Soaring Eagle Regional Park- take a sleigh ride!
Quick Facts:
Location: Sammamish Plateau
Land Agency: King County Parks
Distance: more than 12.0 miles of trails
Elevation Gain: up to 325 feet
Contact: King County Parks
Notes: dogs permitted on leash; trails also open to horses and mountain bikes
Map: Click Here
Recommended Guidebook: Urban Trails Eastside (Mountaineers Books)
Access: From Bellevue follow SR 520 east and take Exit for SR 202 (Redmond Way). Then head east on SR 202 for 5.2 miles and turn right onto 224th Ave NE. Next drive 2.3 miles and turn left (at traffic circle) onto E Main Drive. Continue east 1.1 miles to trailhead.
Good to Know: dog-friendly, kid-friendly, snow-free winter hike, excellent trail running, Practice Leave No Trace Principles
Take a Sleigh Ride! It’s one of a several excellent trails in the 600-plus acre Soaring Eagle Regional Park. And while chances are good you won’t actually be able to push a sleigh here (although it does snow occasionally on the Sammamish Plateau) you’ll be able to gallop, glide or move just fine on this trail and more than 12 miles of other interconnected well-built and well-signed trails. Much of the terrain is pretty gentle, but there are a few dips and rolls along the way. It’s a fun place to run and a great place for an easy after work hike or bike ride.
Soaring Eagle Regional Park is a local favorite spot for trail runners and mountain bikers. There are plenty of flowy trails, but no terrifying vertical making it a great place for beginning mountain bikers. Much of the park is gently sloping interspersed with flat spots and small depressions. It’s a lot of fun to run, and this park hosts several organized running events each year.
Soaring Eagle was once a DNR tract and as such was logged over the years. The forest is now almost entirely deciduous. The forest feels like it should be in southern New England. Hike, run or walk here when the trees are bear of their canopy and it’ll feel quite open. The Pipeline Trail takes off from the parking lot and pretty much bisects the park and connects to many of its trails. Have fun exploring them and creating your own loops and routes. A hike or run along the periphery of the park utilizing many of the trails will yield you 5.5 miles. Not a bad little workout.
For more details on Soaring Eagle’s Trail System as well as 59 other destinations in the Bellevue, Issaquah, and North Bend area, pick up a copy of my Urban Trails Eastside book.
