop Athletic Complex along an abandoned Burlington Northern railroad grade and levee. The...
The Coweeman River Trail follows the dike on the west side of the river for 4 miles, giving access to the riverfront and Tam O'Shanter Park. The setting on the northern section is residential, and the...
The scenic Soundview Trail runs along and through the Chambers Bay public golf course—site of the U.S. Open in 2015—within Pierce County's Chambers Creek Regional Park. The 2-mile trail links at both...
The Thea Foss Waterway Esplanade begins at Thea's Park along Tacoma's eastern waterfront. The park offers access to the water for fishing, swimming, boating, and wildlife viewing (harbor seals and sea...
This short community rail-trail connects the cities of Aberdeen and Cosmopolis through some original wetland areas. The trail also leads directly to the large sports complex at Pioneer Park, while...
The Chehalis Western Trail follows the route of a Weyerhaeuser Timber Co. railroad by the same name that carried millions of logs out of Washington forests to the coast for shipment from the 1920s to...
Tacoma's Prairie Line Trail follows the former Northern Pacific Railroad that was established here in 1873. Tacoma was the terminus of the rail line that stretched all the way to the Great...
The West Campus Trail provides access from the BPA Trail to Federal Way's West Campus medical centers. The short trail also offers the many surrounding neighborhoods a safe off-street connection to...
Gig Harbor's Cushman Trail is a paved, non-motorized route for pedestrian and bike use. The trail shares much of its corridor with overhead Tacoma Power electric lines. Along the way, trail users will...
Meandering down a Bonneville Power Administration overhead electric utility corridor, the BPA Trail serves as a connector between Celebration Park and the downtown areas of Federal Way with its...
The Grandview Trail runs in a straight line for more than a mile on the eastern edge of Pierce County's Chambers Creek Regional Park. The trail appropriately never strays too far from Grandview...
The delightful Ruston Way Path sits in the Old Town neighborhood of northern Tacoma. Its linear, flat and paved nature make it a cinch for all travelers and it offers lovely views of Commencement Bay,...
An adventure awaits those who tackle all, or part, of the 56-mile-long Willapa Hills Trail in southwestern Washington. The former Northern Pacific Railway line rolls through remote farm and forestland...
The Thea Foss Waterway Esplanade begins at Thea's Park along Tacoma's eastern waterfront. The park offers access to the water for fishing, swimming, boating, and wildlife viewing (harbor seals and sea...
Sumner Link Trail provides an important connection between the Interurban Trail and the Puyallup Riverwalk Trail. Along the way, the trail follows the White River, offering views of the water,...
Commuters move between the cities of Olympia and Lacey along a former Burlington Northern corridor now known as the Woodland Trail. The Chehalis Western Trail runs north and south from the midpoint of...
This short community rail-trail connects the cities of Aberdeen and Cosmopolis through some original wetland areas. The trail also leads directly to the large sports complex at Pioneer Park, while...
The Grandview Trail runs in a straight line for more than a mile on the eastern edge of Pierce County's Chambers Creek Regional Park. The trail appropriately never strays too far from Grandview...
The East Aberdeen Waterfront Walkway is a 6-foot wide asphalt trail that meanders along the north side of the Chehalis River in Aberdeen. Historically, this land was used for industrial purposes, and...
Gig Harbor's Cushman Trail is a paved, non-motorized route for pedestrian and bike use. The trail shares much of its corridor with overhead Tacoma Power electric lines. Along the way, trail users will...
An adventure awaits those who tackle all, or part, of the 56-mile-long Willapa Hills Trail in southwestern Washington. The former Northern Pacific Railway line rolls through remote farm and forestland...
The Foothills Trail is a 30-mile collection of six unconnected segments of the old Burlington Northern Railway that served the farming, coal-mining, and logging economies near the base of Mount...
The scenic Soundview Trail runs along and through the Chambers Bay public golf course—site of the U.S. Open in 2015—within Pierce County's Chambers Creek Regional Park. The 2-mile trail links at both...
