Foothills Trail, The

Project summary

King County Parks is initiating the design and construction of a one-mile segment of the Foothills Trail (formerly known as the Enumclaw Plateau Trail) along right-of-way owned by the King County Parks and Recreation Division. The trail segment begins at 252nd Avenue South, just outside and south of the City of Enumclaw, and continues along a former railroad route to its terminus just north of Mud Mountain Road.

The first phase of construction will be a soft surfaced trail, an improved crossing at 252nd street and the installation of a new pedestrian footbridge over a small stream that bisects the trail. The design and construction of this segment of trail is an important phase in the overall development of the greenway from the White River to near Kanaskat Palmer State Park.

The second phase, to pave the trail will be completed as funds are available.

When completed, the Foothills Trail will be 33 miles long, extending from the City of Puyallup, across the White River, ending near Kanaskat Palmer State Park.

The current project follows the abandoned historic Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway line between Enumclaw and Buckley. It is anticipated that a future bridge will be constructed across the White River to connect the trail between King and Pierce counties.

Project schedule

Project Cost Estimates

The following are estimates for the cost to design and construct the Foothills Trail. At this time the project is in the Design Development phase and the estimates are considered preliminary:

Estimated costs for Design, Permitting, Construction Oversight (Phase I and Phase II):
$480,000.00

Estimated Costs for Construction (Phase I and Phase II):
$1.5 Million

White River Pedestrian Bridge

A pedestrian bridge across the White River will connect the Foothills Trail in Pierce County to the Foothills Trail in King County. A partnership between King County Parks, the cities of Enumclaw and Buckley, and Pierce County was formed to study the feasibility of crossing the White River with a new pedestrian bridge. The partnership commissioned a feasibility study in 2006, and hired KPFF Engineering of Seattle to identify the most appropriate route and design approach. A link to the feasiblity study can be found under the project documents heading on this webpage.

The Foothills Trail in Pierce County

Learn more about the Foothills Trail in Pierce County

Project documents

• White River Pedestrian Trail Feasibility Study (2008, PDF 29MB)

• Comments from Project Open House

Contractor and/or Consultant

Don Helling, Project Engineer
Huitt Zollars, Inc
814 E. Pike Street
Seattle, Washington 98122

Staff contact

For more information, please contact:

Kelly Donahue
Project Manager, Facilities Management Division
201 S. Jackson St. #700
Seattle, WA 98104
Kelly.Donahue@KingCounty.gov
Phone: 206-263-7280
Fax: 206-263-6217