Join me Saturday, August 31 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Kenmore branch of the King County Library System. I’ll be sharing tips and tricks for planning your own car-free adventures near and far. Registration NOT required. Details here.
The library is located at 6531 NE 181st Street in Kenmore, very near 68th Ave NE and NE Bothell Way/WA-522.
Take Transit
King County Metro route 225 stops on 68th Ave NE. Metro routes 331 and 372 stop on NE Bothell Way/WA-522 at 68th Ave NE.
Sound Transit routes 522 also serves NE Bothell Way/WA-522 at 68th Ave NE.
Ride Your Bike or Roll
The Kenmore branch is very close to the Burke Gilman Trail (BGT). From the west side of Lake Washington, head north on the BGT. From Woodenville or nearby eastside locations, travel north/west the Sammamish River Trail to the BGT. In either case, hop off at 68th Ave NE.
Header image is me with my bike on one end of a trestle along the Palouse to Cascades Trail somewhere in the Palouse. On this transit trek we took Amtrak from Seattle to Spokane, stayed a day in Spokane, rode the Centennial Trail to Coeur D’Alene, used two CityLink rural transit buses to get to Plummer, ID, and rode backroads from Plummer to the start of the Palouse to Cascades Trail in Tekoa, WA.
I thought I’d be writing a no-frills post about the only service I’ve (finally!) found to date that serves overnight adventurers to Mt. Rainier National Park. But my discovery came with a bonus: connecting with a fellow traveler and nature lover who is also clamoring for public transit access to the outdoors.
“I’m a one-guy operation who loves the mountains and likes people,” John McLarty tells me. “But I keep dreaming of being part of something bigger than me and my car…It is inexcusable that you can’t get to Mt. Rainier [by bus].”
A trail runner, one of the first things he says on our call is that “In a perfect world I’d run for 20-30 miles from one place to another and hop on a bus [to get back]. If I want this, there’s got to be other people.” So, the Enumclaw-based retiree — also a poet, former editor, and geology enthusiast — launched Talking Rocks Trailhead Shuttle service in 2022.
That first year, he booked three shuttle trips. He figured he’d double his trips to six in 2023; he booked 25. As I write in March 2024, he’s already getting inquiries and booking reservations for the summer.
The base price is $1.11 per mile plus $29 per hour, and $20 per additional person; these are calculated from Enumclaw, so if you take transit to Enumclaw, you’ll knock a chunk off the price tag.
Six-passenger capacity in his primary shuttle vehicle, a Mitsubishi SUV
Two bikes, in same. He can haul more in the bed of his secondary vehicle, a pick-up truck with room for five passengers.
For adventurous families with younger kids, he can install one or two car seats he keeps on hand for visits from his out-of-state grandkids
McLarty encourages travelers to book specific service as far in advance as possible; he does offer “emergency” service. It’s not the 911 kind of emergency, but the “things are not going as we planned and we need a lift” kind of emergency. About 20 percent of his trips in 2023 were from parties that needed to be bailed out of trips that went awry.
John McLarty
McLarty is keenly aware that his rates aren’t readily affordable for everyone. Another of his stated dreams is to reduce the per-person cost of his services. One first step was to post information about future reservations so that hikers might be able to share the ride with others. You can check the Talking Rocks website or Facebook page to see scheduled trips that, with the consent of the confirmed hikers, you might be able to join. (McLarty is gracious and responsive: I suggested he post confirmed reservations on his site for those who don’t have Facebook accounts; he added the Scheduled Trips tab to his site within 24 hours of our conversation.) One way he’s thinking about being part of “something bigger” is by looking for other drivers — not to hire them but to facilitate additional shuttle service by linking drivers up with potential passengers — which could potentially mean lower prices.
For some travelers, Talking Rocks is a (comparative) bargain. Last year after warning a pair of inquiring hikers about his rates, the duo booked their trip through McLarty after comparing the cost of a car rental for their planned adventures.
In recent years McLarty has hosted several geology tours in the Southwest U.S., and is available for other tours. He plans to organize some 1- or 2-day geology tours in the Enumclaw-Mt. Rainier area this year, and is available for custom tours and transportation to other hiking and outdoor destinations in the Rainier region.
I suspect that public transit to Mt. Rainier would increase demand for private shuttle services. The option would be attractive for folks like me who can’t drive to take transit at the start of a longer backpacking trip and then spend some money to have a quicker, less logistically challenging trip back home than transit can offer. There are probably a lot of other use cases I’m not considering. But another of McLarty’s dreams is this one: “That my service would go out of business because it gets supplanted by scheduled service — public transit.”
