Find the top rated trails in Monroe, 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 Lowell Riverfront Trail is a multi-use trail located within Rotary Park. The paved trail travels from the park entrance to the north end following the Snohomish River. You can encounter numerous...
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 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...
Seattle's Cheshiahud Lake Union Loop offers scenic views of Lake Union, as well as access to parks, neighborhoods, and downtown shops and restaurants. A good place to begin your journey is at Lake...
Scenic and interesting are uncommon terms used to describe a trail alongside a busy freeway, but the I-90 Trail in Washington is different. The trail begins in the west in Seattle and runs for 10...
The Padilla Bay Shore Trail offers a paved route of just over 2 miles atop a dike along the Padilla Bay in Northwest Washington. Adventurers will enjoy the scenic natural setting only about 70 miles...
The Kulshan Creek Trail links Mount Vernon's downtown area with commercial and residential areas. Use the trail to access schools, parks, natural areas and community gardens. The Kulshan Trail runs...
The 6.5-mile paved Preston-Snoqualmie Trail meanders through Snoqualmie Valley, with a short roadside section and crossing. It crosses a set of unpaved yet accommodating switchbacks that replace a...
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In the heart of Redmond, the Bear Creek Trail provides an important connection between two rail-trails. On its eastern end it connects to the Sammamish River Trail and, on its western side to the...
History lures visitors to the Snohomish County Centennial Trail. Trail users are reminded of old-time river and railroad settlements in the historically preserved storefronts and homes in Snohomish...
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 Port Townsend waterfront marks the eastern endpoint of the Olympic Discovery Trail, which will one day stretch 126 miles from Puget Sound to the Pacific Ocean. This section of trail is named in...
The Green River Trail currently stretches nearly 20 miles through the industrial heart of the Green River Valley from the southern suburbs of Seattle to Kent, connecting to a number of neighborhoods...
Running north to south along the industrial Duwamish Waterway, the 3-mile Duwamish Trail is an important connector in southwest Seattle. Beginning a half mile south of the Alki Trail, the Duwamish...
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 Chief Sealth Trail runs northsouth along Seattle's southeast side between S. Ferdinand Street at Beacon Avenue S. and S. Gazelle Street at 51st Avenue S. The paved trail provides access to...
The State Route 20 Arboreta Trail—also known as the Highway 20 Trail—was developed in the 1970s after a donation of the right-of-way to the City of Burlington by a private citizen. The trail, which is...
The Burke-Gilman Trail is as much a thoroughfare for commuting to work and the University of Washington as it is a staple for social recreation and fitness. Built in the 1970s, the trail was among the...
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...
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...
Located in the Cascade foothills near the town of Gold Bar, the Wallace Falls Railway Trail (Railroad Grade) climbs 2.5 miles to meet a separate, 1.5-mile riverside ascent to Wallace Falls. The...
The Pigeon Creek Trail runs along an operating port terminal and users of the trail are are protected from the secured industrial terminal by a fence, which runs along side the trail. You will...
The Port Townsend waterfront marks the eastern endpoint of the Olympic Discovery Trail, which will one day stretch 126 miles from Puget Sound to the Pacific Ocean. This section of trail is named in...
It’s fitting that the 9-mile Iron Goat Trail is centered in the town of “Scenic” as that’s just what you’ll get on this rustic adventure: beautiful views of mountains, waterfalls, wilderness, and...
The Burke-Gilman Trail is as much a thoroughfare for commuting to work and the University of Washington as it is a staple for social recreation and fitness. Built in the 1970s, the trail was among the...
Although short, the Marymoor Connector Trail provides an important link between the Sammamish River Trail (an 11-mile route that heads north to Bothell and the Burke-Gilman Trail) and the East Lake...
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 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 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,...
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Elliott Bay offers trail users the opportunity to enjoy art, history, and a wide variety of outdoor activities in a beautiful waterfront setting. Myrtle Edwards Park is adjacent to the Olympic...
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...
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The Cedar River Trail follows the old Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad corridor on a straight, flat shot out of the sprawling Seattle metro area and into the rural...
