STAND anywhere in downtown Seattle — take your pick — and you’ll never be more than a couple of miles (at the most) from water or woods.
Go a little further, and chances are, the only signs there is a city anywhere nearby would be a few more cars than on your typical country back road, or a sign announcing new homes about to be built.
Proximity to the great outdoors is what really defines the city — everything else is just extra. It’s no accident that three of the most popular things to do in the city are a) go up the Space Needle and look at all those mountains out there, weather permitting; b) go to the Ballard neighborhood for the purposes of watching salmon going up the fish ladder at Chittenden Locks, and c) drive up the hill to Snoqualmie Falls, which is no Niagara, but then again, if it were, you’d be in Niagara Falls, not the heart of the beautiful Snoqualmie Valley.
Just twenty miles or so from the Pike Place Market, the valley is one of many green and pleasant lands hugging the Cascade Range, but there’s something special about this place, which stretches from up near suburban Redmond, home of Microsoft, all the way over east of North Bend, the old lumber town that featured prominently in the ’90s cult television show, “Twin Peaks”.
Here in the Snoqualmie, you can duck out of the ever-growing megacity Seattle has become, if only for an afternoon; with a good map, you can disappear on to narrow roads that run past marshes, farm fields, horse farms and the occasional golf course, see fields of wildflowers in bloom, see eagles circling overhead. And people on bikes. Lots of them.
Cycling is one of the most popular pastimes in the region — just check out the bike racks on front of the city buses. Trails thread the city, suburbs and state like veins on a leaf. You can spend days wandering around everything from farmland to city; deep woods to waterfront. Seattle has the largest bike club in the country, Cascade, with 11,000 members, an office, a slick newsletter, community projects, a paid communications director, even. The state has been named best for cycling in the nation by the League of American Bicyclists for the second year in a row.
Yes, you can do some seriously heavy rides. For instance, RAMROD, the Ride Around Mount Rainier, which covers 154 miles and 10,000 feet of climb in a single day. For the rest of us, there are plenty of easy country jaunts — just pick up a bike and take off on your own. Here are several trails and routes, none of them more than 40 miles, that are as easy as it gets in this part of the country:
* CENTENNIAL TRAIL This one is north of Seattle in Snohomish County and takes you on gently rolling hills through rural countryside with fields of flowers, lakes, rivers, farms and grasslands. You can picnic just about anywhere along the 17 miles and after you’re done, visit First Avenue alongside the Snohomish River, with its antique shops, cute cafes and, oh yes, killer ice cream.
* FALL CITY/CARNATION From the Snoqualmie Valley village of Fall City, you’ve got a choice of the main highway (WA 203) or a quiet lane (Neal Road) for part of the ride. Either way, it’s farms, flowers and sweet cut grass. Head up to Remlinger Farms; if its in season, you’ll find it for sale here — there’s a kiddie area and a restaurant on site as well. Or, head back to Fall City for peanut butter milkshakes at Small Fryes, a hopelessly uncool burger shack that packs ’em in on warm afternoons. If you’ve eaten too much, ask for directions up to the Snoqualmie Valley Trail, an easy ride through the area, following an old rail bed.
* FOOTHILLS TRAIL This is south of Seattle in Pierce County. It winds for 30 miles through small forests, into small towns, alongside an active railroad track and past farms with cows, buffalo and goats. But the real feature is the Carbon River, South Prairie Creek, and the railroad trestles crossing them. There are plenty of rest stops, a couple of coffee stands and lots of funky restaurants along the way. From Puyallup (edge of VanLierop Bulb Farm, which is worth a visit itself), this trail ends 15 miles later in the town of South Prairie.
* GREEN VALLEY ROAD TO FLAMING GEYSER PARK This isn’t a trail but, rather, a country road. You can start at a small park and ride on the south side of WA18 and head south past Green Valley Meats (neon green building with some of the best jerky anywhere in a dozen flavors) down through farmland with crops and cows, past the Canter-berry Farms (do NOT miss this place — blueberry picking in season and killer jams the rest of the time). You wind up at Flaming Geyser Park with picnic benches by the river and, yes, a real flaming geyser, though it’s only a few inches high.
* SAMMAMISH RIVER TRAIL This is the country half of a 27-mile series of trails that eventually go into Seattle itself. You start at Marymoor Park in Redmond, heading north past playgrounds, athletic fields, parks with benches for picnics and suburban farms into tony Woodinville. This isn’t any old collection of flowers but, rather, one of the most extensive and beautiful plant nurseries anywhere. We’re talking acres of flowers and crafts. Then continue on a few miles to Bothell Landing with its playground, friendly ducks and chickens and the Bothell Historical Society Museum which is an old pioneer home with all kinds of turn of century goodies plus a schoolhouse and log cabin. If you get adventurous, there’s the rest of the trail (now called the Burke Gilman) which skirts the north end of Lake Washington eventually cutting through the University of Washington and down to the quirky Seattle neighborhood of Fremont. On the way back, just south of Woodinville, there’s one more stop . . . a cluster of liquor, lodging and dining where the trail intersects Woodinville’s Northeast 145th Street. It includes the intimate Willows Lodge, the seriously gourmet Herbfarm restaurant and more casual Barking Frog bistro, Columbia Winery, Redhook Brewery and, just to the south, the Chateau Ste. Michelle winery.
TRIPS AND RENTALS
Renting a bike is easy; renting one near the region’s best and/or easiest rides, trickier. Start by renting a minivan or SUV that will have enough room for you to stow a couple of bikes, or ask at Montlake Bike Shop (with locations in Seattle and suburban Kirkland) if they have any racks for rent; they also rent out bikes (www.montlakebike.com).
For a list of area rental shops, visit www.cascade.org.
For regional trail listings, visit www.kingcounty.gov and www.communitytransit.org.