Go Ride these New Trails–and Support the King County Parks Levy

On June 22, dozens of people on bikes and representatives from Cascade, King County, and the Leafline Trails Coalition celebrated the grand opening of a new 2.2-mile segment of the Lake to Sound Trail–one of the most exciting trail projects in south King County and the Central Puget Sound region.

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When completed, the Lake to Sound Trail will enable people to bike 16 miles from the shores of Lake Washington in Renton to the Puget Sound coastline in Des Moines, passing through Tukwila, SeaTac, and Burien. The trail will also link to four other major regional trails, giving people in south King County the opportunity to bike to work, Link light rail stations, and other major destinations.

The Lake to Sound Trail highlights the importance of voting YES for the King County Parks Levy on Aug. 5 special election ballots. 

The levy includes $182 million for trail development in King County, including $55 million to complete the remaining two segments of the Lake to Sound Trail.

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“Cascade Bicycle Club urges everyone in King County who supports our vision of a 900-mile Leafline of interconnected trails—connecting communities North to South and East to West—to vote yes for the Parks Levy,” says Lee Lambert, Cascade Bicycle Club Executive Director. “This is our opportunity to invest in a future where trails link people to places, nature, and each other.”

Linking and Expanding the King County Bike Network

King County voters will begin receiving ballots in the mail in mid-July.

Cascade Bicycle Club and our sister organization Washington Bikes have both endorsed the King County Parks Levy. Cascade was a key stakeholder in the levy’s development–ensuring it funds new trail connections and provides dollars for maintenance of existing trails.

In addition to $55 million to complete the Lake to Sound Trail, the levy includes:

• $65 million for Eastrail, including funds to finish renovating the historic Wilburton Trestle in Bellevue into a paved multi-use bridge for biking and walking.
• $6 million to extend the Green River Trail northward.
• $8 million for the Interurban Trail, including $5 million to bridge a gap between Shoreline and Edmonds where State Route 104 severs the trail and requires a stressful highway crossing.
• $7 million for the Soos Creek Trail, including an extension linking it to the Cedar River Trail.
• $41 million for other trail development including money to close a gap between Seattle’s Georgetown to South Park Trail and the Green River Trail.
• Additional funding for trail maintenance, community grants to support equitable access to outdoor recreation, and money for more community parks and playgrounds.

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The levy would also advance the goal of connecting Eastrail to Gene Coulon Memorial Beach Park in Renton, and complete the design for a 1.7-mile connector between Eastrail and Lake to Sound Trail.

“Voting yes to accelerate regional trail development and bike connections to Link light rail is especially important in light of the Trump administration’s efforts to pause or cancel federal funding for bike infrastructure approved by the Biden administration,” says Vicky Clarke, Cascade’s deputy director. “Approving the levy could mean the difference between these trails being completed or indefinitely stalled.”

One of the biggest threats posed by Trump administration cuts is to the Eastrail, which received a $25 million RAISE grant from the Biden administration to bridge the I-90 Gap by converting a former railroad bridge into a bike and pedestrian trail that crosses over 16 lanes of freeway traffic.

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Read more about threats to federal funding on Cascade News.

“Local funding for trails is more vital now than ever as federal dollars for projects that advance equity, climate action, and car-free transportation are put on hold,” Clarke says.

Learn more about the Parks Levy on the King County Parks website. 

Go Ride Our Rapidly Expanding Leafline Trails Network

Summer 2025 is a great time to go ride the expanding regional trail network, says Davíd Urbina, Leafline Trails Coalition project manager. “Many trail projects across the four counties of King, Kitsap, Pierce, and Snohomish are being completed or nearing completion this summer.”

Cascade is a member of the Leafline Trails Coalition that is advocating for a 900-mile interconnected trails network throughout the Central Puget Sound region.

In addition to the grand opening on the Lake to Sound Trail, a new segment of the Pierce County Parks Pipeline Trail opened on Saturday (June 28) in Tacoma. The new 5.8-mile segment connects the Tacoma Dome to rural Pierce County at Orangegate Park.

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Other regional trail highlights include:

• Progress linking the Seattle Waterfront Connector to the Elliott Bay Trail heading north toward Interbay and south through SODO along the new separated bike path alongside East Marginal Way South. This will allow people to connect to the West Seattle Bridge Trail and Alki Trail from downtown Seattle.
• Improvements to the Elliott Bay Trail through Myrtle Edwards and Centennial parks along the Seattle waterfront from Pier 62 to the Beach at Expedia Group. Learn more on the Elliott Bay Connections site. Combined with the new Bell Street bikeway, people will be able to bike “a car-free Queen Anne Hill loop” linking the Elliott Bay Trail, Ship Canal Trail, and Westlake bike path.
• Completion of a Cushman Trail extension in Gig Harbor that connects with the Scott Pierson Trail–linking Tacoma to Gig Harbor over the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.

“We are thrilled at the work underway to accelerate progress on our vision of a connected Leafline of trails that makes it safer, easier, and more fun to bike rather than drive to destinations throughout Central Puget Sound,” Urbina says. “Now we need to continue the momentum by approving the Parks Levy.”

Join Cascade in voting YES for Proposition No. 1, the Parks, Recreation, Trails, and Open Space Levy, on the Aug. 5 Primary and Special Election Ballot.