Pacific Northwest - longest flat road segment around Seattle?

I'd like to find out the best options for a personal TT ride in the greater Seattle area. My intention is to use this route to train for and track my flats performance. I'll probably extend it to ~10-15 miles with as many laps as necessary.

Here are my criteria in order of importance:

- no MUP
- minimum interruptions (stop signs, lights, car turns etc)
- as flat as possible
- as long as possible

The best alternative I know of so far is the northbound bike lane on Willows Road in Redmond, which is has almost no interruptions, is perfectly flat but is only about 2.2 miles long.

Any suggestions appreciated.

Lowell Snomohish River Road runs ~5 miles along the Snohomish River from just south of the town of Snohomish to Everett. Except for the westernmost few hundred yards, the road is quite flat and (IIRC) has no cross roads or stop signs.

http://g.co/maps/tjmpu

Lk Washington Blvd is almost completely flat from Seward Park to Madrona and is about 6 miles. I used to ride it all the time and it is a popular training route, and a nice one at that.

zacster: Thanks for reminding Lk Wa Blvd. It didn't even occur to me because even though I ride that road a lot I always take the I90 trail after Leschi. I knew the segment from Seward to Madrona/Leschi was pretty flat and uninterrupted, but I didn't realize it was that long.

Lowell Road also looks promising, but it's a bit far. I'll give it a try sometime nevertheless.

If anyone else is reading this, I'd still like to hear other alternatives (would be a good follow up to the recent "hardest climbs in Seattle" thread)

A popular and common place is SE Green Valley Road, approx. ~7.4 mi from the turnoff of Auburn-Blk Diamond Rd to the intersection of 218th Ave SE. During the Green River TT, its a 5 mile course from the intersection to the bridge and back.

http://bit.ly/rZ5yOG

Here's the info on the Green river TT: http://www.supersquadra.com/Events/icebreaker2011.aspx

Interurban trail is mostly flat from Greenwood all the way up to the everett, though has some lights/stops.

Lk Washington Blvd is almost completely flat from Seward Park to Madrona and is about 6 miles. I used to ride it all the time and it is a popular training route, and a nice one at that.

Yep. Nice ride, and this is the longest flat section I know of in the whole city. Maybe near Alki, too. Lake Wash doesn't have any lights or stop signs while it's flat. If you're lucky, you can fight the wind for half of your laps.

Yep i second the green valley road. Plus it's just a really nice area to ride in.

Highway 162 (Pioneer Way) from Sumner to South Prairie 14 miles one way

Flat with 120' elevation grain from where Valley Ave (it's name in Sumer) crosses 410 to Orting in 7 miles. There are six stop lights but three of them are almost always green for 162. Pretty good shoulders but lots of traffic. It is then another 7 miles to South Prairie with about 230' gain and NO stop lights or stop signs. Very good shoulders and not so much traffic.

The Foothills Bike Path parallels 162 but I've been riding the 162 shoulder for 30 years with no problems.

The scenery on a clear day is astounding as you ride toward Mt Ranier. The summit is only 32 miles from Orting.

I agree with prior the Green River Valley Road suggestions - it is fun and scenic

Almost forgot about Mercer island- W Mercer way to E Mercer way is about 10.3 miles, relatively flat when stretched over the distance. Ok a few bumps but still no stops and great in either direction.

http://bit.ly/sfFw6y

Lowell Snomohish River Road runs ~5 miles along the Snohomish River from just south of the town of Snohomish to Everett. Except for the westernmost few hundred yards, the road is quite flat and (IIRC) has no cross roads or stop signs.

http://g.co/maps/tjmpu

+1 for this.

Also in the past I've done laps and laps connecting Willows Rd, 124th St, 154th Pl, and 116th St by going in a clockwise loop. 2.8 miles or so each loop. Most of the loop is flat but there is a slight uphill along 154th Pl followed by a fun short steep descent at the east end of 116th St to keep it interesting.

