Find the top rated bike trails in Bellingham, whether you're looking for an easy short bike trail or a long bike trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a bike trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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Parked at the grocery store in Arlington and started there. I was on a fat tire ebike. trail work is lightly going on between the Arlington head and the first trestle north about 4 miles out. the first 2 or so miles was very loose gravel, glad I had 4" tires! Some branches and ruts due to the work in progress. After the first trestle it was real good to Darington. Trial is everything from single track gravel to paved, the last mile or so is bumpy into Darington but very passable the whole way. a tree over the trail about half way to Darington, step over if you are on foot, boost the bike over for me, real easy. One small bridge out by Darington is closed but I found it quite passable, its maybe 20 feet long with an eco block painted orange at each end. I'm certain that if you wanted to there are minor roads to get around it in the area. Awesome trail, sights abound! The OSO Memorial is really well done, lost a buddy in that one. Hardly used on a Tuesday afternoon, real pleasant for a solo, solitude ride. Took some pictures along the way here and there no major stops and it took me about 3.5 hours to round trip it. I was on an Aventon Adventure 2 and it took me 2 batteries to ride out and back. I was riding pretty conservatively in the 2 bottom steps of peddle assist and had 40% left on my return. (not gonna lie to ya, I used the throttle the last mile over the loose gravel! 60 miles was a good trip!)
Agree with Hodge Podge as to the structure of the trail. Goes off old rail line on numerous occasions, has numerous road crossings and is very narrow is some areas. A large portion of all sections travels through private property with barking dogs and junk all over the place. Too bad trail could not have followed original rail line
I road from Rasar State park towards Sedro Woolley. One obstacle was a bridge that I had to walk across because the approach to this small trestle was a big step on both sides. It almost looks like the bridge has moved. I got to Lyman and thought I would get into SW by lunch time. A few miles east of town, I ran into some mud and water. I walked and the encounter running water and it got up to my ankles. It looked worse ahead so I doubled back to Lyman for lunch at the tavern that near the trail. Nice place too back the trail was got bad so I didn’t finish it. Hope they resolve this bad section because it is a nice trail and there isn’t any option except for Hwy 20.
Nice wide smooth trail. Lots of different views as one goes along.
76° on a late afternoon Sunday in July, but the asphalt Centennial Trail from the Pilchuck Trailhead in Snohomish to Arlington was only lightly traveled - occasional families and friends cycling or ped’ing - on my year-later return visit cycling this rural trail.
Pilchuck trailhead, it turns out, while a couple miles further north from the endpoint in Snohomish itself, is faster to get to from Seattle. It's actually about .2 miles north of 6398 S Machias Rd., the address I’d put into Maps, but keep your eyes open: its large gravel parking lot (with portapotties) on the east side of Machias Road is hard to miss.
Embarking north from Pilchuck trailhead, the trail parallels S Machias Rd for 2.8 miles, passing one farm after another, then crosses it at a signal before angling into the countryside; at 3.3 miles it reaches a train depot with restrooms - the Machias trailhead.
At 4.1 miles the trail returns to paralleling Machias Rd as the valley narrows. At 4.8 miles the terrain transitions from farmland to sylvan and what was mostly flat trail angles up to a slightly uphill grade that over the next four miles takes cyclists and peds from the valley to the ridge.
At 5.9 miles, the Lake Stevens trailhead’s large gravel lot signals a bit more than a mile of light industrial, the Hartford trailhead turn off early in that mile, before we return to forest. At 7.8 miles, a mown wide shoulder on the east side of the trail sports sections of single track paralleling the paved trail, for the more adventurous among you.
At 8.8 miles, reaching the ridge, the trail flattens once more. At 9.5, on the west side, look just beyond the kiosk, picnic tables, and portapotties, where a wooden bridge provides access to Lake Cassidy. At 10.9 you pass the Getchell trailhead with its large gravel lot just to the east of the trail; just a hundred feet further, you may want to use the crossing signal for busy 84th St NE.
At 11.7 miles as you cross beneath Highway 9, you're at more or less the highest point on the trail, and begin the five-mile decline to Arlington. But you don’t get a view out across the valley until 13.2 miles from the Pilchuck trailhead, where a half mile or so of breaks in the forest and underbrush reveal lovely views of farmland below and the Olympics in the distance (not to mention a trailside billboard (!) advertising home lots with views just below).
Don’t be confused when you reach Armar Road at 15.9 miles and the trail appears to veer west - it’s just a leg off to the trailhead there, and more importantly a signal to horse riders to take the turn and not continue horseriding to Arlington. Cyclists and peds: to stay on the Centennial Trail, continue straight.
I turned around at 17 miles, when the trail began to literally be a sidewalk along busy 67th Ave NE, as it approaches Arlington.
The parking, the restrooms, the signage no longer exist.
Instead of going east from here to Concrete, we drove to Concrete and then took the trail west.
The park in Concrete was convenient and shaded.
Much better than parking at Baker lake road, even if it was available.
Started in Port Townsend and peddled all the way to La Push besides a ride through the gap around discovery bay. Passed through Sequim and stayed the night in Port Angeles on the first day. The next day I through lake crescent and stayed the night at Klahowya campground. On the third day I made it to La Push just around midday. It’s a great ride when it’s on the trail, but definitely some interesting stretches on the highway.
Have ridden the Whitehorse a number of times and enjoyed it each time. Trail is still closed between the Centennial Trail at Arlington and Trafton due to a slide. Its lightly used and a bit rough between Trafton and the Hwy 530 crossing where a short 2.3 mi paved section starts. It does smooth out a bit after the pavement and I always enjoy the bridges, river views, and mountains. The trail is paved thru the Oso Memorial to C Post Road. We were glad to see the memorial is finished and it is quite beautiful. It pays tribute to the 43 people who died as a result of the March 22, 2014, slide. Plan to spend a some time looking at the touching remembrances, there are bike racks, please don't ride your bike.
The trail does continue on to Darrington, but the times I've started from the memorial it was a bit overgrown. Plus there is a slide closer to Darrington. We plan to try it this summer.
I rented a bike from the Snohomish Bike shop on Pine Ave. The shop is right next to the trail. I cycled the trail to the end at Nakashima Heritage Barn North Trailhead, about 29 miles from the bike shop, I cycled back to Snohomish. there are lots of trailheads all have either a restroom or a portapotty. However, none of the drinking fountains were working, the bike shop rent a bike only had one water bottle cage. In Arlington there is an art walk and a nice coffee stop. my ride ended at 62.6 miles. A bucket list ride
Rode the trail from darrington to trafton with a car at both ends on a bluebird day. Blue sky, fall colors, salmon swimming upstream. What a day! Enjoyed the eastern half of the trail a bit more than the western half. It was more wooded and further away from Hwy 530. It was also narrower so difficult to ride abreast. Eastern half is all gravel while western half has several extended paved sections. Don’t know how those decisions were made. Crossed well over a dozen bridges/trestles on the trail. The bridges were slick as snot due to wet leaves so use caution
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