The Sylvia Creek Forestry Trail is located in Lake Sylvia State Park north of Montesano on Washington's Olympic Peninsula. The interpretive trail winds through the deep forest and alongside scenic...
The Scott Pierson Trail runs parallel to State Route 16 for most of its journey from 25th Street in Tacoma to 24th Street on the southern edge of Gig Harbor. The 5-mile trail is a safe and convenient...
Castle Rock's popular Riverfront Trail originates at its main trailhead in Lion's Pride Park, which offers covered picnic areas. Following a dike north along the Cowlitz River from the park, the trail...
The Cowlitz River Trail follows its namesake river along a dike on the east bank. The trail is asphalt and connects Kelso residents with the riverfront. The trail parallels the active BNSF line that...
The West Campus Trail provides access from the BPA Trail to Federal Way's West Campus medical centers. The short trail also offers the many surrounding neighborhoods a safe off-street connection to...
The 14-mile Yelm-Tenino Trail travels through the rural towns of Yelm, Rainier, and Tenino on a paved route through agricultural areas, forests, and wetlands. Commuters can access Olympia, Lacey, and...
The Coweeman River Trail follows the dike on the west side of the river for 4 miles, giving access to the riverfront and Tam O'Shanter Park. The setting on the northern section is residential, and the...
The Puyallup Riverwalk Trail traces the tree-lined shoreline in northern Puyallup, a few miles southeast of Tacoma. The paved pathway consists of two completed segments with about a mile of...
The Chehalis Western Trail follows the route of a Weyerhaeuser Timber Co. railroad by the same name that carried millions of logs out of Washington forests to the coast for shipment from the 1920s to...
The Chehalis Riverfront Walkway provides a scenic route from the south side of Aberdeen to the sprawling Bishop Athletic Complex along an abandoned Burlington Northern railroad grade and levee. The...
The Grandview Trail runs in a straight line for more than a mile on the eastern edge of Pierce County's Chambers Creek Regional Park. The trail appropriately never strays too far from Grandview...
An adventure awaits those who tackle all, or part, of the 56-mile-long Willapa Hills Trail in southwestern Washington. The former Northern Pacific Railway line rolls through remote farm and forestland...
This short community rail-trail connects the cities of Aberdeen and Cosmopolis through some original wetland areas. The trail also leads directly to the large sports complex at Pioneer Park, while...
Castle Rock's popular Riverfront Trail originates at its main trailhead in Lion's Pride Park, which offers covered picnic areas. Following a dike north along the Cowlitz River from the park, the trail...
The Chehalis Riverfront Walkway provides a scenic route from the south side of Aberdeen to the sprawling Bishop Athletic Complex along an abandoned Burlington Northern railroad grade and levee. The...
The 14-mile Yelm-Tenino Trail travels through the rural towns of Yelm, Rainier, and Tenino on a paved route through agricultural areas, forests, and wetlands. Commuters can access Olympia, Lacey, and...
Sumner Link Trail provides an important connection between the Interurban Trail and the Puyallup Riverwalk Trail. Along the way, the trail follows the White River, offering views of the water,...
Commuters move between the cities of Olympia and Lacey along a former Burlington Northern corridor now known as the Woodland Trail. The Chehalis Western Trail runs north and south from the midpoint of...
The Coweeman River Trail follows the dike on the west side of the river for 4 miles, giving access to the riverfront and Tam O'Shanter Park. The setting on the northern section is residential, and the...
The East Aberdeen Waterfront Walkway is a 6-foot wide asphalt trail that meanders along the north side of the Chehalis River in Aberdeen. Historically, this land was used for industrial purposes, and...
The Sylvia Creek Forestry Trail is located in Lake Sylvia State Park north of Montesano on Washington's Olympic Peninsula. The interpretive trail winds through the deep forest and alongside scenic...
