Find the top rated cross country skiing trails in Oak Harbor, whether you're looking for an easy short cross country skiing trail or a long cross country skiing trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a cross country skiing trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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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 22.5-mile Cascade Trail—boasting 12 benches, 23 trestles, and two bridges made from repurposed railcars—-follows the Skagit River as it parallels State Route 20 into the Cascade foothills of...
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The Railroad Trail through east Bellingham runs for more than 3 miles between the city's Bloedel Donovan Park and Memorial Park, providing an off-road alternative to the cross-town route of Alabama...
The East Lake Sammamish Trail is an important link in the Mountains to Sound Greenway, a 1.5 million–acre landscape stretching from Seattle to Central Washington. Its origins hail from the Seattle,...
The Railroad Trail through east Bellingham runs for more than 3 miles between the city's Bloedel Donovan Park and Memorial Park, providing an off-road alternative to the cross-town route of Alabama...
The 22.5-mile Cascade Trail—boasting 12 benches, 23 trestles, and two bridges made from repurposed railcars—-follows the Skagit River as it parallels State Route 20 into the Cascade foothills of...
The Snoqualmie Valley Trail rolls from verdant dairy land in the north to a clear blue mountain lake in the south. Along the way, travelers are treated to numerous trestle crossings, historic towns,...
Two sections of the Whitehorse Trail, which runs along a former Burlington Northern rail line, are currently open for use. The eastern end of the trail spans nearly 7 miles between Darrington and 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 22.5-mile Cascade Trail—boasting 12 benches, 23 trestles, and two bridges made from repurposed railcars—-follows the Skagit River as it parallels State Route 20 into the Cascade foothills of...
Two sections of the Whitehorse Trail, which runs along a former Burlington Northern rail line, are currently open for use. The eastern end of the trail spans nearly 7 miles between Darrington and the...
The Railroad Trail through east Bellingham runs for more than 3 miles between the city's Bloedel Donovan Park and Memorial Park, providing an off-road alternative to the cross-town route of Alabama...
The East Lake Sammamish Trail is an important link in the Mountains to Sound Greenway, a 1.5 million–acre landscape stretching from Seattle to Central Washington. Its origins hail from the Seattle,...
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 Snoqualmie Valley Trail rolls from verdant dairy land in the north to a clear blue mountain lake in the south. Along the way, travelers are treated to numerous trestle crossings, historic towns,...
Late Summer 2018
TrailBear was not exactly “silent, upon a peak in Darien” when he parked at the twin bridges site (Rt. 530 & RR bridges) on the Whitehorse Trail (48°15'58.29"N x 122° 0'44.53"W).
“OMG, blacktop!” A few yards over, the trail surface was gleaming blacktop. Blacktop! Bear loves blacktop on his trails. Smooth riding. No ruts. Yes! We can do this! The trike came out and TB went spinning over the bridge and down the newly surfaced trail bed.
Smooth, fresh blacktop and dried leaves crunching under the tires. Looking closer, he wondered if he was one of the first riders on this stretch. There were only three tire tracks behind him. All evenly spaced. Might be him.
Was there some association with the construction crew he passed a few miles east where the trail crosses Rt 530 again… They were laying down more blacktop, heading east towards Darrington. Got a ways to go. Encourage them. They expected to be done with the trail project back in 2016. Perhaps 2020 might be the year. A bear can dream.
Regardless, the twin bridges is a lovely spot on the trail. You have a nice railroad bridge, a river with a long view, a beach for the kids and views. Locals are found recreating themselves here all summer.
Go west down the blacktop a bit and there is the Rt. 530 trail crossing – under construction. Wonder how they will do this. The Snohomish Centennial has a ped-controlled stop light at one crossing. This crossing is on a curve to make it sporting.
He managed to pedal across – but he waited and waited for a lull. Those fully loaded logging trucks doing 60 mph suggested caution. No sign of paving continuing west towards Trafton Trailhead. Back in 2016 when he checked out the Trafton Trailhead, he noticed they had laid a serious compacted gravel base heading east from Trafton, so there might be hope that was going to be a blacktop base.
@@@ MAP CHECK … The Whitehorse Trail project map – check it out
Here is the county project map. Currently, it is the best that you can easily put your hands on.
https://www.snohomishcountywa.gov/3693/Whitehorse-Regional-Trail
TB really hopes that the map note with a date of 2106 was a typo. You can see that they are doing this and that here and there. They have Phases. Must be a challenge to find all the funding for all the projects that add up to a completed trail.
The finished trail, combined with the excellent Snohomish Centennial Trail that runs from the Snohomish River north through Arlington to the Skagit County border will make this an even more attractive destination for riders.
The old right of way extends north along Rt. 9 in Skagit County and south into King County where it is the Burke-Gilman Trail. There are said to be plans to join the Snohomish to the B-G. Come that day, you can start at the Golden Gardens on Puget Sound and ride up to the Skagit line or cut over to Darrington.
@@@ FORTSON MILL TRAILHEAD … Welcome Wagon not in evidence (48°16'25.43"N 121°43'53.57"W)
TrailBear had such high hopes that morning. He would park at the Fortson Mill Trailhead and take a round trip east to Darrington and back. After all, the official map said this was the only open portion.
