The Great American Rail-Trail – Hike from Issaquah to Washington DC

The Rail to Trails Conservancy has launched its most ambitious trail project to date – The Great American Rail-Trail.  It will connect Washington DC to Washington State with a continuous trail for pedestrian and non-motorized travel.  Covering over 3700 miles, mostly on former rail lines, it will connect people and communities across the nation.  And little ol’ Issaquah is on the preferred route! 

The Route of the Great American Rail-Trail, passing through Issaquah

In our neck-of-the-woods, the route would utilize the existing East Lake Sammamish Trail, the Issaquah-Preston Trail and the Preston-Snoqualmie Trail.  Heading further east, the route utilizes the Snoqualmie Valley Trail.  So, here is the rub – a gap exists between Preston-Snoqualmie Trail and the Snoqualmie Valley Trail, as illustrated in the map below. 

The Preston-Snoqualmie Gap

Closing the gap is a problem that begs for a solution, but the solution has not yet been identified. The abutting trails are under the jurisdiction of the King County Parks, so no doubt they will be part of the future solution. This also fits within the conceptual domain of the Leafline Trails Coalition, a newly formed organization to advance the cause of regional trail interconnections (leaflinetrails.org).

Continuing eastward, the Snoqualmie Valley Trail connects nicely to the Palouse to Cascades Trail at Rattlesnake Lake, which takes travelers all the way to eastern Washington.  Thus, the route from Seattle to Ellensburg is in pretty good shape with just the Preston-Snoqualmie gap to deal with.  Overall, there are 15 gaps in the state totaling 182 miles out of 551 miles (70% complete)!

The story of trails in and around Issaquah just keeps getting better and better – further advancing our favorite nickname: “Trailhead City.”

You can learn more about this great project here: www.railstotrails.org/greatamericanrailtrail/