Pacific Northwest - Looking for good rides with kids

My wife and I are looking for new places to ride with our children. Our six year old daughter is on a trail-a-bike and our two year old son is in a trailer. We have ridden the Burke/Sammamish River trail to the point of boredom. We enjoy the Centennial trail and have ridden the Snoqualmie Valley trail also. We are looking for some quiet roads with nice shoulders and speed limits of 35 mph or under ideally. Does anyone have any good suggestions on rides in northern or eastern King County or Snohomish County that you would recommend for a family?

Thanks,
Robert

I've not ridden it, but the Chief Sealth Trail is supposed to be fun, have great views, and be relatively quiet.

http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/chiefsealthtrail.htm

I will have to give that trail a ride. We are also going to ride the Cedar River Trail and explore the south end of Lake Washington a bit.

Does anyone have an opinion on High Bridge Road? Google street view shows great shoulders in parts, but no shoulders in other sections. Does it get much traffic?
Thanks,
Robert

Hi Robert, A few things to note on the chief Sealth trail. The trail is easier going south bound rather then north bound. Not as many hills to climb going south although there are a couple that may give your daughter a work out. Also, the trail is not a round a bout meaning when you turn around to get back to your starting point it will all be up hill. One option would be to take two cars and park one at the end of the ride or have one person ride back up the trail to get the car (wouldn't take long). The trail will drop you off on Rainier and Henderson then the last part of the trail is one BIG hill and thats the end. I usually ride over to Seward Park so i turn onto hendeson and skip the hill. Biginning of the trail South bound is maybe 2-3 blocks south of Alaska on Beacon Hill. Good Luck. Brad

Does anyone have an opinion on High Bridge Road? Google street view shows great shoulders in parts, but no shoulders in other sections. Does it get much traffic?

I ride High Bridge road quite a bit. You're correct that the shoulder width varies. It's also pretty hilly in parts, typically rolling hills but one fairly steep hill (but short). The traffic is fairly light, but I wouldn't say non-existent. I haven't ever felt threatened nor have I been 'buzzed'. There is one local there that likes to honk his horn continuously while passing. I just smile and wave at him like we're buddies. :thumb:

Sometime I take a diversion from High Bridge road and head south onto Welch Road (right just after the steep hill under 522) and head over to Lost Lake Road. Now that road has some light traffic.

The Cedar River Trail, which you've mentioned, would be nice.

Also, in downtown Seattle, would be the the Myrtle Edwards Trail -- not as long as what you're used to riding, though.

We just had a nice, but wet, ride on the Cedar River Trail this morning. It was nice once we got out of Renton. We didn't quite make it to the end as the cold and rain were getting to our daughter. Not exactly tranquil with 169 right there, but pedaling along the River was nice. It seemed like the place to be today as we saw no fewer than five cycling teams on our ride.

I will give High Bridge a test by myself before we bring the kids. It seems like a good solution, but the trailers with no shoulder makes me nervous.

The Chief Sealth Trail sounds fun too. It might be a nice detour off the Burke if we link it up with Lake Washington Boulevard. The hills are not much of a concern. We live on Finn Hill, so if we ride more than a couple of miles in any direction we have a big hill to climb to get home.

I realize this may be out of the area you requested. But check out the Foothills Trail in Pierce County. It's great for family rides. Most people start in Orting and go upstream the Carbon River toward South Prarie and back. That section is a very wooded trail along the river. Between Orting and Puyallup it's more open with a spectacular view of the mountain. But you can start from anywhere.
Here's the link. Enjoy :-)

http://www.piercecountytrails.org/

FYI...Chief Stealth has some big hills.

A nice flat, quiet ride that I enjoy is the Cedar River Trail from Renton to Maple Valley. Usually not crowded and scenic in most places.

http://www.kingcounty.gov/recreation/parks/trails/regionaltrailssystem/cedarriver.aspx

+1 on the Foothills trail

The foothills trail looks great. We have family in the south sound, so we could hit that in conjunction with a visit.

Try to plan to go on a clear sunny day. The view of the mountain as you ride/drive between Puyallup and Orting is worth the drive.
Also. The Tacoma Wheelmens will have a biking event based in Orting, called the 35th Annual Daffodil Classic on 4/18/2010. It has three different routes. One of them is on the Foothills trail itself.

Here's a link

http://www.twbc.org/events/daffodil/