Find the top rated trails in Centralia, whether you're looking an easy walking path or a long bike trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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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...
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,...
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 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...
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 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 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 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 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...
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...
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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...
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,...
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...
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 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 Prairie Line Trail will run through downtown Tacoma along the former Northern Pacific Railroad that was established here in 1873. Tacoma was the terminus of the rail line that stretched all the...
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 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 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 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 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 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...
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...
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...
From Mt. Baker-Snoqualamie National Forest: The first 1.5 miles of the trail follows an old railroad grade, then enters Alpine Lakes Wilderness. Once crossing the river at milepost 5.0, the trail...
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 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...
The Prairie Line Trail will run through downtown Tacoma along the former Northern Pacific Railroad that was established here in 1873. Tacoma was the terminus of the rail line that stretched all the...
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...
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...
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 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 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 Middle Fork Snoqualmie River Trail is open to hikers and horseback riders. The trail can be difficult to navigate in places, since other trails link with it (some unmaintained). There are a few...
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 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 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 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 Prairie Line Trail will run through downtown Tacoma along the former Northern Pacific Railroad that was established here in 1873. Tacoma was the terminus of the rail line that stretched all the...
From Mt. Baker-Snoqualamie National Forest: The first 1.5 miles of the trail follows an old railroad grade, then enters Alpine Lakes Wilderness. Once crossing the river at milepost 5.0, the trail...
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...
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...
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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 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,...
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 Middle Fork Snoqualmie River Trail is open to hikers and horseback riders. The trail can be difficult to navigate in places, since other trails link with it (some unmaintained). There are a few...
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...
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 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 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 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...
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 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 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 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...
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 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...
I've ridden Foothills and Burke-Gillman trails since getting my bike, and they are primarily level mile after mile. Cushman was a different sort of bear. Though it wasn't a long trail, or exceedingly aggressive, It gave both the brakes (on my bike) and my legs a work out. It was a bit difficult to follow the trail, as a first-time user, as it jumps across some city blocks. Not the most scenic trail, but I'll go back for the exercise value.
Next to the golf course towards the end of the trail there was a makeshift tent with a sheet and scattered tin cans. It's shame now I cannot believe how this has trail has changed in 1 year!! At the very end where we turned around early we saw a homeless man walking in his jammies and bare feet looking at us like we were encroaching on his property. I will not use this trail again.
I ride this trail (all of it or the eastern 2/3rds) to and from work, all year. Unfortunately the city/county does not maintain it. Currently (July 2017) most of the vegetation on the side of the trail is overgrown, in some instances significantly encroaching on the trail and dangerously reducing visibility. Additionally, there is much debris, glass and trash (mostly it appears to be related to several nearby homeless camps) scattered about, as well as quite a few discarded shopping carts from nearby supermarkets, target store, etc. Today I had to stop twice to move shopping carts off the train an onto the adjacent grassy area. Overall, it's a huge shame that the city/county department(s) responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of this important thoroughfare (one of the few protected trails in the City of Tacoma) is so blatantly lacking. It could be a great means of recreational / commuting cycling / walking / skating. But right now, it's a dirty, dangerous mess.
We parked at the Yelm Trailhead parking lot which is behind the city hall at Railroad and Washington SW. The parking lot was small – about 15 spaces – and shared with parking for the city hall. The trailhead had a porty-potty and the remains of what was once a bench. The trail condition from Yelm to Rainier, which is 5.5 miles, had a number of root heaves. The root heaves were all pretty well marked with paint so you could avoid them. The trail condition from Rainier onward to Tenino was in better shape.
For the most part, the trail follows State Highway 507. At times, there are trees that act as buffer to the road. There are a number of low-traffic street and driveway crossings. The trail connects with the Chehalis Western Trail which heads north into Lacey. We continued on the Yelm-Tenino Trail. There aren’t that many benches along the way except for the trail intersection with the Chehalis Trail and near McIntosh Lake.
At about 11 miles, we decided to turn around and head back to the trailhead. If you had one day to cycle one trail, I would recommend the Chehalis Western Trail instead since it does not follow the state highway and offers more variety.
