Find the top rated cross country skiing trails in Washington, 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.
We stayed at Columbia River RV and rode from the RV Park to the first section of Marine Drive Trail - I saw that the I-205 joins directly there so we took it south. I saw that it went over the two bridges of the Columbia river so we gave that a try. Wow. It is a bike path in the middle of the bridge with northbound traffic whizzing by on one side and southbound on the other. The noise!! LOL The path is barricaded by a concrete wall on both sides and then a metal guard rail on top of that. So honestly felt safe enough. We did the first mile over the first bridge and then turned around. It was an experience to say the least. (We are both 79) Then we continued south on the trail for about 6 miles. I like this kind of trail - kind of urban-lots to look at. Some industrial/one section of beautiful older houses. We didn't get to any homeless but in the distance I could see a big tent setup. We have ridden lots of trails with homeless and never been bothered but I know it does bother some people. Sometimes we stop to talk with them and all have a sad story. I would definitely ride this again if in the area-we are from AZ just roaming in our small RV with ebikes on the back staying out of the AZ heat.
My wife and I rode the loop in counter-clockwise fashion. Quick take: if you're in the area for another reason, give it a whirl. If you're looking for a trail that might get placed in your personal Top Ten list, don't travel out of your way to get to this one.
There are some scenic spots along the way, at one point riding with the river on one side, and a long row of mansions on the other, and at another point adjacent to a wildlife refuge that was rich in bird species. Most of the trail, however, is best thought of as a commuter route: good utility, not so great scenery. My wife and I are experienced trail riders, generally good at finding our way on paths. If I hadn't downloaded the route to my phone, on several occasions we would have been flat out lost. Though parts of the trail are as excellently constructed, it remains a mystery to me as to why signage is virtually absent. Even something as simple as a decal on the road at junctions, a low cost option, was simply not there. We met other cyclists that were similarly befuddled by the lack of signage. We enjoyed the ride, but would have enjoyed it even more had we not had to stop multiple times to check our downloaded (from the TrailLink site) route map. A last note: the Sacagewea State Park Interpretive Center (trailhead) , and its accompanying monument designed by Maya Lin ( architect that designed the Vietnam Memorial in D.C.) is worth a visit. Note that it is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
My husband and I love this route, however at the beginning of the route for at least a quarter of a mile, there are “cuts” across the road in the asphalt, which are very jarring and really annoying. Maybe they’re put there to channel the water off of the trail; I would’ve given the trail five stars had it not been for those The rest of the trail is an absolute dream. If you follow the trail a little bit farther past the dam, you will come to the Nine Mile Falls recreation area, which is perfect for a picnic lunch. Enjoy!
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!)
This is so far a beautiful, we'll maintained trail, but there's some deep gravel and where it goes along a new highway being built there are a lot of construction trucks and no signage. Hopefully they'll put in more and bigger directional signs.
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
Rode the trail on June 15, 2025. Several spots need to be patched along rough spots from tree roots. Most rough spots and cracks are well marked but without regular maintenance this trail will keep getting worse. Ir should go without saying but DO NOT stop in the middle of the trail. Step or ride to the edge to make room for traffic. During my ride a group of adults and children literally blocked the whole trail and were clueless to anyone else on the trail. Be RESPECTFUL of others. There are too many other well maintained trails in the area to consider this trail an option.
A fun walk through an urban Beacon Hill neighborhood safely winding through the center of a wide median. Trees provide scattered shade and plenty of benches to tie that loose shoestring. No sign of any bikers, but passed a few friendly faces including a Mom with a stroller, grandmother and grandson, and an elderly walker listening to audible music on his phone. Plenty of street parking near Ferdinand street. We found a shady quiet spot to park. You can walk 30 minutes and use the restroom at the community center if needed.
This well maintained path from nowhere to nowhere seemed like a commuters pathway. It is not scenic and follows the high voltage power lines mostly. A couple of parks along the way and two LARGE homeless camps.
I rode all of the trail, counterclockwise. The surface in places is a bit rough, with sealed cracks. Overall, not bad at all. River crossings over the bridges are good, too. Flat course and wide enough for 2 or 3 across. 5/4/2025
The path is all paved if when your traveling from north to south stay on trail to right. Some parts of the old trail are on left side and have been removed. That old trail tends to be a walking trail now. Many parts of this town have paved trails right beside roads with bike lanes. One place in town has bike path, then a sidewalk, then a marked area on road for bikes. So we’re abundant with biking here but hardly anyone uses them besides the river trails.
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