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Get Out and Go Ride these WA Trails
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- Summer is for cycling, and nothing beats a trail ride through woodlands and natural areas.
- In Part II of our series encouraging you to minimize “ultraprocessed time” in favor of healthy outdoor time, we spotlight some of our favorite WA trails.
Paul Tolmé
The Snohomish Centennial Trail is a flat, paved and wide multi-use trail that spans 30 miles between the charming community of Snohomish and the historic Nakashima Heritage Barn at the trail’s northern terminus.
This is where co-workers and I recently gathered for a summer trail ride to celebrate the gorgeous weather and enjoy some quality time outdoors–and away from our screens.
Last month, we launched a four-part series called Put Your Phone Down and Go Ride that encourages people to reduce the amount of “ultraprocessed time” spent staring at electronic devices in favor of more healthy and wholesome time outside on bikes.
In this second installment, we recommend some of our favorite paved and unpaved bike trails in Washington state. Summer is for cycling and spending time outdoors. We hope these trail tips inspire you to log off, put your phone down, and go explore Washington’s abundant bike paths, rail trails, and multi-use paths.
Put Your Phone Down and Go Ride!
More than 500,000 people annually use the Snohomish Centennial Trail, which follows the corridor of the defunct Burlington-Northern railroad line. Several thousand of those people come during Cascade’s Ride from Seattle to Vancouver and Party, whose route includes the Centennial Trail on Day One.
Mixing the cityscape of Spokane with parks, woodlands and the rushing waters of the Spokane River, the Spokane River Centennial Trail State Park spans 40 miles from the Idaho border to the Nine Mile Falls Recreation Area. My favorite section is the westernmost 10 miles that pass through Riverside State Park and end at a riverfront beach and campground.
The 56-mile Willapa Hills State Park Trail is a weekend bikepacker’s delight. With paved sections at either end and packed gravel for most of the middle, Willapa Hills run east to west from the farmlands of Chehalis to the estuaries of Willapa Bay. It's best ridden on a gravel or mountain bike.
Willapa Hills is one of five long-distance trails overseen by Washington State Parks. Learn more about the state's effort to complete the trail and refurbish its many railroad trestles in our 2021 story, “From Farmlands to Oysterbeds.”
The 21-mile paved Chehalis Western Trail connects Olympia in the north to the town of Rainier at its southern end. And if you want to extend your ride, the southern end of the Chehalis Western connects to the 14-mile-long Yelm-Rainier-Tenino Trail.
The Yakima Greenway is an 18-mile multi-use trail that follows the runs alongside the Yakima and Naches rivers, connecting the communities of Union Gap, Yakima, Selah and Naches. The trail passes through multiple parks that are perfect for a picnic.
The Olympic Discovery Trail spans the top of the Olympic Peninsula from Port Townsend to La Push. My favorite section is the 26-mile segment from Port Angeles to Blyn, with nine bridges that cross creeks and rivers that flow to the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Learn more about the Olympic Discovery Trail, and our ride there with former Gov. Jay Inslee, in our 2023 story “A Dream Bike Route Gains Momentum.”
Want more trail ideas? Read the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s picks for Top 10 Trails in Washington State. If you live in the Puget Sound Region, you can find 450 miles of trails on the Leafline Trails Coalition website.
Making Time for Summer Rides and Connection
Back on the Snohomish Centennial Trail, we biked past parents pedaling with children, cruised alongside retirees on electric bikes, saw folks training for RSVP, and exchanged hellos with people of all skill levels riding all manner of bicycles.
“This feels like one of those summer rides we did as kids,” a colleague said. “Just a bike ride with friends with no goal other than to get outside and enjoy the weather and have fun exploring together.”
Mission accomplished.
Ultraprocessed Time = Waste of Time
As we reported in our previous story, research shows that our physical and mental health are declining along with our increased screen time -- or what theorists call ultra-processed time.
Is bicycling medicine? In Part III of this series, to be published in September, we will explore the topic of bicycles as medical devices and how cycling benefits brain health and wellbeing.
Meantime, we hope these trail tips inspire you to get out, pedal, and explore. Because ultra-processed time is a waste of summertime.
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