the north lake washington loop

[solarbird]

I’ve talked about what I’m calling the North Lake Washington Loop a couple of times but I have not yet described it, nor have I seen anyone else use this term, so I’m gonna describe it here and see if anyone picks up on it.

What makes it “new” is the completion of the bike viaduct over the Totem Lake area and the Northup Connector this past summer, removing significant chunks of traffic interaction. You could do this before, but it was more complicated and scarier.

First, briefly: the original classic Lake Washington Loop is a 48-mile classic ride-around-the-lake that people have been doing for as long as I can remember. It uses Burke-Gilman and a lot of lakeside streets, with exceptions of going onto more interior roads for sections in Bellevue, Juanita, and southern Kenmore. It is mostly on streets, and at 48 miles, not really long, but still kinda long, with over 1400 feet of elevation changes. It’s great, but a little intimidating for anyone starting out, particularly people more afraid – justly, I note – of riding near cars.

Accordingly, I propose a new, named, shorter, and overwhelmingly-on-trails beginner/family route:

The North Lake Washington Loop
34 miles, almost entirely on trails and paths
Total elevation gain and loss: 514 feet
Overall rating: easy

The small sections of this route that are not on trails or paths require very little vehicle interaction, mostly in the form of crossing car streets. It is mostly flat or gentle slopes with a few exceptions – such as the highrises on SR520 Trail – and very forgiving. As such, it can make very good first “long ride” for new cyclists wanting to stretch their legs a little.

It also provides very nice views of Lake Washington, the Sammamish River, and King County farming while going through several parks in several different towns.

Being a loop, where you start is entirely up to you. Being the Greater Northshore Bike Connector Map maintainer, I’m starting in Greater Northshore at the east end of Burke-Gilman, and then working anti-clockwise starting towards Seattle.

• At the western intersection of Sammamish River Trail and Burke-Gilman Trail in Wayne, Bothell (just west of Blyth Park), take Burke-Gilman Trail WEST, then SOUTH, to the 1 Line’s UW Station Plaza at Husky Stadium.
• Follow the (allowed bike use) sidewalk of Montlake Boulevard SOUTH to cross Montlake Bridge. Continue to East Hamlin Street.
• Turn left (EAST) onto East Hamlin. (Note that once construction on the Montlake Lid is complete, this step will be eliminated, and you’ll stay on Montlake and join SR-520 Trail directly, still heading east.)
• Join SR-520 Trail at the current trailhead at the end of East Hamlin, and follow it EAST across Lake Washington.
• Continue on SR-520 Trail EAST to Northup Way.
• Once at Northup Way, you may follow Northup Way further EAST (riding in the bike lane), or stay on the sidewalk while going the same direction.
• Turn NORTH onto Northup Connector Trail at the trailhead. This minitrail is less than a block long.
• Northup Connector Trail joins Cross-Kirkland Corridor/EastRail Trail. Turn left and follow Cross-Kirkland Corridor/EastRail NORTH.
• Cross-Kirkland Connector/EastRail becomes just EastRail Trail; continue following it.
• EastRail Trail meets Willows Road and turns south, maintaining a separate parallel side path for bikes under its own name. Follow it SOUTH in parallel to Willows Road for a short while downhill to NE 124th. (This is well-signed.)
• At NE 124th, the EastRail Trail section will loop back north again. (This is also well-signed.) Follow EastRail Trail NORTH to NE 145th Street.
• At NE 145th, first cross the street, then turn right (EAST) on the separate bike path next to NE 145th. Continue along NE 145th across the Sammamish River, and turn left to join Sammamish River Tail heading NORTH.
• Follow Sammamish River Trail NORTH to Woodinville, then continue WEST on the same trail to Woodinville Drive Bike Path in Bothell. (This is also part of Sammamish River Trail.)
• Follow Woodinville Drive Bike Path to its end at a crosswalk; follow the crosswalk, then turn right to continue WEST to rejoin the fully-separate Sammamish River Trail.
• Follow Sammamish River Trail to Sammamish River Park in Bothell, and continue through. You will pass the bridge to Main Street on your right; keep going. At the next bridge over the Sammamish River, also on your right, you may either turn left to rejoin Burke-Gilman Trail early, or cross that bridge, then and turn left to join Burke-Gilman Trail slightly later.
• If you go left at that point, continue on Sammamsh River Trail to Burke-Gilman Trail and turn right (WEST) on that trail. You will cross a third, higher-altitude bridge over the river, ending up where you started in Wayne.
• If you go right at that point, cross the bridge, and at the end of the bridge immediately turn left and continue on Sammamish River Trail to Burke-Gilman on the west side of the river, in Wayne.
• You have now completed the North Lake Washington Loop.

Total distance 34 miles, a mere assortment of blocks on roads, all of which are minor, most of which are extremely minor. The biggest interactions with traffic are Northup Way, and crossing some roads, most notably Slater in Totem Lake, where they want you to walk your bike down to the next intersection, but you can make your own call about that.

Burke-Gilman, SR-520, and Sammamish River trails are all paved. Northup Connector is basically a viaduct. Cross Kirkland Connector and EastRail are hardpack gravel and comparable to paved in difficulty, which is to say, not difficult at all. Surprisingly easy, in fact.

Honestly the worst thing I can think of about this route is the crossing at Slater, because that road is nasty. But some people might consider the Northup Way chunk to be worse, and I wouldn’t argue. Fortunately, it’s avoidable using the wide sidewalks.

I think this would be a nice trail for people who want to see if they can handle some length without having to worry about cars or too much in the way of hills – but not none, either.

Comments encouraged.

Posted via Solarbird{y|z|yz}, Collected.

Comments

[sistawendy]

I may get around to this sooner or later.

[solarbird]

It's very approachable and pleasant. Hell, looking at the weather, even as a seasonal biker you've got plenty of opportunities left for it this year if you felt like it.