I’ve always liked Bridle Trails. It’s a nice quick escape if you want to get some greenery, but aren’t looking for a hike that will take up your whole day. The trail is easy to navigate and good for any fitness level. It’s also a nice way to get some solitude – the trail never manages to feel crowded, even on days like today where the parking lot was full.

Any car can get to the trailhead. Sometimes the parking lot is relatively empty on a sunny weekend; today it was full when I arrived at 12:30pm but there was plenty of roadside parking available nearby. I used a small bit of pine-scented bugspray and came home with no bites. (I probably would have been fine without it though - some bugs were out but not the biting type.)

At times you’ll hear ambient car sounds from the nearby roads, but that’s not a dealbreaker for me. In my book it doesn’t detract from the beauty.

No horses on the trail today, though sometimes you’ll see 3 or 4 riding groups when you’re out on the weekend. 

Would recommend.

Very nice walk around the trails this morning. I'd recommend getting there early in the morning because we went around 11 am and the parking lot was already full, so we had to park on the side of the road. The park itself feels very spacious and peaceful, with lots of trees and berries. You do have to navigate around horse dung and some muddy areas, but the wide path makes this relatively easy. Overall, very fun hike and I would return.

Quick walk this morning around the Bridletrails state park trails in the light sprinkles.  Parking is relatively plentiful at the main lot, Discover Pass required as per normal, (there sure were a number of $$$ cars in the lot without passes, not sure how they can afford a fancy car but not a Discovery Pass but what do I know….)  Full restrooms were open and in good condition plus a single sanican at the far end of the lot by the horse trailer section.  Trails are in beautiful condition - the park staff here consistently do a bang up job from what I’ve seen, kudos.  The only potential issue is navigating around some pony doody piles.  There is a bit of traffic noise from 405 particularly in the western half of the park - but maybe some folks who like white noise might actually enjoy it.  

The forest remains largely dog hair 2nd gen replant douglas fir - not super interesting but still pretty.  There are some spring wildflowers still out and salmonberries are just starting to ripen.  Some small birds out chirping away plus a bunch of little brown douglass squirrels.  Also heard but did not see a raven up in one of the trees.  There is some recent signage about a new education center project to go in just east of the main horse arena area - might cause some detours once that starts but sure looks like a neat addition to the park.  

Link to further information about the education facility project - https://parks.wa.gov/about/strategic-planning-projects-public-input/projects/bridle-trails-state-park-land-classification-update-environmental-education-classroom

Very nice easy walk in the woods with a lot of shade and some sun if you choose that part of the trail.  Passed people on horseback but the path is wide enough to easily keep walking past.  Lots of birds at the east end of the park. Heard a woodpecker in the woods and a bullfrog in the water-filled ditch along the easement.  Saw juncos and what I think was a purple finch.  Saw a recently dead shrew on the trail.

I arrived at 6:20 a.m. this morning to avoid heavy rush-hour traffic and scout out the best places for sensory immersion. The restrooms were closed as was the gate to the parking lot. Fortunately, there was an open Portapotty in the parking lot, so once we got all our cars officially into the parking lot (gate opened at 7:22), we were good to go.

The trails are a bit damp, but otherwise the Raven and Trillium trails are in great shape, with nothing impassable. There was some horse manure in spots, but we skirted all the piles without incident. A relatively quiet morning, which was my intention by choosing a 7:15 start. By 10:45 when we were finishing up our 5.3 mile loop / 3+ hours, a group of 5 dog walkers with 6-8 dogs each (well-behaved, and of all species) made their way back to the parking lot. That's a lotta dogs!!

The traffic noise (well, that and horse poop) is about the only downside to this pretty urban park, but I'll definitely return. Fun birds and great people. Call ahead to find out about gate openings; there is roadside parking, but the person who opened the gate suggested we move cars into the lot to avoid smash-and-grabs on the highway. Portapotty delivery was also postponed due to the late gate opening.

This was a fabulous group of 11 Mountaineers, many of whom had never visited Bridle Trails State Park before. We had a great mixture of experienced birders and complete novices, and one member was on her first-ever Mountaineers trip.  We birded the Raven trail from 7:30-8:50 and then enjoyed some lovely moments on the Trillium trail away from the noise of I-405. I strongly recommend going directly to either the Coyote or Trillium Trail (counter-clockwise) if you want to focus on birdsong.

Highlights included bleeding hearts, trillium (pollinated and not), False Lily of the Valley, Siberian miner's lettuce, "stinky Bob" and some chorus frogs. Bird species moments included good looks at Cooper's hawks, soaring bald eagles, downy, hairy, and pileated woodpeckers, Rufous hummingbirds, and brown creepers. We also saw black-capped chickadees and towhees adding nesting materials to their cavities.