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The Green River Trail currently stretches 21.1 miles through the industrial heart of the Green River Valley from the southern suburbs of Seattle to Kent, connecting to a number of neighborhoods and parks.
About the Route
The Green River Trail follows Washington's scenic Green River for its entire route. The paved trail meanders along the river between Tukwila and Kent. The southern terminus currently ends just north of Kent's North Green River Park, long-term plans for the future call for an extension farther south through Auburn to Flaming Geyser State Park. A short portion of the trail is part of the Lake to Sound Trail near the Black River Riparian Forest.
Connections
Direct connections to the Interurban Trail can be found twice along the Green River Trail; the first is in the north near Fort Dent Park and the second is at the trail's southern end near Foster Park on S. 259th Street.
A short portion of the trail is also part of the Lake to Sound Trail near the Black River Riparian Forest.
The Green River Trail runs between W Marginal Pl S (Tukwila) and 94th Pl S (Kent)
Parking is available at:
Visit the TrailLink map for all parking options and detailed directions.
This trail is ok, but it is horribly marked. That is to say, it really is hardly marked at all and as it makes numerous forks and turns where it joins major traffic centers, this lack of signage is a problem. thats if you can even find the northern trailhead. it took me 3 different google map guided excursions to finally find it, and two of those it seemed obvious that Google was trying to kill me. Still, its a quiet, windy path that is in pretty good condition and the bits of urban heritage farms that are tucked away in little alcoves among urban centers was a pleasanr surprise. but if you a tuallt wanna get somewhere, the Interirnan South us a far superior trail.
Rode north to south, returned via Interurban trail. Fair amount of construction (trail and riverbank) with number of detours. Trail goes via light industrial and commercial zones first, farther south it is nicer, away from major roads, goes by residential zones. Good trail, but somewhat boring so there are better choices if you are after views and nature.
Nice trail pretty views the only problem is the trail stops in places and can’t find where it starts back up. Also detours .
Great way to spend the day peddling along the Green River. Well paved, hardly any grade, and lots of signs for easy to follow detours due to work on the levies. Not very crowded on a Tuesday afternoon.
Incredible that I’ve been speeding on the highways and bridges just above this trail For decades and never knew they were there! I finally got to explore this Trail and loved it. So many bridges!
Great ride on the first sunny day.
I've ridden the entire length of this trail once by myself and twice with my wife, who is new to riding. We both enjoy the ever changing scenery as the trail hugs the Green River. There are some iffy spots, mostly late in the day, due to some homeless encampments under some of the bridges/overpasses. On those portions of the trail, I usually take lead with her riding close by.
Bikers we've encountered are generally friendly folks.
It's a great place for exercise. The only problem I had is there are not enough bathrooms along the trail especially at the south end in Kent.
. . . be aware that after walking 15 minutes northward, the trail diverts from the river and becomes essentially a sidewalk along Interurban Ave. Then it briefly parallels, and then passes underneath, I-5. Ugh. But it resumes its more peaceful course next to the river just a few minutes' walk farther north.
Look for historical markers along that ugly stretch, too. There are at least two between the walkway and the river, and one mounted on a bridge.
You could start walking from the part of the trail right near I-5, parking in one of the nearby lots, and avoid that ugly part if you wanted to.
Where to start... Literally, like if you want to take the "trail" from the Kent starting point, there isn't trail-head parking. So that's your first spot of Road Riding with traffic if you weren't expecting it. Then coming from that direction the trail runs for a very short period then allows you to turn right and run out the little bit left and come out onto a road, OR walk under a homeless-haven bridge on a dirt and rock path, carrying your bike to rejoin the paved trail. All of this of course with no signage telling you where to go... Then the paved path continues for a short while and all of a sudden turns into a deeply grooved dirt and sod pocked trail for about 200 yards, which is fun on 25cm tires... Now you can actually get some paved path riding under your belt, if you have a GPS or cue sheet, because there is little to no signage for the foreseeable future. The paved trail just runs out all of a sudden with no warning and no signs telling you where to go, so better whip out your map or GPS. Now this is the second bit of Road Riding with Traffic on the "paved bike path", you need to go about a quarter mile or so to where the paved path intersects with the interurban trail. Now you get some more paved path riding, through apartment complexes and a golf course, until the trail runs out AGAIN and you need to do more Road Riding with Traffic on a road with no shoulders and no signage telling you where to go. We made it about 7.5 miles from the Kent entrance to the trail before calling it quits out of annoyance.
Do yourself a favor and ride something else, or maybe start from the other end, because this trail sucks from the Kent side in.
I shredded this trail today---my first ride in the Seattle area since moving here a few days ago. Besides some nut crushing root bulges in the path, this was a righteous ride. Beautiful scenery. You can really get into your meditative zone here. My four star review only comes because the path is VERY poorly marked. Luckily I had my phone tracking me so I could find my way back, there are plenty of "forks in the road". Radical ride though.
What a pleasant surprise to find this gem of a trail! Most of the trail from Kent to south Seattle followed the beautiful Green River. There was a lot of pretty scenery and many parks along the way with clean restrooms. There were several parts of the trail that appeared to be newly paved andwere a wide biking path. native NW plants, trees and shrubs.
We rode our tandem trike on this trail for the 1st time on 8/20/15. We needed to visit the King county courthouse, so decided to take our tandem trike and explore the ride. We started at Old Fishing Hole park, and rode towards town. Trail is a little confusing, it shares a piece with a lightly traveled road for about 1/3 of a mile. Most of the trail scenery is fabulous. Some sections of trail are very well marked. Other sections, not so much (we at least, got confused). We live in Spanaway. Southbound traffic on 167 becomes a parking lot after about 3pm, so, for us, weekends, or early morning rides on this trail are the only options. Overall, we liked the trail and will return. Our only other trail experiences are the Yelm Tenino trail (once) and the Orting trail 3 or 4 times a month. My partner Alex, loved the scenery. States it is the best to date.
We parked at the southern most area and some guy in the car next to us was smoking meth or heroin on foil. Not overly concerned about him, but two more shady characters seemed to be waiting for us to leave.... we did not park here; we went to the next parking area. The trail is confusing and takes you on and off of surface streets. Not a great trail. The area is a crap hole and we won't return.
A beautiful bike ride. The ride along the river has personality; the scenery changes with bridges, parks,woods, and the winding of the river as the path follows. The path is wide enough for foot travel and bikers. The shady spots help during hot days when it is really sunny. Also, the restroom availability helps when needed. This is one of my favorite trails. I keep returning for a bike ride.
Paved all the way, good variety of views and bridges, I'm still a newbie and had lots of fun. Few quick turns but fun :)
I have been running/walking on this trail for about 5 years. It is a great trail and safe. I will be happy when they remove the sandbags but all in all it is great.
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