His hopes faded when he drove in … to the gate, hefty and well-locked. An official and rather annoyed sign proclaimed that “This Gate is Locked due to illegal dumping.” (Guys, if you are going to do caps, do caps for every word. More stylish.) Among the prohibited items were Alcoholic Beverages and Motor Vehicles. Not the place to party on a Friday night. At least the county hopes so. The gate says so.
Reading that ‘Foot traffic is allowed into the park” he hoofed it down the road to find a vast, empty parking lot in the woods. Great place to dump that old washer or have a kegger on Friday night. No signage.
More wandering about turned up the Fortson mill – now concrete walls with artistic graffiti, a dam and empty log pond and not much more. The trail is due north about 93 yards from the non-parking lot, over the slope and down.
@@@ DARRINGTON TRAIL HEAD … End of the trail (48°15'32.10"N 121°36'16.33"W)
Well, try the official open portion from the other end. Off to Darrington and the trail end on Railroad Ave. Pedal off down the trail and past the Three Rivers Mill. The trail here is gravel, and TrailBear was soon bored. Scrubby, cut over woods, no views, bumping over roots. Boring!
Stop, about face, pedal back. The reality is that from Fortson to Darrington, the Whitehorse is a woods ride. No bridges, no river, no views. TB has ridden the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes and other scenic trails, so he is spoiled rotten and feels Entitled.
He wants scenic trails with endless unfolding vistas – an endless Instagram Heaven – not a bunch of scrubby woods. (And, while you’re at it – a rest room every five miles.)
He loaded up and headed back west to his happy discovery of real, fresh blacktop, a bridge and vistas at the twin bridges: “OMG, blacktop!” One happy TrailBear.
This is a beautiful trail. I had a free afternoon on a business trip to Seattle. Terrible traffic to get out of Seattle, but worth it to add this trail to my list. I wish I’d had more time. Had to cut my mileage short because I kept stopping for photos.
Previously rode this trail to Marymore Park, but decided to make my ride longer and head to Lake Sammamish State Park. Overall, a nice trail for a cyclist. Wide enough to pass people without infringing upon the other side. My only two cons to this are the section of gravel (not ideal for a road bike) and the confusion in getting on the trail near the state park. I added 3 miles to my ride by meandering around the Pickering Trail area looking for the Sammamish Trail entrance.
This is a lovely paved trail that hugs the shoreline along Guemes Channel where large ferries regularly ply the waters between Anacortes and the San Juan Islands. The views are outstanding and the trail is accessible year round. Make a right turn off Highway 20 directly through the San Juan Passage housing development downhill to reach trailhead parking area along the water. The trail goes east about 1.2 miles toward the city of Anacortes with plans for eventual completion all the way to city center. This same parking area also serves the Ship Harbor Trail which runs westward toward the WA State ferry terminal. If you get the yen to go to Guemes Island there is a small Skagit County ferry that makes regular 5-minute crossings from downtown Anacortes.
Great trail, however do due tree roots there are some rough sections
I am happy that this trail exists, but it is hard to get in a rhythm riding it, as every mile or so the trail crosses a busy street, many with no lighted crossing. It is also highly urban, and much of the old right-of-way is gone, requiring the trail to take constant diversions. As noted in another comment, there are some "interesting" people on the trail as well from time to time. It's worth riding once or twice, but I much prefer more intact, scenic and safer trails like the Centennial.
Since I spent a lot of time yesterday in trying to figure out a way in to the trail and wasn't keen on doing the whole 11 miles of it, I parked in Sixty Acres park Gate C and on the extreme left of the parking lot, there's a path to join the trail. I went left from there and walked for 40 or so minutes before turning back. So if you just want a short walk of an hour or so, parking at Sixty Acres park might work for you.
Beautiful, easy bike ride across Lake Washington. A couple of small hills at either end to get to bridge deck but what goes up must come down. Many points to pull off and rest along bridge.
We access from eastside from several points: Evergreen Point Park and Ride. South Kirkland Park and Ride. Hidden Valley. Etc. And like to connect to Burke Gilman on Seattle side.
Have been doing since the kids were 11, however, if you have little ones, or they are still learning, there are alot of speedy bikes on weekend and during commutes so avoid those times.
This trail is super convenient. It’s gravel, but pretty compact, so even with a road bike you should be fine. Just make sure to give yourself an extra few yards of stopping distance. It has a lot of road crossings, but each one has a button that immediately flashes a bunch of annoying yellow lights at the crossing traffic, which is legally required to stop immediately, so no more waiting for long periods of time at stop lights. The greatest part about it is that it used to be a train track, so the entire trail is super level. No matter which way you go, it almost always feels as if you’re riding downhill. Overall I think this trail is great for committing, and fun for leisurely Sunday cruises. Give it a try!
3/12/2018
Starting at the western end of Whitehorse, branching off the Centennial Trail, I rode about a mile before hitting a landslide blocking the trail. Looking at the tangle of large trees and mud in front of me, I decided I'd rather not try to get past it and risk having the whole mass continue into the river, with me on top of it. So ended my first Whitehorse Trial trip.
The trail in this section has not yet been resurfaced, so it still has the old railroad ballast. It was a little tiring to slog through, but the short section of the trail I did get to ride was quite enjoyable. This looks like it will be a beautiful ride, once they complete the trail.
As of Sept 4, 2017 the landslide blocking the trail west of Concrete had still not been cleared. Try as we might we were unable to find a trailhead with a portapotty in the vicinity of Challenger Crossing. There's supposed to be one there.
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