The Chehalis Western Trail follows the route of a Weyerhaeuser Timber Co. railroad by the same name that carried millions of logs out of Washington forests to the coast for shipment from the 1920s to...
The West Campus Trail provides access from the BPA Trail to Federal Way's West Campus medical centers. The short trail also offers the many surrounding neighborhoods a safe off-street connection to...
Meandering down a Bonneville Power Administration overhead electric utility corridor, the BPA Trail serves as a connector between Celebration Park and the downtown areas of Federal Way with its...
Gig Harbor's Cushman Trail is a paved, non-motorized route for pedestrian and bike use. The trail shares much of its corridor with overhead Tacoma Power electric lines. Along the way, trail users will...
The Foothills Trail is a 30-mile collection of six unconnected segments of the old Burlington Northern Railway that served the farming, coal-mining, and logging economies near the base of Mount...
The Thea Foss Waterway Esplanade begins at Thea's Park along Tacoma's eastern waterfront. The park offers access to the water for fishing, swimming, boating, and wildlife viewing (harbor seals and sea...
The Cowlitz River Trail follows its namesake river along a dike on the east bank. The trail is asphalt and connects Kelso residents with the riverfront. The trail parallels the active BNSF line that...
The Puyallup Riverwalk Trail traces the tree-lined shoreline in northern Puyallup, a few miles southeast of Tacoma. The paved pathway consists of two completed segments with about a mile of...
The scenic Soundview Trail runs along and through the Chambers Bay public golf course—site of the U.S. Open in 2015—within Pierce County's Chambers Creek Regional Park. The 2-mile trail links at both...
My mothers family is from the area, and lived in Lebam, so was interested in riding a section. Happened upon a local who said that the edges of trail were mowed at least yearly to keep branches and blackberry vines back and this section was being finished. Thanks to info re: getting on from Robertson Rd, I located the very small entrance and rode about 3 miles W to the Trap Creek Bridge. Trail reminiscent of a very long private road with 2 small single tracks and some grassy patches. Doable on cross bike or better.
We rode the north most section on our road bikes with our son on the back in a baby seat. We are avid bikers in our home area and this is the smoothest, best kept trail we have ever been on. The views are lovely. The only difficulty was when riding through town there are a lot of stop signs where you need to yield to cars. But it was completely doable.
The trail walk is a beautiful experience. Most of it goes along the Puyallup river and you can walk, run, bike or skate on the concrete path. There are benches along the way to rest or just watch the scenery. The trees are gorgeous and it's lovely to see the wildlife and wildflowers. It's handicapped accessible.
Love that I could run 8 miles on this trail just by going out and back to either end. Great trees and plant life in the middle of some busy streets. Paved with hills throughout.
This trail winds through farms, small communities, and forested areas of east Pierce County. The newest section between South Prairie and Buckley us steeper but should not be missed. Be sure to stop at one of the many small businesses along the way!
Did the ride to day on my bike. Very nice and clean and not busy at all. Will be doing it again.
On Saturday 7/14 I rode from Pe Ell to South Bend. Then on Monday 7/16 my wife drove me from South Bend to Pe Ell and I rode from Pe Ell to Chehalis.
I love this trail! There are certain sections I would not recommend to the casual rider at this time.
Around Frances and through to Willapa there are several sections where the trail has mostly succumbed to blackberries. At times I picked my feet up on my crossbar and glided through. But other times I had to get out and walk, picking my way slowly and carefully through the thorns for a long, long time. There is at least 2,000 feet of trail like this (at least!).
In Lebam, at Robertson Road, it is incredibly easy to lose the trail. It picks up again right across the road but it is so overgrown that it is almost invisible. According to reports there is a bridge out and you have to take a detour (but alas the detour is not obvious at all). So, what you do is follow Robertson Road to the right of the trail for about 1/2 mile (guessing at the distance) and then take the first trail-like thing you see on your left into the woods. This should get you back on the trail. There are no signs! I biked around Lebam for about 5 miles before I found it. I also discovered later that if I zoomed wayyyy in on Google maps I could see the trail and the detour as well. I hope this saves other people some time and frustration.
