Elliott Bay Trail

Washington

5 Reviews

The Elliott Bay Trail offers 3.9 miles for trail users the opportunity to enjoy art, history, wildlife, and a wide variety of outdoor activities in a beautiful waterfront setting. In the Magnolia neighborhood, Elliott Bay Marina and Smith Cove Park boast beautiful mountain views, while the eastern half of the trail encompasses Myrtle Edwards Park, a public fishing pier, Olympic Sculpture Park, and more. Trail bridges facilitate access to city streets for recreation and commuting.

About the Route

Elliott Bay Trail (sometimes referred to as the Terminal 91 Bike Trail) leaves off in the north from the Elliott Bay Marina parking lot, which is a private lot. Public parking can be found 0.2 miles east of the marina at Smith Cove Park, where trail users can enjoy bay views of the Great Wheel and Lumen Field, dwarfed by Mount Rainier. This is also the site of a once-active Northern Pacific Railway coal bunker pier, a 2,500-foot trestle that was later replaced by Great Northern Railroad piers 88 and 89. In 1921, the Port of Seattle built piers 40 and 41 (later renumbered 90 and 91), which, at 2,530 feet, were acknowledged to be the longest concrete piers in the world.

Follow signs to a fenced pathway and past 20th Avenue West (which comes in 0.9 miles) leading to the Ballard Locks. Rail enthusiasts will enjoy views of Balmer Yard, which often has a group of road engines set to pull a train or switcher pairs along 20th Avenue West. Besides the active BNSF Railway tracks, a steep overpass suggests walking your bike or sidestepping your skates down the very narrow descent before crossing a set of tracks.

Following the tracks, the trail passes under the Magnolia Bridge Ramp and then, in 0.3 miles, travels through the Expedia campus. Look out for the first of three bike/pedestrian bridges connecting the trail to Elliott Avenue West. Continuing another 0.2 miles to Elliott Bay Park, the trail passes the Pier 86 Grain Terminal right around the start of the second bike/pedestrian bridge. The Amgen Helix Pedestrian Bridge, including an elevator, heads over the railroad tracks to West Prospect Street and Elliott Avenue West.

Farther on is a fishing pier at Centennial Park, followed by Myrtle Edwards Park in another 0.3 mile, where a grassy area with benches and landscape art separates pedestrian and wheeled paths. Beginner skaters can expect a bit of buckled pavement and a few curves (the slope is gentler on the pedestrian path). To access a shopping and dining area, trail users can veer off the trail at Myrtle Edwards Park, taking a bike/pedestrian bridge over Elliott Avenue to reach West Thomas Street and Third Avenue West via a ramp.

In a half mile, the bayside rocks, benches, and grassy areas of Olympic Sculpture Park offer a nice break at the trail’s southeastern terminus.

Connections

At the southern end of the trail, trail users can connect to the Seattle Waterfront Pathway.

The Elliott Bay Trail is part of the developing Great American Rail-Trail, a 3,700-mile route connecting Washington D.C. to Washington State.

Parking and Trail Access

The Elliott Bay Trail runs between Elliott Bay Marina (Seattle) and the Olympic Sculpture Park (Seattle).

Parking is available at:

Smith Cove Park, 1450 23rd Ave. W (Seattle)

Please see TrailLink Map for all parking options and detailed directions.

Amazing trail that that has picturesque views

September 2022 david664

I have the good fortune of riding this trail daily - I live on this trail that you can ride for 25 mile from Discovery park to Elliott trail and then all th way to Alki beach and Fauntleroy Ferry beautiful beautiful ride

Great for rollerblading

January 2020 dloseff

Nicely redone thru the Expedia property, this trail is smooth and dries quickly after a rain. 3.4 mile round trip loop between the Sculpture Garden entrance at Elliott/Broad and a new public parking lot just south of the Magnolia Bridge. Great art including the classic "Adjacent, Against, Upon"

A picturesque walk (or bike ride) along the waterfront

October 2019 cerminaro.lambc

My entire family has enjoyed using this bike path for many years. The views are beautiful, especially near sunset. The path is heavily used by walkers, joggers, cyclists and rollerbladers. Always using proper trail etiquette, passing "on your right" and this should reduce the possibility of any mishap.

pier 91

November 2015 rawiig

great walk into the city!

Elliott Bay Trail Reviews

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TRAILBEAR ON THE WATERFRONT – The Elliott Bay Trail

August 2010 trailbear

TRAILBEAR ON THE WATERFRONT – The Elliott Bay Trail

8.20.2010

OVERVIEW…

Short but scenic.

It’s hard to get up to speed on this trail (no pace lines, please) as there is a lot to see and a lot of peds, dogs, etc. to avoid. Color it a Family Fun outing. Take the kids. Relax and enjoy.

