The Great American Rail-Trail: King County’s Piece in a National Puzzle
In late September, King County Parks staff joined the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy and community partners for an “influencer ride” showcasing the Washington state portion of the Great American Rail-Trail (GART).
Beginning in Cle Elum and ending in Seattle, the ride highlighted both the varied, beautiful scenery in this region and the vital role regional trails play as infrastructure.
Over three days, riders representing government agencies, nonprofits, media outlets, and trail advocacy groups experienced the impact of trail connections firsthand. They rode through a forested river valley, crossed a historic trestle bridge, and arrived at urban trailheads that provide access to vibrant communities.
The route made extensive use of King County Parks’ regional trail system, knitting together the Snoqualmie Valley Trail, Preston-Snoqualmie Trail, Issaquah-Preston Trail, East Lake Sammamish Trail, Redmond Connector Trail, Sammamish River Trail and the Burke-Gilman Trail.
King County Parks was proud to welcome this group onto our regional trail system, where participants saw these local investments provide safe, accessible, continuous car-free routes for walkers, runners, cyclists, families and commuters.
The Great American Rail-Trail is a once-in-a-generation project that will span more than 3,700 miles, from Washington, D.C. to Washington state. When fully compete, it will be the first national multi-use trail network.
It’s an honor to serve as the western anchor of this historic route and connect our residents and visitors to a national system, supporting active transportation, tourism and economic activity.
Our 185 miles of regional trails serve as a critical piece of the Puget Sound trail network. Along with our partners, our vision is to build a seamless, fully accessible network that connects neighborhoods, urban hubs, transit, and natural areas. We prioritize closing gaps between existing trails, investing in underserved communities, and creating trails that meet the highest standards of accessibility.
We’re grateful to the Leafline Coalition and Cascade Bicycle Club for helping organize this tour with the RTC. The influencer ride was a chance to celebrate progress thus far and also address the urgency for even more. Every mile we can build here contributes to a connected system that has the potential to benefit millions of people, here in King County and beyond. Trails are literally connections, and we can span the nation this way.