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 Kulshan Creek Trail links Mount Vernon's downtown area with commercial and residential areas. Use the trail to access schools, parks, natural areas and community gardens. The Kulshan Trail runs...
The Alki Trail rides along the northern and eastern shore of West Seattle along Alki Avenue. Largely riding on a widened sidewalk, separated from traffic by a parking lane and curb, traffic on the...
The Green River Trail currently stretches nearly 20 miles through the industrial heart of the Green River Valley from the southern suburbs of Seattle to Kent, connecting to a number of neighborhoods...
In the heart of Redmond, the Bear Creek Trail provides an important connection between two rail-trails. On its eastern end it connects to the Sammamish River Trail and, on its western side to 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 Lowell Riverfront Trail is a multi-use trail located within Rotary Park. The paved trail travels from the park entrance to the north end following the Snohomish River. You can encounter numerous...
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,...
Although short, the Marymoor Connector Trail provides an important link between the Sammamish River Trail (an 11-mile route that heads north to Bothell and the Burke-Gilman Trail) and the East Lake...
The highly urban Seattle Waterfront Pathway is a continuation of the Elliot Bay Trail and carries on south from Broad Street south to South Royal Brougham Way. The trail parallels Alaskan Way along...
The North Creek Trail links the cities of Bothell, Mill Creek and Everett, as well as the communities in between. The trail also provides access to the Sammamish River Trail, which connects to 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 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...
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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 Soos Creek Trail travels through heavily wooded forest on a north-south route spanning the eastern edge of the Seattle suburb of Kent. Following the path of its namesake creek, the trail begins...
The 35 miles of Olympic Discovery Trail sandwiched between Sequim Bay and the Elwha River are considered the trail system's crown jewel. Bounded by a sparkling tidal estuary in the east and a recently...
In the heart of Redmond, the Bear Creek Trail provides an important connection between two rail-trails. On its eastern end it connects to the Sammamish River Trail and, on its western side to the...
Spanning just shy of 224 miles, the John Wayne Pioneer Trail is one of the longest rail-trail conversions in the United States. The trail passes through remote and sparsely populated areas of...
The Green-to-Cedar Rivers Trail is an extension of the Cedar River Trail, which heads south from Witte Road where the two trails intersect. The Green-to-Cedar Rivers Trail passes through Lake...
Seattle's Cheshiahud Lake Union Loop offers scenic views of Lake Union, as well as access to parks, neighborhoods, and downtown shops and restaurants. A good place to begin your journey is at Lake...
The Port Townsend waterfront marks the eastern endpoint of the Olympic Discovery Trail, which will one day stretch 126 miles from Puget Sound to the Pacific Ocean. This section of trail is named in...
History lures visitors to the Snohomish County Centennial Trail. Trail users are reminded of old-time river and railroad settlements in the historically preserved storefronts and homes in Snohomish...
The Redmond Central Connector will one day stretch 4 miles along a former rail line, the Redmond Spur of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad. Currently, one mile is complete in downtown...
Across the waterway from its big brother (the Burke-Gilman Trail), the Ship Canal Trail runs along the southern edge of the Lake Washington Ship Canal near Seattle Pacific University. The trail links...
The Lowell Riverfront Trail is a multi-use trail located within Rotary Park. The paved trail travels from the park entrance to the north end following the Snohomish River. You can encounter numerous...
The Padilla Bay Shore Trail offers a paved route of just over 2 miles atop a dike along the Padilla Bay in Northwest Washington. Adventurers will enjoy the scenic natural setting only about 70 miles...