Image: A trail in or near Mt. Rainier National Park, courtesy John McLarty
Maury Island is one of the best examples of a stunning local hiking and camping destination that is currently transit trekkable — but owing to infrequent transit service and commute-focused water taxi schedules is not particularly convenient as a transit trek. So it’s a place I will keep talking about and coming back to.
We’ll hike Dockton Forest, Maury Island Natural Area, and Maury Island Marine Park.
When: April 8, 2024
This is an all- or most-of-the-day outing.
7:30 a.m. Arrive no later than this to board the water taxi at Seattle Pier 50 / King County Water Taxi
7:40 Water Taxi departs. Sailing time is about 22 minutes to Vashon.
8:07 King County Metro Route 119 departs; the bus is a short walk from the ferry landing
8:30 Route 119 arrives at Dockton Park and Marina We’ll stop for the restrooms and to fill up on water, and for me to address the group. We’ll likely start the hike around 9 a.m.
Depending on the average pace of the group and our location, around 12:15/12:30 we’ll start heading back to Dockton to catch the 1:00 pm route 119 back to Vashon or the ferry terminal.
Seattle-based trekkers have the option of catching the route 119 back (leaves Dockton at 1 p.m.) to Fauntleroy Ferry for a 1:40 departure, or hoping off the bus in central Vashon for lunch on your own and then catching a 118 to catch a later ferry sailing or to catch the King County Water Taxi 4:58 sailing back to downtown Seattle.
Coming via Tacoma? The quickest way for you to reach Dockton Forest is probably to take the 118 from the Pt. Defiance/Talequah Ferry and bike to Dockton, weather permitting. Alternately, hop off in Valley Center and grab coffee or breakfast before hoping on the Dockton-bound 119 with the Seattle group, if you are up for this leisurely pace.
NOTE: The water taxi at this time runs between Pier 50 and Vashon 3 times in the morning and 3 times in the evening, making the Fauntleroy-West Seattle ferry + Rapid Ride C your best option for a midday return to Seattle. The state legislature just funded temporary increased weekday service for the water taxi, but it’s unclear how soon Metro can roll out those operations (I’ve heard they have the staffing and boat capacity to do this, so I’m optimistic it will be soon). UPDATE: The Vashon Island Chamber of Commerce reports the additional mid-day service is expected to start July 1, 2024.
How: Hiking boots on the ground and ORCA cards in hand
RSVP to get details about meeting up and preparing for the trip. For those who’d like to contribute to a trip audit, please let me know when you RSVP. This consists of taking a few minutes during the trip to note the helpful and “needs improvement” aspects of doing this trip via transit. (See the October transit trek page here if you’re want to read more. And check back, I’ll be posting the audit I completed for that trip here on the blog soon.)
Who: You
Info to help you decide if this is a trip you feel comfortable joining:
Attending is free, but participants are responsible for their own transit fare, lunch, and so on. Please note when RSVPing if you need assistance with fare; I’ll see what I can do.
I suggest that folks wear masks when we’re riding the bus together (about 25 minutes each way).
We’ll go rain or shine, but extreme weather may cancel.
The total mileage is about 9-10 8-ish miles (that’s a high estimate), with mild elevation gain in the forest with overall elevation changes of 400 to 600 feet. For those who wish to extend their time at Dockton or either of the marine area parks, you can head over to Maury Island Marine Park, but be sure to be back to Dockton in time to catch the next and last 119 at 4:00 pm, or nearby along the 119 route in time to flag the bus down; I can point you to specifics the day of. (Edited to reflect that this hike includes the Marine Park.)
Restrooms access at Fauntleroy terminal, on the ferry, at Vashon Island Terminal, at Dockton Park, and some portapotty access during the hike.
Kiddos are welcome, but note the mileage and short but abrupt elevation changes on this hike. It’s probably best for older kids who can handle the mileage. Alternately, come with us to Dockton and stick to exploring the forest trails and the gravel path above the Natural Area on your own and re-join the group on the 119 leaving Dockton at 1 p.m., or, if you are really loving the area, the 4 p.m. and *last* 119 departure from Dockton. UPDATE: Beginning April 1, there is an additional 119 departure from Dockton at 7:30, if you realllly want to spend a long day there.
There is a new playground at Dockton Marina, but it’s unclear if some finishing touches will be done by the time of our hike.
Dogs: Metro allows dogs on board at driver discretion, so most dogs may be able to make this trip. Dockton Forest and the marine area are both dog-friendly; leashes required. Ferry policy is here.
Service dogs are always permitted on transit.
These paths are generally not wheelchair friendly, though those who use some motorized mobility devices may find the forest trails reasonably navigable. The beach sections of the hike are generally not navigable for mobility devices.
For deaf or hard of hearing participants, please note your access needs in the RSVP form. While I don’t have the budget to hire an interpreter, I will do my best to work with you to find a good alternative.
Transit Trekker 