Despite the hills, despite the rain, Seattle is a great city for walking and biking. And, thanks to the city’s infrastructure investments, it’s slowly getting better all the time. In 2016, Bicycling Magazine ranked Seattle the 5th best bike city in the U.S. WalkScore says Seattle is the 8th most walkable city in the country.
The popular Burke Gilman Trail stretches west to east across the city and beyond from the shores of the Puget Sound to the top of Lake Washington. Riding the Alki Trail along Alki Beach feels like being transported from the Pacific Northwest to a California beach town. The Elliott Bay Trail offers amazing views of mountains and water and a trek through green parkland in the heart of the city. The I-90 and Interurban Trails will take you east and north for adventures outside city limits.
With dozens of miles of multi-use trails built throughout the city and a growing network of protected bike infrastructure and neighborhood greenways to get you safely between them, it’s easy to fill entire weekends with biking and walking adventures within city limits. For nature lovers, Seattle trails can connect you with parks, greenways, lakes, rivers, beaches, bays and forests. For sightseeing tourists, there are trails to get you from the Space Needle to the Great Wheel to Pike Place and beyond. For gourmands and beer aficionados, there are nearly limitless opportunities to ride or walk a multi-use trail to Seattle’s many hip restaurants bars, and breweries.
This guide aims to help visitors and locals alike explore everything Seattle’s trail network has to offer. The self-guided bike tour takes riders from the heart of Seattle’s tech boom in South Lake Union through two of the best food and drink neighborhoods, into the iconic Gasworks Park and back again. The self-guided walking tour follows the best of Seattle’s waterfront, loops into the Seattle Center, moves south along the water again, before finishing in the historical Pioneer Square and Chinatown-International District neighborhoods. The trail guides and points of interest will help you map your own adventure throughout the city.
Burke-Gilman Trail
Elliott Bay Trail
A view of the city and Space Needle
Pike Place Market
Weather-wise, the best time to visit Seattle is late June to late September, when it rarely rains and the temperatures range from the low 60s to high 70s, with just a few weeks each summer peaking in the 80s and 90s. In the fall and spring, rains tend to be frequent, but not intense. The drizzle is pervasive, but it rarely downpours. With waterproof outwear, one can comfortably get outdoors nearly year-round.
Seattle’s busses are equipped with a bike rack on the front. See King County Metro’s guide for properly loading your bike and don’t be afraid to ask the driver for help. The LINK light rail system provides a way to get from SeaTac Airport north to the University of Washington and points between. Bicycles are allowed on trains and each car has one bike rack on either end.
Traveling around Seattle almost inevitably means climbing some hills. Doing so often requires a choice: steepness or traffic. Arterial streets tend to be the least-steep option to the top of a hill; the trade-off is that there are many more cars and buses sharing the road. Conversely, side roads have far less traffic, but the grades tend to be steeper (sometimes significantly so).
Perched on the shores of Puget Sound and surrounded by islands, Seattle offers opportunities for travel by ferry. Washington State Ferries allows bicycles on board, but they’re not permitted inside the passenger cabin; you’ll need to place them in the designated bicycle parking area with other vehicles. Note that there may be a nominal bicycle surcharge for some ferry routes.
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), commonly known as Sea-Tac, is located about 12 miles south of downtown Seattle. A convenient and inexpensive way to get from the airport to the city center is to ride Sound Transit’s Link Light Rail (soundtransit.org), a journey of about 35 minutes. Look for the directional signs in the terminals to reach the station and buy your ticket from a vending machine at the boarding platform.
Check out these helpful websites for planning your travel in Seattle.
Free National Park Service museum about the Yokun Gold Rush
Gallery and store in the ID featuring Japanese artists and artisans
Space Needle, International Fountain, Glass Museum and more, the Seattle Center is a classic.
Giant ferris wheel on the Seattle waterfront.
Iconic radio station. Their Seattle Center HQ is open for public tours.
Free outdoor sculupture park operated by the Seattle Art Museum
Popular dog and kid friendly brewery in Fremont with a huge patio
Hip pub with shades of dive bar
Belgian style pub with a huge beer list in Fremont
Beers from Seattle and Washington in a communal Ballard setting
Just off the Burke Gilman in Fremont
In the University Distrcit a few blocks off the Burke Gilman
Located in Pioneer Square's Nord Alley between Main and Jackson Streets
Inexpensive hostel next to Pike Place Market
Motel in Uptown/Queen Anne neighborhood
Luxury hotel on the downtown waterfront
Luxury hotel in the heart of downtown
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