National Parks

A dark brown cat sniffs a promotional pin for Trailhead Direct's Mt. Si route that is sitting on a topographic map of the Mt. Si trailhead. But her head obscures the actual trailhead.

Trailhead Direct and Hurricane Ridge Season is Almost Here

These two seasonal shuttle services start May 24, 2025

The weekend of May 24 kicks off the annual start of at least two seasonal shuttles in the Salish Sea region designed with hikers in mind. Both run through September 1.

Trailhead Direct

Trailhead Direct wooshes citydwellers from a few key light rail stops including (NEW this year) S. Bellevue Station and Eastgate Park & Ride directly to at least seven trailheads in the Issaquah Alps, Cougar, Squak and Tiger Mountain area. If you’re willing to walk short distances, it’s also easy to discover several other trailheads that this weekend & holiday service will open up to car-free hikers. Right now I’m keeping my fingers crossed that earlier routes like Mailbox Peak will finally return after a pandemic-induced driver shortage, which would open up some pretty incredible car-free backpacking opportunities.

Cost

Standard Metro fare ($2.75 ish); use an ORCA card, exact change in cash, or whatever other fare payment options Metro currently offers (there are too many to keep track of these days).

Hurricane Ridge Shuttle

The Hurricane Ridge shuttle makes my heart sing because it offers daily service, not just weekend and holiday service, showing once again that smaller cities and less-resourced counties can and are lapping Seattle and King County — hey, I love them, I live in them, but I also love to see underdogs doing things better. The shuttle runs several times a day from Port Angeles up to Hurricane Ridge, has capacity for two or three bikes (call the agency to confirm), and puts some epic hiking in Olympic National Park (ONP) into reach for car-free folks.

Pro-tip for bikepackers from the Seattle area: Take the early run of the Clallam Transit Strait Shot from the Bainbridge Ferry Terminal to Gateway Transit Center Ferry Terminal in Port Angeles. From there, hop on the Hurricane Ridge Shuttle to deliver you to your chosen trailhead.

Cost

You must purchase an entrance pass to ONP before boarding, then pay up to $1 in Clallam Transit fare. The Clallam Transit link above helpfully provides more details and links on purchasing ONP passes.

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Header image My cat’s head obscures the Mt. Si Trailhead on my Rattlesnake Mountain region topographic map, next to which I’ve placed a Trailhead Direct pin featuring the Mt. Si route.

Paradise Should Be For All of Us

When my friend and fellow transportation advocate Jason Rock pointed me to this recent OpEd in the Seattle newspaper bemoaning the pilot timed entry system that Mt. Rainier National Park rolled out this year to manage the parks ever-increasing car traffic, I had a few things to say. Jason, our friend and trailblazing nondriver advocate Anna Zivarts, and I drafted an Op Ed in response, and it just dropped in The Urbanist. Take a look. Be sure to check out the video excerpt from a PBS documentary that explains why the Puyallup Tribe is pushing for the renaming of the mountain.

The park service took public comment on the timed-entry pilot in the fall and I suspect a lot of the public asked for transit access to the park. So I’ll be keeping an eye out for any developments as a result of the public comment process and updating here. Stay tuned.

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A person with backpacking gear walks off a ferry into the town of Whittier, Alaska on a foggy day.

Car-free to Alaska? Yes. You Can.

When mid-pandemic I learned that the Alaska Marine Highway made it possible to travel to Alaska without driving or flying — I hate flying — my mind was blown. I never really thought about trying a trip to Alaska, because I assumed that once I arrived, there would be no way for me, as someone who can’t drive, to get to trailheads or really do much of anything else. And if you’re going to a state that is half the size of the continental U.S., you want to get around, you know?

But now you’re telling me I can hop off Amtrak and board a ferry that is a destination in itself as it cruises the fjords and bays of the PNW?

And then you’re telling me that actually, there are quite a few towns and cities along the ferry route, like Juneau, Ketchikan, or Sitka, where I could embark on some backcountry trips because they are small and walkable and also have some decent transit or taxi or shuttle options? Or I can just get a motel and do a bunch of day hiking? Or rent a kayak? Or charter a fishing trip, if I was into that? Or bicycle (or hike) 32 miles of trail in and out of town?

And THEN you’re telling me that I can walk off the ferry in Whittier and hop on a scenic AF train to Denali National Park and that once I’m at Denali, I can take my pick of bus service for just about every kind of traveler?

Yes, I can do all that. You can, too.

NB: 1) Thanks to Eric of @wechoosethemoon for featured photo above – there he’s stepping off the ferry at Whittier. Thanks also to Eric for supplementing my inspiration with first-hand information. 2) This is the kind of trip most people will need to invest significant planning time to pull off — coordinating train and ferry schedules, plus details for your various destinations. 3) Right now the Alaska Marine Highway is struggling with funding and staffing; if you try to jump on a boat this summer, you’ll likely have fewer choices for departure date. Be aware and prepared!