Today I did a long one-way hike up the Coal Creek Trail, over the top of Cougar Mountain, and down to Issaquah Transit Center. This was a bus-assisted hike - I parked at Eastgate Park & Ride and took the Metro 240 bus to the start of the lower Coal Creek Trail on 119th Ave SE. More info on the route of this hike can be found here:

https://sites.google.com/[…]/cougar-mountain-grand-traverse

The Lower Coal Creek Trail has been greatly improved since I hiked it last. The City of Bellevue has their own distinct style of trail maintenance, which involves extensive use of curb logs to support the downhill side of the tread, and liberal use of bark dust on the tread. Bellevue also likes to build wide tread that they can drive motorized carts on. They have a certain blithe disregard for trail grade - some of their trails are remarkably steep. Most trail construction guides recommend removing as much organic matter from the trail tread as possible, while Bellevue loves to dump more on! Well, whatever...there was little mud on the Lower Coal Creek Trail and it was a pleasure to hike on. No blowdowns either - in fact there was little problem with blowdown anywhere on this hike.

The upper end of the Lower Coal Creek Trail has been relocated to the intersection of Coal Creek Parkway and Forest Drive. There is a stoplight here which makes the crossing of the parkway easier - no more scary, run-for-your-life jaywalking through 50 mile per hour traffic.

I continued hiking on the main Coal Creek Trail upstream of Coal Creek Parkway. This is a beautiful stretch of trail that closely follows the rushing waters of Coal Creek. The trail here has also been upgraded and is in lovely shape, until it approaches the creek crossing. The Bellevue beauty bark treatment ends abruptly here, and the trail becomes muddy and steep until it climbs to the old railroad grade that once went toward the Newcastle mines. Beauty bark and good maintenance resumes here, and the hiking is easy all the way to Red Town Trailhead.

From Redtown Trailhead, I followed the Cave Hole trail/road uphill. This trail was in good shape of course, but above the turnoff to Coal Creek Falls there were some drain dips that needed repair. A thin layer of snow covered the trees and open ground here, as well as other high parts of Cougar Mountain, but not much was sticking to the trails.

I took the Bypass Trail (in good shape) to Fred's RR Trail. Followed that north a short distance to the Clay Pit Road. From there, I hiked the Klondike Swamp Trail (in good shape) to Cougar Pass Trail. Followed that trail (horrible clay mud, needs a tread treatment of some sort like gravel) to Tibbetts Marsh Trail. Followed the TMT (very muddy, needs work) to Tibbetts Creek Trail (muddy), then followed that path down to Bear Ridge Trail. Went left on the BRT to Shangri-La Trail. Followed the SLT down to the Talus development.

I walked the streets of Talus to James Bush Road, then followed that quiet lane down to SR 900. A short hike north the highway brought me to the Issaquah Park and Ride, where I caught a Sound Transit 554 bus that quickly took me back to Eastgate, where my car was stashed.

All in all, a nice 9 mile day of hiking on a crisp early March day.

Our hiking partner, Robert, contacted us to suggest a hike.  Our Discover Pass is on order but not here yet, so we eliminated state parks and opted for Coal Creek Park, a city park.  The day was forecast to be good and lived up to this – clear, calm, and not too chilly, a beautiful day.  

We parked at Red Town Trailhead and crossed Lakemont Boulevard to the Coal Creek Trailhead, hiking downhill past the mineshaft and the waterfall cascading over rust colored stone.  Slow Loris and Robert talked about the history of the area, including the railroad turntable, the clinker mine, and the Seattle-Walla Walla Railroad, which never made it past Coal Creek.

At almost 1.7 miles, we came to an unsigned T intersection with good trail going both ways.  This stymied us for a while until we decided to turn right, which turned out to be the correct choice for staying on the main trail.  Up to this point the trail had many improvements and was in good condition.  Soon we came to the only section of bad trail, about a mile of mud with some dicey descents.  We passed the junctions where the now-closed Primrose Trail N11 leaves and rejoins Coal Creek Trail N1. The trail improved as it descended to follow the creek.  

At 3 miles, or 2.7 miles according to the Green Trails map, we came to the other trailhead, on Coal Creek Parkway.  There was parking but no amenities there, so we turned back until we got back to one of several benches, where we stopped to rest and eat our lunch before hiking back to Red Town Trailhead.  We recommend Red Town Trailhead as there is more parking and a porta-potty, or the hike can be done as a shuttle with two cars. We enjoyed the nice weather and the lovely forest, stream, and waterfalls. 

This is a wonderful trail just off of Lakemont Boulevard across the street from the much more used Red Town Trailhead. It basically follows Coal Creek for about 3 miles and meanders in and out of dense forest and meadows with some mild ups and downs. North Creek Falls is the largest waterfall on this part of the trail and is about .3 miles from the trailhead.

The trail is mostly easy to follow and in good shape,but there is a section of the trail that comes out on a gravel road and is not well signed. You just have to follow the gravel road straight for a little ways and you will see where it connects with the trail again. There are steepish sections but none are very long and there are benches and other areas to stop and take breaks. The Primrose Trail that is on most maps as a loop trail appears to be closed at this time.

All in all, this trail was very nice considering it is technically part of a city park. You get the feeling of being far out in the woods without going that far if you live in the Seattle-Tacoma-Everett area.

Total Trip: 2.7 mi, +450 ft

North trailhead 47.55490/-122.16641, 200 feet, Coal Creek Parkway
South trailhead 47.53494/-122.12851, 650 feet, Red Town Trailhead

This hike was taken in two stages, the first from the south trailhead to approximate midpoint, and the second from the north trailhead to approximate midpoint. Early reconnaissance indicated that trail alignment differed considerably from that of fifteen years ago, hence the more conservative strategy. Narrative is written as one continuous trip from north to south.

This trail is maintained by the City of Bellevue Parks & Recreation, although old signage conforms to earlier management by Cougar Mountain County Park. The trail follows an easy grade, with a few moderate grades. It is a fairly easy hike suitable for kidlets and puplets if the entire length (2.7 miles) is not traversed.

In the first mile, the trail crosses three impressive bridges, although not architectural rivals of the Prince Edward Island Bridge, much more impressive than one usually sees on a hiking trail.

At the one mile point, there is a junction with the now-closed Primrose Trail. From here, the main trail begins an ascent out of the creek valley to some meadows where there is a run-down shack overlooking one of the meadows.

After about two miles, the trail coincides with a service road which comes up from the creek from the left (north) and leaves the trail to the right (south). The coincidence is about one-quarter mile.

Shortly after leaving the road, the trail descends an interesting stairway similar to the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse at Disneyland (it was a C-ticket then).

At about two and a half miles, there is the North Fork Falls and a mine shaft nearby. The trail ends across from the Red Town Trailhead.