Almost forgot about Mercer island- W Mercer way to E Mercer way is about 10.3 miles, relatively flat when stretched over the distance. Ok a few bumps but still no stops and great in either direction.

http://bit.ly/sfFw6y


Almost forgot about Mercer island- W Mercer way to E Mercer way is about 10.3 miles, relatively flat when stretched over the distance. Ok a few bumps but still no stops and great in either direction.

http://bit.ly/sfFw6y

The Mercer Island loop is pretty sketchy right now though, at least it was Sunday before last. Lots of wet leaves all over the road, and it seems like it will be wet roads there for quite some time.

Lake Wash seems like the best bet for being closest and having reasonable few stops. The wind can be killer though =]

Monroe - Tualco - West Snoqualmie - Carnation - cross the river and head south.
This is used by the Flying Wheels Cascade ride. Not totally flat, but go ride it and pick out the longer flatter pieces for some variety.
Snohomish area: West on 1st or 2nd, Riverview/Riverside, Home Acres Road, east to the east end of the ground-level road under the "trestle" -- Again, not totally flat, but pretty much so. With a few miles through Everett, you can combine this with the Lowell-Snohomish section mentioned by KeithM0.
Or, clockwise if you want to go down to cross the RR tracks in Lowell: south of Snohomish, Springhetti Road to Broadway, right turn, all the way back to Lowell, right at Lowell, cross the RR and return to Snohomish.

The Mercer Island loop is pretty sketchy right now though, at least it was Sunday before last. Lots of wet leaves all over the road, and it seems like it will be wet roads there for quite some time.

I ride the Mercer Island loop at least once a week and other than this week's crummy weather the loop has been quite doable. If I want to extend it I ride down to Jean Coulon Park in Renton. From there I can choose to return via the same route or loop around the south end of Lake Washington and across the I-90 bridge. This is not a overly flat route but I would rate it as quite easy. And beautiful on a clear day!

Monroe - Tualco - West Snoqualmie - Carnation - cross the river and head south.
This is used by the Flying Wheels Cascade ride. Not totally flat, but go ride it and pick out the longer flatter pieces for some variety.


This is my home ground and where my wife and I ride the most. The farm roads in the Snoqualmie River Valley are a cyclists dream! Other than when the river overflows its banks... ;-) I see LOTS of TT folks out there logging miles.

It's only 4 miles or so each way, but W Snoqualmie road from Fall City to Tolt Hill is about as flat as they get. It's apparently good for TT training judging by the activity on Strava.

Interurban trail is mostly flat from Greenwood all the way up to the everett, though has some lights/stops.

Is it really flat? Or is it a gentle grade uphill going northwards?

Interurban trail is mostly flat from Greenwood all the way up to the everett, though has some lights/stops.

"Some lights/stops". That's quite an understatement - getting through the Alderwood area is like navigating Times Square at rush hour.

- Mark

cedar river is a MUP, i road it once, and saw maybe one other cyclist on the trail

cedar river is a MUP, i road it once, and saw maybe one other cyclist on the trail

Yep, very little traffic once you get outside of the Renton city limits. You're also free to ramp up the speed, it's a posted 10 MPH limit until you get beyond the golf course/park. There's only one stop, at the Cedar Grove intersection, until Maple Valley. And a very small grade - approximately 1% - the entire way.

Dude, you need to define what exactly you mean by "Seattle". City limits? Downtown proper? Surrounding areas?

Toddles is right. There's Seattle, eg within city limits, and there's the rest of Washington, where ... this isn't trollheim, so I'll shut up now.

If your in Seattle the Burke Gilman trail is your closest bet to riding. the best way to go is starting at Gas Works Park and riding north till you want to turn around. Probably Lake City would be out 7 miles or so. You can go over 30 miles on that trail to Redmond that connects with the Sammamish trail. Little or no lights and flat. Lots of good stops , bathrooms in parks, small towns. Gets pretty busy when the weather gets better

I ride that everyday but it's not exactly in Seattle (not for very long anyway) and I can think of a quite a few others. But the OP hasn't been around to review his responses.. which makes me think he really doesn't care... so I'm not going to give 'em to him.

RE: the Burke -- OP did say "no MUP"