We rode the entire trail out and back starting near the intersection of SR410 off of East Main Street. The trail is paved but many sections are in poor condition. Some of the asphalt has bumps created by tree roots. These sections are marked by yellow paint lines but one has to wonder why the city doesn’t fix the trail. On other sections, overhanging trees and prickly berry bushes encroach on the trail. During our ride, it was obvious that the edges of the trail were recently mowed. However the debris from the trimmings was left on the trail instead of being cleaned up. It was a mess.
The most annoying aspect was the trail is poorly marked in some sections. How hard is it to put a directional sign to let you know which direction to ride? Also, the trail is not contiguous. Once in the town of Sumner, you must cycle for several blocks along a busy truck route before picking up the trail again.
For the most part, the trail primarily goes through industrial areas along with some open fields, woods, and neighborhoods. The trail was OK and an interesting way to see a part of the city you wouldn’t normally see. There were some benches along the trail and one or two bathrooms.
The paved section of the Foothills Trail starts at the Shaw Road Bridge near East Puyallup and ends at South Prairie. We started out at the Shaw Road Bridge and cycled about one mile pass “Bernie’s Place” before turning around. The flat trail meandered at times adjacent to Hwy 162 and at other times out of sight from the road. At Orting, the trail runs adjacent to a number of shopping centers and crosses a couple of streets so you need to watch out for traffic. The City of Orting offers all services – food, water, bike store, rest rooms, etc. We continued a short way along the Carbon River before turning around and heading back home. There are a number of benches along the Carbon River which makes a good place for lunch.
The trail was in excellent condition. There are a couple of restrooms along the route. Overall, a nice ride which I would highly recommend.
Trail and parking areas are clean and well maintained. Its a long trail, with a long gradual elevation changes. The trail goes through the city of Orting which has a charming downtown area.
Looks like more than one attack has taken place on this trail as reported in The Olympian.
Parked near the skateboard park on 4th and headed west on my bike. Before I left I went to use the bathroom but it was occupied by a vagrant. Saw a couple of bums/druggies along the way. Met a police car coming down the trail so there is a police presence. Turn around at the west end and headed east. Very nice views of the river. Managed to use the bathroom at the veterans park, met the attendant as she had just cleaned it. To go to the east you have to leave the trail for a short while but it's well signposted. Got to the east end and turn around to go back. This time I made a mistake and ended on Main Street which was ok because I found The British Bites tea shop I wanted to try. Rode back to the west and then back to the skatepark. 10 miles altogether, nice ride. Trails in great shape.
We did 40 miles (20 out and back) today on this fantastic trail. We are fairly new to road cycling and still a bit nervous to ride a lot in traffic. This trail gave us the mileage we needed with out the concerns of riding on busy roads. The scenery is outstanding, a good amount of shade, and not too many other users mid-week. The trail itself seemed well marked and maintained. Please disregard reviews that share concerns about losing the trail. The issues in Lacy "near the Petsmart" have been resolved and we had no problems. There is a short area, as someone stated before about 600ft, of gravel. Our road bikes traversed it fine, no flats. This is quickly followed by an equally short bit on the road with traffic. Just keep going and you will join the trail again on the right side of the road. There is little doubt that we will be frequent users of this trail even though we live near Tacoma. Oh, also, we were very impressed with vehicles stopping at crossings, very courteous and safe! Thank you!
I love walking this quiet, restful trail, it would be all the more restful if the bicyclists could be advised that they can NOT be heard when they approach rapidly from behind a walker or baby buggy, at the speeds they use. They also do not respect walkers by riding two and three abreast and forcing the walker off the paved area.
This could be helped by a sign to remind cyclists to use bells and that they have a duty to share this glorious trail. The section of the trail I use is also used by people dependent on wheelchairs and walkers and I am concerned that there will be a sad accident due to these speeds and no warnings.
I also note that although the dog walkers often use the doggy droppings bags, they tend to throw them on the side of the trail!
Please put some signs up addressing these issues.
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