The pavement is blacktop, somewhat narrow but double tracked in places. The scenery ranges from the Interbay rail yards and the cruise ship terminal on the north end to the Olympic Sculpture Park on the south end with a lot of waterfront views in between.

TrailBear happened to be doing his survey on the day they were setting up for HempFest, so he was dodging a lot of interesting counter culture and stoner types. He was sniffing the air as he went along, but a day too soon he was.

Suggest you start in the north at Smith Cove Park because the parking down on the waterfront is “iffy.” It’s a tourist area; there is competition; they want money.

SMITH COVE PARK, N47.63173 W122.38669

Not much of a park, but there is free parking and a nice picnic area on the point with tables, views and water. No restrooms over on this end. There is more park uphill, but the chain link fence shuts you off. Try the marina offices under the restaurant at the Elliott Bay Marina, just down the road. Failing that, go up to Magnolia Park.

Head up the bike-walk or road to the Magnolia Bridge and…

CONFUSION CORNER, N47.63321 W122.38692

Here, below the Magnolia Bridge, the road turns right, but where is the trail? There are no trail signs over on this side of the trail. If TrailBear had not been had a Senior Moment and left his Google Earth trail map in the van, he would have known that it went under the bridge and between a sign for Northwest Harvest and a warehouse over yonder. He could have uploaded the TrailLink gps route, but where is the fun in that?

If you want to go that way, steer for the yellow ecology blocks, enter the parking lot beyond and follow the fence line. The trail runs along the base of the hill, around a vast collection of parking lots, turns east at the top of the school bus parking lot and then heads south alongside the Interbay rail yards.

TrailBear turned right instead and headed up the sidewalk onto the Magnolia Bridge. It is a sight. The underside of the bridge is festooned with steel clamps and trusses and beams and braces and such. One look at the bridge and you know you really do not want to be on, under or near this thing in a quake. Of course, the problem is knowing when the quake will arrive. TB has a dollar that says it will come down in a cloud of dust and rubble.

TB takes the sidewalk and makes his way to the far end at Elliott Ave. Head down Elliott for a block and you will find your first trail sign pointing the way to…

THE BIKE/PED OVERPASS, N47.63220 W122.37603

Up you go. They have hung this on the Galer St. Bridge. It will take you over the rail lines and deposit you (if you use the sidewalk, not the stairs) at the Terminal 91 Trail at Galer and 16th Ave. Here are some more trail signs.

Notice the rope work design on the walls of the overpass ramp. This is better looking art that some of the stuff over in the Olympic Sculpture Park. Head down the trail with a parking lot to the left and Pier 91 on the right. Ride on down to the point and continue on to Elliott Bay Park and the …

FISHING PIER, N47.62633 W122.37452

If you are not here to fish, the other feature at the pier is a restroom with water. This is the only restroom that the TrailBear found on the trail, so note the location. There may be others tucked in corners. If you find one, send TrailLink a note and update the map. From the fishing pier you have a good view of the grain terminal ahead. Note that the trail splits into a waterfront track and an inside track. Ahead is Myrtle Edwards Park and the …

THE POCKET BEACH, N47.61698 W122.35788

They created this beach out of a pile of rip rap and a failing seawall. The results are a nice little pocket beach and a great boardwalk with views over the Sound. Nice job. The sign explains how they did it. Ahead, at the end of the boardwalk is the trail end and …

THE FATHER AND SON FOUNTAIN, N47.61498 W122.35505

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_Sculpture_Park#Father_and_Son

When Der Bear arrived at the end of the trail, here was this guy with no clothes, arms outstretched toward a large fountain of water. Little did he know that the son is hidden in the water. On the hour he will be revealed and dad will be hidden. This means that we have left Myrtle Edwards behind and entered the …

OLYMPIC SCULPTURE PARK, N47.61596 W122.35572

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_Sculpture_Park

Here is a nine acre park straddling the rail line. You will need to explore the corners to find all the art. TB liked the Calder “Eagle.” He was not impressed by the grouping of the two washers and old record player. (It’s a joke, right?) He has seen this sort of thing done much better in front of many trailers in rural Washington, including some very vigorous folk art arrangements of tires and cars.

For a map and interactive tour of the park, check out this site…

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sculpturepark/

Now you can retrace your ride up to Terminal 91. If you want a loop ride, go the opposite direction – along the rail yards or over the Magnolia Bridge.

If you want more, there is a bit of the Burke Gilman Trail from the locks to Golden Gardens to the north, along with the Ship Canal Path on the south bank and the rest of the Burke Gilman on the opposite shore. You could make a day’s outing with these three trails. Be sure to stop off in Fremont and have your picture taken with Vladimir Illich Ulyanov, o.k.a Lenin. It’s just three blocks up from the trail.

Ride on!

TrailBear
Improving his mind at the sculpture park