Want to enjoy an early autumn hike without having to drive? Trailhead Direct continuing through Oct. 27-28 weekend
Summary
Trailhead Direct – the popular transit-to-trails service co-led by King County Metro and King County Parks with additional funding from Seattle Department of Transportation, REI Co-op and Clif Bar and Company – will continue operating every weekend through October.
Story
Summer is over, but King County’s
Trailhead Direct will continue to offer convenient weekend service to popular hiking trails in the Issaquah Alps and Cascade Mountains through October.Trailhead Direct is co-led by King County Metro and King County Parks, with additional funding from Seattle Department of Transportation, REI Co-op and Clif Bar and Company, and offers transit-to-trails service to some of the most popular hiking destinations in the region, including Mount Si, the Issaquah Alps, and Mailbox Peak.
The partners will evaluate the pilot project at the end of the six-month-long season, which concludes following the weekend of Oct. 27-28. They are inviting the public to participate in a short survey that will help shape the service in 2019, which will be the second year of the two-year pilot project.
Trailhead Direct launched its first route in April, offering transit van service near the Mount Baker Transit Center to multiple hiking trails in the Issaquah Alps. In May, a second route began service from Sound Transit’s Capitol Hill Link light rail station to Mount Si.
A third route offering service from Twin Falls Middle School in North Bend to the Mailbox Peak trailhead opened in June, and could end sooner than the other routes, based on demand.
The weekend and holiday service operates 13- to 32-seat transit vans with the capacity for two bicycles each trip. Passengers pay Metro’s standard $2.75 fare. Passengers can pay with an ORCA card, Transit Go Mobile ticket, or cash.
Dogs can ride at the discretion of the operator under Metro’s guidelines. Passengers with larger, non-service dogs could need to pay an additional fare.
Additional Trailhead Direct partners include the cities of Issaquah and North Bend, the ECCOS, Issaquah Alps Trail Club, Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust, Outdoors For All Foundation, Si View Metropolitan Park District, The Mountaineers, The Wilderness Society, TOTAGO, U.S. Forest Service, Washington State Department of Natural Resources, and Washington Trails Association.
RELEVANT LINKS:
• Take the 2018 end-of-season Trailhead Direct survey
• Trailhead Direct routes and schedules
• Video: Expanding popular transit-to-trails service
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Doug Williams, King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks, 206-477-4543