Take the Bus: Trailhead Direct is Back for 2022

Trailhead Direct is back for the season! As an enthusiastic user in the past, I wanted to talk to Ryan Miller from King County Metro and Ryan Dotson from King County Parks to learn more about the service.

Big goals

The goal of the service is to provide resources for as many hikers as possible to get to trailheads, particularly those without easy access to them. Miller and Dotson both spoke about King County’s desire to identify gaps in accessibility to the outdoors and fill those gaps; Trailhead Direct is one of those efforts.

The Trailhead Direct buses take riders from the city to trailheads. Photo by King County Parks.

Miller emphasized how much effort they put into gathering feedback and working with current and potential users to better serve them. 

• responsible recreation
• In the past, WTA has provided outdoor leadership training to organizations who use Trailhead Direct to get out on the trail. We work with partners like The Wilderness Society to connect with community groups and educate hikers. We plan to take a similar approach in 2022 by providing more training events, working to ensure hikers have an opportunity to take transit to trails and enjoy them in a safe way.

“A big part of Trailhead Direct has been working collaboratively with the community,” he said. “We’re always listening to our community, and keep open ears and open minds about how we can change and modify the services we run.” 

Dotson says another goal is to encourage hikers to recreate responsibly. Through educational brochures and signage in the buses about things like what to pack for a hike and hiking etiquette, those who use Trailhead Direct can become more hiking-savvy. 

“It’s really important that we use Trailhead Direct as a vehicle, no pun intended, to amplify messaging around recreating responsibly,” Dotson said. “[We want to] ensure that community members who do access these great places do it in a responsible way and continue to be good stewards of public lands."

The Capitol Hill Link light rail station route to Little Si, Mount Si and Mount Teneriffe will be running in the 2022 season. Photo by King County Parks.

A new plan for a new year

Trailhead Direct will run one route from the Capitol Hill Link light rail station to Mount Si, Mount Teneriffe and Little Si, with a stop at the Eastgate Park & Ride in Bellevue. Due to transit staff shortages, they won't run additional routes like they have in the past. Miller says it was important to ensure they could provide a reliable service to users, rather than spreading themselves too thin. 

The decision to start the route from Capitol Hill Link light station was due to its accessibility to users through public transit, as well as ridership from past seasons. The recent Link expansion to north Seattle and Via to Transit serving southeast Seattle provide users with multiple options to reach the Trailhead Direct stop. Additionally, the Mount Si route has proven to be very popular among riders in the past.

A personal look

I remember when I first heard about Trailhead Direct in 2018. I was beginning to train for what would be the biggest hike I’ve ever done: a southbound thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail. If you were looking for me on any weekend that year, I was almost certainly out hiking.

Trailhead Direct runs on weekends and holidays through the summer season. Photo by King County Parks.

I didn’t have a car for a while that year, so Trailhead Direct was one of the only ways I could get to a trailhead. During that time, I was thankful to be able to get to the mountains without having to drive myself. Mount Si is probably my favorite conditioning hike because of its relatively consistent grade throughout and well-maintained trail, but it can be difficult to get there without a car. With Trailhead Direct, it was no sweat.

When I did have my car, it was nice to not have to worry about leaving it at the trailhead. Plus, I didn’t have to worry about gas; Trailhead Direct only requires a bus fare one-way. 

I didn’t even have to remember my Discover Pass. I always have it, but often realize two or three miles into my hike I don’t remember if I put it on my dashboard. Then I spend the rest of my hike worrying about finding a ticket on my windshield instead of enjoying my time outside.

I didn’t have to worry at all about parking. I also love hiking on Tiger Mountain due to its extensive trail network and proximity to home, but it’s hard to find a space in the lot on a busy weekend. A few summers ago, I took a nearby bus to the Mount Baker Transit Center, where many bus lines converge, and was able to hop on the next Trailhead Direct. Easy as pie.

Users can get on the bus in a convenient location in Seattle or Bellevue. Photo by King County Parks. 

One of my favorite aspects of Trailhead Direct was that I didn’t have to drive myself home after a day of hiking. During my training, I would sometimes end up pulling long hiking days of more than 15 miles by doing the same hike multiple times or making my way through multiple trails in a big trail network. After those hikes, the last thing my feet wanted to do was hold down a gas pedal all the way home.

Of course, I also took the Trailhead Direct for the same reason a lot of people take public transit: It was more environmentally friendly. I have always preferred hiking solo, so I would otherwise have driven only myself. 

I’m incredibly grateful to King County Parks and King County Metro for continuing to offer the service; I already know I’ll be using it this year. 

Support the service

Miller says one of the best ways to support the service is to use it, and share your thoughts to let King County Parks and King County Metro know how they can improve the service. They want any decisions they make to be supported by data, and much of this data comes from online and onboard surveys.

Trailhead Direct allows users who may not have the resources to get to trailheads to do so. Photo by King County Parks.

The feedback Miller and Dotson have received about Trailhead Direct in the past has been largely positive, with a high satisfaction rate. The public has a lot of enthusiasm for the service, and they hope that stays true in the future with the community’s feedback.

WTA wants to see Trailhead Direct succeed, too. We know that transit is a large barrier to getting new folks outside, and we work to support transit to trails solutions locally and nationally.

This year, Trailhead Direct will run every weekend and Metro holiday from Saturday, May 28, to Sunday, September 11. “We know that demand for access to the outdoors is stronger than ever,” Miller says. “We’re really happy that we’re able to provide this service to help people get out there.”