I sometimes have a hard time staying on my bike while riding in Seattle because I stop to take a lot of pictures. We really have some good views in this city and many of those views are part of easy bike routes. I have at least 5 rides that I come back to a lot and they are also the ones that I like to share with visitors and new bike riders. These are all starting at my house in Beacon Hill but they can be started anywhere in the loop. Or you could take the light rail and start at the Beacon Hill station. Lets start with a loop of Chief Sealth Trail to Rainier Beach, to Seward Park, Lake Washington Blvd and back on the I-90 trail to the Beacon Hill Greenway. This route is about 16.5 miles.
I start by taking the Beacon Hill Neighborhood greenway to Jefferson Park and then taking the lower trail near 15th. I then go on Columbia to Beacon Ave and go a couple of blocks to where the Chief Sealth trail is. I really like going down this trail. It is a long way to the bottom where you wind your way through some newer small houses and end up at the Rainier Beach Link station. This picture below is from August but the grass is green most of the year.
Along the Chief Sealth trail there are several pea patches which are really popular and have gotten rather huge.
In Rainier Beach, I head East on Henderson until I hit the Lake Washington Loop trail. It is a little narrow in place but you can pretty easily ride on the shoulder. It rises up gradually until you then take a steep road down to Seward Park. The picture below is a ghost bike memorializing where a car went into the other lane and killed a biker going downhill. It is a reminder to me that you can still get hit even though you are biking safely.
Seward Park is my favorite park in the city. We love to hang out here on hot days in the summer and cool off in the water. In the winter, we bike or walk the trails. The best way to get to this park is by bike because there really isn’t that much parking. It is also tough to get their by car sometimes because Lake Washington Blvd is closed to cars on summer weekends. I like to ride to the Northern tip of the park to hang out far from the car people. But we also have some favorite willow trees on the West side we can camp out for hours in the sun.
The rest of the way to I-90 there are tons of other places to hang out next the water. They are equally relaxing as the places in the park but some are far away from bathrooms. Really great views all along here and is one of the best places in the city for biking.
Right before I-90 there is a winding road through Colman that was built decades ago with bikes in mind. It will get you up to the top of hill easily around a few hairpin turns.
You can then meet up with the I-90 trail and go through the tunnel to Sam Smith park. It is another great little park with some amazing fall colors.
I then take the trail to the Beacon Hill greenway and take the gradual slope back home. About 16.5 miles all together. I have done this loop many many times at all different times of the year. Next post will be about my number 2 favorite ride along the Lake North of I-90 to the arboretum.