In December, King County Parks will wrap up Phase I construction of the Foothills Trail near Enumclaw.  The one-mile segment, which begins at 252nd Avenue South, continues along the old railroad bed and ends just north of Southeast Mud Mountain Road. This phase made both gravel and paved improvements to the trail entrances at 252nd Avenue South and installed a pedestrian bridge over a small stream.

With this newly developed trail segment and bridge, visitors can safely use the trail for walking, jogging, horseback riding, and riding bicycles (though burly tires are recommended). The newly installed bridge also means that we can get our maintenance vehicles across the stream without harming wildlife or habitat, which we will help us better maintain the natural surface trail segment that continues along the old railroad bed to Southeast Mud Mountain Road. This project was made possible by funds from the voter-approved 2008-2013 Open Space and Trails Levy.

The Foothills Trail is an important link in a 33-mile greenway that, when fully developed, will connect Puyallup and Pierce County to Ravensdale, near Kanaskat Palmer State Park in King County. Future phases of the Foothills Trail, which include paving the trail corridor and building a trail bridge over the White River, will be completed as funding becomes available.

We expect the current project to be completed and the trail to be open to the public by mid-December. Happy trails!