Washington’s Eastrail: July 2026 Trail of the Month
With its lofty height and 1,000 foot breadth, the Wilburton Trestle is expected to be a stunner along Washington’s developing Eastrail. “I think the Wilburton Trestle will be a spot in and of itself to visit,” said Katherine Hollis, executive director of the nonprofit Eastrail Partners. “It is going to have spectacular views of downtown Bellevue, Seattle, Lake Washington and the Olympics [mountain range].”
The highly anticipated refurbishment of the largest wooden trestle in the Pacific Northwest is expected to be completed mid-2027 and will add 2 more miles to the growing Eastrail. Stretching through Seattle’s tech-rich eastern suburbs, the Eastrail will one day span 42 miles and become a major spine in the regional trail system, connecting to a handful of other trails. Kirkland resident Bill Finkbeiner, an early advocate for the Eastrail, recalls the trail being likened to a computer network by a Kirkland city official in the project’s formative years. It’s a description he found apt. “Each additional piece of infrastructure that connects makes it exponentially more valuable. It just keeps building.”
Organizers say early planning focused on seamlessly integrating the trail with existing and yet-to-be-built transit stations, as well as with major highways, employment centers and neighborhoods. “It is an emerging trail, but it’s also been so intentionally planned with transit that we really talk about the Eastrail being for trail and transit needs,” said Hollis.
This article was originally published in the Spring/Summer 2026 issue of Rails to Trails magazine and has been reposted here in an edited format. Subscribe to read more articles about remarkable trails while also supporting our work.
Key Partnerships
Curt Warber, King County’s program manager for the Eastrail, emphasizes the powerful collaborations that have helped to accelerate its process. “If there is one story that makes this trail what it is, it’s the story of partnerships between the different developers and owners and the different community supporters who have all come together to really try and make this an exceptional trail.”
The project benefited from partnerships right from the start, when the Port of Seattle bought the discontinued Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) right-of-way and then sold segments to the various involved entities. Seattle attorney Matt Cohen, who got involved early on when he worked with King County to try to put together a package to buy the entire right-of-way from BNSF, noted that when the county purchase did not happen because of the high price tag, the Port of Seattle stepped in. “The port got involved because there was a consensus in the region that the right-of-way should not be allowed to lapse, to evaporate,” he said.
Warber added, “When it was railbanked and acquired from Burlington Northern, it was kind of a complicated transaction, and it ended up with mixed ownership. So, there’s ownership by Snohomish County, by King County, and right now, the cities of Woodinville, Redmond and Kirkland also own segments of it. Sound Transit also owns a mile of it.”
Despite the complexity of the ownership, the Eastrail has enjoyed a relatively accelerated development schedule. Warber said that not long after the original railbanking occurred sometime between 2008 and 2010, segments began opening to the public.
Private Sector Support
Along with the widespread governmental cooperation that has helped to fuel the Eastrail, the project has also been the beneficiary of extensive support from companies based in the region. Of the $291 million that has gone into the project so far, $19 million is from private sector investments.
Those contributions have come from companies such as REI, Meta and Amazon, and the project has also benefited from a public-private partnership between Google and the City of Kirkland for development of the multiuse Feriton Spur Park located along the trail in the heart of Google’s Sixth Street campus.
Alicia Harvie, REI’s senior manager in community and government affairs, said the company has provided just over $1 million in support to Eastrail Partners since 2019. She said that funding has gone toward “providing capital for the Eastrail’s construction—such as for the development of the Northrup Connector not far from our Bellevue store—and more broadly providing operating support for the organization’s work to convene communities, businesses and governments to raise awareness, secure funding for the trail, and to connect people to each other and to the trail.”
Continued Progress
Currently, the Eastrail consists of 18 open miles, with several gaps scheduled to be filled in the coming year or two. More mileage is also being planned in Snohomish County; that section was railbanked in a separate transaction in recent years, and the trail there is in the planning stages.
Adding to the momentum are several projects that will add mileage and access to the corridor. The first was scheduled for spring 2026 with Sound Transit’s late-March opening of the Crosslake Connection. “What they’re just finishing up now is the connection along the I-90 Floating Bridge,” Warber explained. “When that opens, you’ll have a direct connection between the east and west sides [of Greater Seattle]. You’ll be able to get on light rail in downtown Seattle and go over to the Wilburton Station [along the Eastrail in Bellevue].”
Cohen, who has been involved with rail-trails around the county, said the Eastrail has enjoyed widespread community support. “It’s heavily used, and it is enthusiastically promoted by the governments developing it. All the things that you think about with people enjoying a recreation amenity, you can check off for Eastrail.”
Related Links
Trail Facts
Name: Eastrail
Used railroad corridor: The route follows the former Burlington Northern Santa Fe line, built in the early 1900s.
Trail website: eastrail.org
Length: The trail is planned as a 42-mile route; 18 miles are currently open.
Counties: King, Snohomish
Start point/end point: The Eastrail corridor runs through the Seattle suburbs on the east side of Lake Washington, from Renton to Snohomish.
Surface type: About 6 miles of open trail are paved with asphalt; the remaining 12 miles have a packed gravel surface that is comfortable for road bikes and wheelchairs.
Grade: The Eastrail has a relatively flat railroad grade.
Uses: Walking, bicycling, inline skating; wheelchair accessible
Difficulty: With its wide, flat route, the trail is generally considered an easy experience for most abilities.
Getting there: Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (17801 International Blvd., Seattle) is the closest major airport, located roughly 10 miles from the southern end of the Eastrail in Renton.
Access and parking: Parking is available along the Eastrail’s south segment at Gene Coulon Memorial Beach Park (1201 Lake Washington Blvd. N., Renton) and at Newcastle Beach Park, (4400 Lake Washington Blvd. SE, Bellevue).
To navigate the area with an interactive GIS map, and to see more photos, user reviews and ratings, plus loads of other trip-planning information, visit TrailLink™, RTC’s comprehensive trail guide, to view the Eastrail’s north and south segments.
Rentals: The Line Bicycle Experience has a handful of locations in the area offering bike rentals, including its Bellevue shop (11646 SE 5th St.) along the Eastrail.
Donate
Everyone deserves access to safe ways to walk, bike, and be active outdoors.
