Find the top rated trails in Olympia, 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.
_82867_st.jpg)
_107974_st.jpg)
_138218_st.jpg)
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...
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...
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...
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 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 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 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 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...
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,...
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...
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...
_138218_sc.jpg)
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 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 Des Moines Creek Trail offers a nice connection between the south side of Seattle and the waterfront community of Des Moines on Puget Sound. The paved trail begins just south of the Seattle-Tacoma...
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 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...
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 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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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,...
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...
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 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 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 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 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...
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 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...
_82867_sc.jpg)
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...
_64265_sc.jpg)
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 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 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 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...
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...
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 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 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...
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...
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...
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 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 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 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...
_107974_sc.jpg)
The Coal Creek Trail offers trail users a wealth of coal history, fitness, and nature in a forested fish and wildlife habitat, with interpretive signs that highlight the relics to be found along 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 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 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...
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...
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.
On a rare clear sunny day in Aberdeen Washington and this is a great walk! The trail is in good shape and is right along the bank of the Chehalis River. I would recommend walking with a friend, your dog and/or your favorite walking stick on this west end of the trail as there were some homeless people (I assume) around this area that were probably harmless. Still I didn't see any other walkers here at this end, just them (my reason for 4 stars instead of 5). Going further east and you come into the City of Aberdeen's crown jewel - Morrison Park with this trail right on the riverbank. Lots of people around here. Family's at the playground. There's a pier near here too with lots of benches to soak up both the sun and the outstanding river views. That's the old Weyerhauser export pier on the other side of the river where millions of board feet of Pacific Northwest grown and produced old growth timber was exported mainly to Japan. All that's left of that is what you now see. Anyway, if you're in the area and you like "river walks" the East Aberdeen Waterfront Walkway is worth your time. With plenty of free parking too. Especially on a rare clear and warm July summer day with a friend or two. Thumbs up on this one!!
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.
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 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.
Major construction along the Seattle waterfront obliterates the trail. It will probably be another 5 years before the sea wall replacement, the 99 tunnel, and the tear down of the viaduct are finished and the trail is restored. Currently there are hard to see detours and pedestrian only paths.
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.
. . . be aware that after walking 15 minutes northward, the trail diverts from the river and becomes essentially a sidewalk along Interurban Ave. Then it briefly parallels, and then passes underneath, I-5. Ugh. But it resumes its more peaceful course next to the river just a few minutes' walk farther north.
Look for historical markers along that ugly stretch, too. There are at least two between the walkway and the river, and one mounted on a bridge.
You could start walking from the part of the trail right near I-5, parking in one of the nearby lots, and avoid that ugly part if you wanted to.
TrailLink is a free service provided by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (a non-profit) and we need your support!
_64265_st.jpg)
