Interurban Trail

This is an interesting ride that takes you from 110^th in Seattle to 41^st in Everett – about 24 miles one way.  Some of it is on streets and there is an element of route finding until you get to about Lynnwood (and then again in Everett north of the mall.)

Here is a commentary on the route organized as a “what’s wrong with the Interurban.” [I guess I’m famous now…]

Despite the complaints, there are long stretches of this trail where the pavement is good and smooth and where there are very few street crossings. Shoreline spent a lot of money upgrading their segment of the trail and it is really posh relative to the stretches immediately north and south of it. Seattle paved the stretch between 110th and 135th – but it isn’t exactly “posh.” (in 2013 Seattle opened a “cycle track” on the Linden segment between 130th and 145th.  It is mostly good, but really a multi-use trail and not adequately protected for all of the pedestrians that use it.)  Edmonds, in 2012 built trail in an alley that connects from Montlake Terrace to Meridian – too bad they didn’t continue on up their right-of-way and put in a crossing at the transit center.  There are more developments in the works in Lynnwood that will improve things. The State DOT has built a bridge across I-5 just north of 128th and plans something connected to the trail at swamp creek in Lynwood (or so they say.)  Lynwood is fixing the missing link between the transit center and 96th so that the route ought to be straight forward and much more contiguous sometime fairly soon. (UPDATE – In February 2010 construction had started and by August it was done.)

For now, expect detours around the electric substations blocking the path. Expect traffic around Alderwood Mall, a bad gap in the trail next to the drive-in theatre at 128th, and on-again off-again trail in Everett. It’s worth doing and it connects to a lot of other stuff.

For example, here is a description of a bunch of routes between the interurban and Bothell.

Here is a link to the proposed 7 mile long North Creek trail in Mill Creek that would link the Interurban trail to the Sammamish waterway trail.

Here is a link to a history of the Interurban Trolly line.

Here is a link to the Snohomish Country Interurban trail brochure and map. (and a new, improved map)

Here is a link to a map of the route done in TOPO!. (Be aware that this is a very large file)

There are missing links in Mountlake Terrace and Edmonds here’s a discussion of the plan to build the Edmonds section, (update) and here’s a diagram of the route through Mountlake Terrace

(Here is a map of the area with the Edmonds segment; showing the old trolly right-of-way – and an update of plans to build the Edmonds segment of the trail.)  FALL 2011 UPDATE – CONSTRUCTION SEEMS TO BE UNDERWAY IN EDMONDS!  page 1  / page 2  / map – articles about start of construction.  As of Thanksgiving 2011 the alley is paved but the right-of-way between 74^th and 76^th is still under construction.  They’ve painted sharrows and a bike lane on 76^th.

Here is the route through Lynnwood (although the section right around the transit center is out of date.)

Here is a link to the Shoreline Inturburban trail map.

Here is a link to the Seattle Interurban trail page on their website and a copy of their map. Here is an email talking about the construction in 2005.  FALL 2011 UPDATE:  Here’s a city webpage talking about fixing the gap between 130th and 145th.  Here’s the designs.

All the way north is the Bellingham Interurban trail.

(Of historic interest, here is an article about the pedestrian bridge over I-5 at 124th – and here is an update. Here is a link to a gallery of photos taken of the Shoreline Interurban trail on a rainy day.)