Thanks to Peggy Price & crew for making Crosstown trail one of the best in the Newcastle Trail system. Every time I hike here I see evidence of your trail work and improvements. I made a 4.4 mile loop on Crosstown and DeLeo Wall trails. I had the forest mostly to myself with a couple trail runners and dog walkers. My route started at the Crosstown TH opposite the Beit Tikvah chapel went south connecting with the DeLeo Wall loop in a counterclockwise direction. On my return I down the Terrace Trail (completely walkable) even though it says closed at both ends. The rock that was dislodged above the stairs has been repaired by trail improvements. I followed 136th Avenue north and took an unmaintained spur back to Crosstown trail 3/4 the way back.  Another fantastic day out in nature.

Be aware that the bridge between the Cinder Mine Trailhead and Cougar Lower Trailhead is closed, and will be through at least June 2024.
This means that if you want to use the Cougar Trailhead then you will need to hike half a mile from Cinder *OR* drive South from Lakemount Blvd South

One of our kids spotted a bear moving through the trees on the Red Town Trail halfway between the Cougar Trailhead and “Water Splash”. While I didn’t see the bear, we did find fresh bear tracks on the Bagely Seam Trail  

THU 21dec2023 ~08:00 ~mid-40s_F i arrived and parked at Lake Boren Park. And OUT i went: CW-Loop: (P) > Cross Town Trail > De Leo Wall Viewpoint > HIghlands Trail > (P). { Distance ~4.9 mi / Total Time 2 hr }

A sweet solitude walk. Encountered 2x 1-person walking the Cross Town Trail. And saw no other person until i got down to Coal Creek Pkwy SE. And no wildlife .. 😟

The Trails were in good condition and seemed maintained. At the same time, please note that ~0.5 mile of Cross Town Trail before reaching De Leo Wall Viewpoint is 1-person wide -with- steep-drop.

Happy Trails Everyone 😊

From Lake Boren Park, we headed westward, passing the historic Newcastle Cemetery and Newcastle's Donegal neighborhood before heading south on City of Newcastle's "Horse Trail" (although it did not look like a good trail for horses) until reaching the May Creek trail. On the May Creek trail, we headed west on former Walla Walla Railroad route and read the info sign about the trestle before doubling back to cross Coal Creek Parkway to access the Highlands trail and the China Creek Open Space. Heading toward the east end of De Leo Wall, there’s a labyrinth of trails and not much evidence of others going this route. So, good to have a map/GPS. Connected with De Leo Wall Viewpoint trail just into the eastern edge of Cougar Mountain Park, but it’s only a few hundred feet going west before back into King County trail & City of Newcastle systems to connect with the Crosstown Trail and, eventually, back to Lake Boren Park. The short section from the De Leo Wall viewpoint to the intersection with Terrace trail is narrow with steep drop off (about 0.4 mile).

Walking surfaces include gravel, packed earth, pavement and sidewalks. Crossing streets with vehicle traffic at crosswalks, some have traffic lights. At Coal Creek Parkway, the traffic light for pedestrian crossing is incredibly short. Even though we sort of jogged across, the pedestrian signal started flashing even before reaching the halfway point. Bathrooms at Lake Boren Park are open and clean.  This route: 8 mile, 1000' gain.

To escape the heat we took our out of town friends for a 4 mile hike on the Newcastle trails to the DeLeo Wall viewpoint and back.  Thanks to whoever is widening the Crosstown trail, adding rock supports on step edges and making rocky drainage channels.  Your work is very much appreciated!  The trial was in excellent condition and the recent rain made is damp and there was no dust.  Trail traffic was super light on the Crosstown and Upper and Lower DeLeo wall trails today.  We were out from 10:30 - 1:00 and saw only 1 trail runner.  Wildflowers are still blooming - we saw fox gloves, paint brush, fringe cup, vetch, twin flower, start flower, self heal, wild rose, miner’s lettuce and honey suckle .  Lot’s of birds were flitting about - juncos, chickadees, towhees, robins, hummingbird and 2 great pileated sightings.  Another fantastic day out in nature.