The trail is quite flat and the scenery is lovely, so for those two key elements it is an excellent trail. But the surface condition is so bad that it detracts from the enjoyment. It would take very little effort to correct most of these problems. Maintenance on this county trail seems to entail throwing down piles of loose gravel. Even the widest tires will sink into loose pea gravel with no stone dust, so you have to be constantly alert to these wide areas. It doesn't help that these areas occur more frequently at road crossings. Also, the barricades at road crossings are unneccessarily enormous and positioned in a way that you cannot easily get around them. riding around the outside can be done at alot of them, but it's not consistent. The barricades could be unlocked and opened just a little more so a cyclist could ride through, while still blocking road traffic. As it is, there are too many crossings to have to stop and walk through 2 of these at every side street. The area at mile 4.8, near Minker Creek, is abominable. The ladt straw for us was how rough the trail got as we approached Hamilton. We finally gave up and turned around before we got to town. We typically ride 12 to 14 mph on good stone trails, but we were reduced to 8 mph for this trail.
We began our 20 mile out-and-back ride at a small parking lot near Gehrke and Wild Current Rds near MM20 in Sequim. The parking lot had space for about five cars. We headed west towards Port Angeles. The first five miles of the trail, which is heavily wooded, was very narrow with sharp, blind curves with a lot of up-and-downs. You would gain some speed on a downhill section only to have to brake because of the narrowness and curviness of the trail and the uncertainty of what was in the opposite direction. This section would not be considered a “rails-to-trail” type of trail.
Once we crossed the Morse Creek Trestle Bridge, the trail widened with views of the strait. This five-mile section into Port Angeles was the nicest section. We stopped near the Marine Center before turning around.
If I were to do this ride again, I would park at the Deer Park Trailhead and cycle into Port Angeles and perhaps check out the path along Ediz Hook. There was nothing of interest for the first five miles to warrant cycling that section again unless you were doing it for the mileage or were traveling the entire trail. There were two port-a-potties along the route and no other amenities.
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.
talked with a Skagit Parks employee last week, and he said that the landslide blocking the trail west of Concrete is due to be removed in the next week or two
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.
Rode round trip ride starting from Blythe Park in Bothel. Started out early morning on a Saturday so it wasn't crowded at all. The trail is well maintained. The trail passes by Lake Washington and the homes alongside the trails are a sight to see. Great spot for pictures and a pit stop at Gas Works Park.
The missing link portion is annoying. I failed to follow the directions listed on the description page for this trail and lost my way. I had to ask some riders for assistance to get back on the trail. Thank goodness for my fellow cyclists.
The only low point would be the one or two homeless people who've pitched their tents along the trail. Other than that the trail is popular and safe.
I rode from the City Pier in Port Angeles, east, for 15 miles. I wanted to go farther, but had time constraints. Most of the ride is great, and I am so glad it is here! I just wanted to comment that around 5 or so miles east of City Pier, there are some quite steep sections - not long, but steep, and they have totally blind and very sharp curves on them, and the trail is very narrow. A recipe for disaster... So - ride carefully, and if you can't see around the curve - go really, really slow. I encountered:
1) Deer
2) Families complete with grandma in a motorized wheelchair and dogs, taking up the entire trail
3) Horses
4) Families with children taking up the entire trail
And - even great cyclists just can't stay on their side of the road when the turn is super sharp and you are going up or down.
Again - a great trail, but be careful while having fun!!!
Hopefully I can do other sections tomorrow!
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 began the trail at the Port Townsend waterfront behind the boatyard. We cycled the entire trail – out and back. The trail is about 7.3 miles one way.
The trail width varies but most of it is narrow. The widest parts of the trail are along easements adjacent to private land since the trail also doubles as someone’s driveway. At about mile 6, the trail gets very narrow and is actually a footpath through the woods for a short distance to Discovery Road. Once you cross Discovery Road, there is a short but steep uphill to the end at Milo Curry trailhead.
Contrary to some articles written about the trail, the trail is primarily packed dirt or crushed stone – no asphalt. The only section of the trail that is paved is the underpass under Discovery Road and Highway 20.
There are three trailheads – Port Townsend Waterfront, Cape George, and the newest trailhead at 7.3 miles called Milo Curry. There is no water on the trail but there are porta-potties at each trailhead.
I would certainly recommend this trail. It has a lot of variety from views of the water at the beginning to rural-like settings towards the end.
It's a great place for exercise. The only problem I had is there are not enough bathrooms along the trail especially at the south end in Kent.
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.
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