Between Pe Ell and Frances there are several railroad trestles without decking. Don't try to ride across these as some of them have ties that are severely rotted and have mostly disintegrated. This bears repeating from the trail description. If I recall correctly the third or fourth trestle out of Pe Ell toward Frances was in the worst condition. The first couple of trestles out of Pe Ell were actually fine but very, very bumpy! The trestles are breathtaking for the natural beauty around them and for the fact that you are wayyy up above the ground on some of them.
I also rode through nettle patches and lots of long, long grass west of Frances.
In Raymond the trail closes and sent me off on a detour to the right. I went to the right then turned left crossing the street (Hwy 101). Once you cross Hwy 101, head back toward the trail you left off - but don't take the first trail to your right. It looks really nice but will lead you to a scenic dead end in a mile or two. Instead, bike along Hwy 101 and the trail will reappear before you.
With all that said, I can't express how beautiful this trail is. It was a great adventure and absolutely worth the effort. For a casual ride, I would recommend starting at Adna and heading west for about 10 miles. The trail is either paved or fairly smooth dirt & gravel for that part. As you get closer to Pe Ell in either direction the gravel gets deeper and wider tires are a big plus. On two-inch tires I found myself swimming around a bit on certain portions.
The trails are well maintained. You'll see more people walking than bike riding. Surrounded by farm land, warehouses. Two bridges that go over the river. I found a side trail that leads to a closed down golf course. It has some paved trails as well. It has pond, I saw some kids catching some fish.
Descent trail, it's an easy bike ride. If you enjoy walking, it's perfect.
The first part of the trail was in great shape with well maintained bridges and nicely compacted gravel. Our gravel bikes handled the conditions nicely. Things changed dramatically once we passed Pe Ell, starting with the 1st of 3 ancient railroad bridges. There was no signage to warn cyclists that the bridges are not rideable & barely walkable, so I was on the first bridge before realizing its poor condition. I had no choice but to continue. It was terrifying! WALK your bike CAREFULLY across these bridges. Just west of Lebam, the trail suddenly appeared closed, with no signage to indicate a detour. Luckily a resident saw our puzzled faces and directed us to stay right on Robertson Rd and look for an unsigned path leading down to the left about a half a mile from the closure. After that, sections of the trail were so overgrown with grass and blackberries that it was difficult to see obstacles and we had to proceed slowly. Once we got past Frances, the conditions improved and we made it to Raymond, sore and tired.
After a great night's sleep in the Pitchwood Inn, we rode back to Chehalis, opting to bypass the middle section of the trail by taking Mill Creek Rd/Elk Creek Rd before rejoining the trail in Doty. Be forewarned, Mill Creek Rd turns into a gravel logging road with a much steeper grade than the trail.
Better signage, bridge improvements and overall maintenance on the middle section would make for a more enjoyable ride on the Willapa Trail, but all in all, it was a great adventure!
I rode the trail on Saturday, April 21st from east to west, using a Jamis Renegade with 700x40 tires. Some sections were slow going because the surface was not well compacted, but rideable.
Just to the west of Lebam, I detoured to the road, but was able to quickly jump back on the trail via what appeared to be a driveway, though ‘no trespassing’ signs don’t appear until you reach the trail and the private drive begins on the opposite side of the trail.
Around mile 44, I encountered lots of mud that was not rideable. This muddy section continued for a few miles.
A very small section is blocked off by concrete blocks around mile 48.75 because the river is eroding the hillside. I tip toed through on the trail, but you really have no idea if this is solid ground. Be smart and go around it.
All in all, it was a great ride but challenging in some areas. Well marked until you get to 101. Just remember to go left at that point. I missed that turn.
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