|
The Burke-Gilman is the main rails-to-trails in the urban Seattle area. It starts at Gasworks Park in Seattle and follows the shores of Lake Washington from the University of Washington all the way up into Bothell where it joins with the Sammamish River Trail. From Gaswork Parks to Marymoor Park in Redmond (the end point of the Sammamish River Trail) is over 27 miles of pure, motor-free recreational trail.
There are some terrific parks directly on the Burke-Gilman and Sammamish River Trails including Gasworks Park, Matthews Beach Park, Tracy Owen Station, Wilmot Gateway Park and, at the end, Marymoor. Along the way, you will enjoy spectacular views of Lake Washington.
The B-G is an extremely popular Trail -- which means it is heavily used. While on a quiet weekday morning you might have the Trail to yourself, you can anticipate that if it is after work or a weekend and good weather you will be sharing the Trail with many bikers, skaters, strollers, pedestrians and their dogs, all enjoying one of Seattle's best parks.
The new YRE developed by Emerald City Wanderers has its starting point at Ti-Cycles, a bicycle shop directly on the Trail at University Village. There is both a walk and a bike YRE.
The walk and bike both head north on the Burke-Gilman Trail and remain entirely on the Trail (they are out-and-back routes). Because the B-G is so long, various walking and biking distances are provided, each just going a little further on the Trail and having a different turn-around point.
The walk YRE has 10K, 12K, 15K and 20K options. You will walk through some heavily wooded areas of the Trail as well as some neighborhood sections. Towards the end of the 10K route you will be walking directly next to lake-front housing and will get nice views of Lake Washington and the Cascades. The 12K, 15K and 20K options take you further and further along the shores of Lake Washington.
The bike YRE has a 25K, 32K and 48K option. It includes the same route as the walk and then continues on. The 25K route ends before 'cresting' the top of Lake Washington while the 32K route takes you further on past Tracy Owen Station. The longest route, the 48K, takes you onto the Sammamish River Trail and through some new scenery and the gently rolling hills of Bothell. You'll cross quaint wooden bridges and have an opportunity to see the famous 'wild chickens' of Bothell (no, really).
The new YREs are rated 1 except for the longest bike which is rated a 2 for distance and some gentle hills. They will be available starting Memorial Day weekend in 2002 and will be year-round events starting in 2003.
For more information or a brochure, contact the
walk POC.
|
|
