Bike rides in Washington

Explore 7 rail-trail, greenway and park ride options in Washington, with route lengths, surfaces, access notes and starting locations. These are selected recreational outings, not an exhaustive trail inventory. Read each guide’s scope and access cautions before choosing a ride.

7 ride guides · alphabetical order

• Burke-Gilman Trail: short return from Gas Works

  Seattle

  Up to 2 miles return · Out and back

  Paved multi-use rail-trail

  Join the Burke-Gilman Trail beside the park parking lot and ride east up to one mile before retracing. Follow the signed shared trail, turning before any crossing or work barrier you do not want to negotiate.

• Columbia Plateau — Cheney to Fish Lake return

  Cheney

  7.5 mi · Out and back

  Asphalt rail trail on the designated northern section.

  Ride the 3.75-mile asphalt section between the Columbia Plateau State Park Trail’s Cheney and Fish Lake trailheads, then return the same way for about 7.5 miles. A shorter return is fine. This guide stays on the improved northern pavement; it leaves out the gravel continuation and the undeveloped southern corridor.

• Karen Fraser Woodland Trail — Eastside short return

  Olympia

  1.7 mi · Out and back

  Asphalt bicycle and pedestrian trail; parallel crushed-rock path excluded.

  Take a short paved ride from Olympia’s Eastside Street Trailhead to the approach to Frederick Street, then return the same way. The City’s map labels this first leg 0.86 miles, making the return about 1.7 miles, plus the walked parking approach. Turn around before entering the Frederick Street crossing.

• Lake Crescent — Spruce Railroad lakeside return

  Lake Crescent, Olympic National Park

  8.0 mi · Out and back

  Mostly paved rail trail with restored tunnels.

  Follow the four-mile Spruce Railroad Trail along Lake Crescent’s north shore, then return the same way for about eight miles. You can turn around earlier. This outing follows the designated shared trail between its eastern and western trailheads; the western Olympic Discovery Trail extension is outside this guide.

• Salmon Creek — picnic-junction return

  Vancouver area

  2.6 mi · Out and back

  Paved main trail.

  This short outing follows the paved Salmon Creek Greenway main trail from the softball-field access to the picnic-table junction below Cougar Creek, then returns the same way. Allow about 2.6 miles, plus the walked approach from parking. The distance comes from doubling the older county map’s 1.3-mile main-trail segment; it is approximate and has not been surveyed for this guide.

• Snohomish Centennial — Armar Road head: short bicycle return

  Arlington

  Up to 4 miles return · Out-and-back

  Paved main multi-use rail trail

  Follow the signed main path south toward Lake Cassidy on the paved main Centennial Trail. Turn after 2 outward miles or before the first public-road crossing, work barrier, uncertain continuation or uncomfortable transition, whichever comes first; retrace. Walk any initial lot or access-drive interface. Do not use a road or private-property detour.

• Vancouver Lake — Frenchmans Bar paved connector: short bicycle return

  Vancouver

  Up to 2 miles return · Out-and-back

  Twelve-foot paved shared-use connector; not gravel/dirt park loops

  Follow the signed main path on the signed separate paved connector toward Frenchmans Bar. Turn after 1 outward mile or before the first public-road crossing, work barrier, uncertain continuation or uncomfortable transition, whichever comes first; retrace. Walk any initial lot or access-drive interface. Do not use a road or private-property detour.