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Favorite City Routes, Part 2: Central Seattle
This spring, while reading about the City of Seattle’s ambitious plans to create better bike routes through the city, I started thinking about the most useful roads available today. After all, our gears would get pretty rusty waiting for those new routes to come on-line.
So last month I started at the north end of the city and outlined my favorite Seattle routes. This month the series continues, with routes through central Seattle, from the Lake Washington Ship Canal to Interstate 90.
Magnolia offers a great loop road around its perimeter and nice riding on the paved, unused roads of Discovery Park. From downtown Seattle, ride north along the Burlington Northern rail yard, and connect with 20th Ave. W., which becomes Gilman Ave. W. A long grade will take you toward the Hiram Chittenden Locks. Gilman turns to W. Government Way, which curves left to meet Discovery Park. (Turn right on 32nd Ave. W. and follow the signs to the Locks over a railroad bridge.) At the park entrance, go straight and follow the bike route signs within the park. Or, turn left onto 36th Ave. W., then right on W. Emerson St. and left on 43rd Ave. W. The arterial becomes Magnolia Blvd. W., then W. Howe and W. Galer. Finally, a left onto Thorndyke Ave. W. takes you back to Gilman. If coming south on the Ballard Bridge, turn right onto the sidewalk next to W. Emerson Place and ride past Fisherman’s Terminal. Make a right onto 21st Ave. W., which becomes W. Commodore Way. This route will take you past the Locks and to the northeast corner of Discovery Park.
Queen Anne can be climbed from three sides. From Fremont, turn right off the bridge and cross W. Nickerson St. onto W. Florentia St., then turn left onto 3rd Ave. W. From the Seattle Pacific University area on Nickerson, head south up the long, steady grade of 3rd Ave. W. From the Interbay/Magnolia side, climb Dravus from 15th Ave. W., then turn south onto 14th, make a soft left onto Gilman Drive W., then hard lefts onto Howe and 10th. The top of Queen Anne is relatively flat, and both 6th Ave. W. and Queen Anne Ave. are good north-south routes. To head down to Seattle Center, make your way east via Boston St. to 5th Ave. N., which becomes Taylor Ave. N. In lower Queen Anne, the one-way Roy St. has a wide bike lane that takes you to the shopping and entertainment area. Skirt Queen Anne’s east side by riding on the commuting route on Dexter Ave. N. from Fremont to Denny Way.
Extra care must be taken when riding in Downtown Seattle traffic. The one-way Second Avenue has a left-hand bike lane from Seattle Center to Pioneer Square. Northbound, the best route may be another one-way: Fourth Avenue. Dropping down to Western Ave. is a good choice if riding from Pike Place Market to Pioneer Square, and going all the way down to the waterfront trail along Alaskan Way is a good way to avoid much traffic. However, there is no access to the shopping core from that street unless parking the bike and hiking up the Pike Place Market hillclimb or taking the elevator to Western at the Bell Street Pier. To head to Capitol Hill from the retail core, ride up Pike Street past the convention center, or jog north at 8th Avenue and take Howell.
Between Pioneer Square and the International District, ride past the stadiums on S. Jackson St., which - after a lot of ups and downs - will take you nearly to Lake Washington. Or, turn right off Jackson onto 12th Ave. and connect to the I-90 Trail at the north end of Beacon Hill. You can also take S. Dearborn St. east out of the ID, which travels under I-5 and sports a decent bike lane. But to climb to 12th Avenue, you must turn left onto 10th Ave. right after passing under the freeway, then right onto Weller. If staying on Dearborn, cross Rainier Ave. S. then turn right on Hiawatha Place S. to connect to the I-90 Trail in the Lid Park.
Capitol Hill’s best rides are through parks: the Washington Park Arboretum and Interlaken Park. The arboretum is accessed via the Montlake Bridge, E. Hamlin St. and E. Park Dr. to reach Lake Washington Blvd. E. You can ride that busy road south or take the more quiet Arboretum Drive, but the best route is found by crossing Lake Washington Blvd. on 24th Ave. E., jogging east one block on E. North St., then heading south again on 25th Ave. E. Cross Boyer, then jog east again in one block to continue south on 26th Ave. E. To climb Capitol Hill and reach Volunteer Park, turn west onto Interlaken Drive E. Cross busy 24th Ave. E. and continue into the park’s winding, shady lanes. Turn south in the park onto Interlaken Dr. E., then right onto 17th and climb to Volunteer Park. North-south arterials include Broadway, 12th Ave., 19th Ave., Martin Luther King Jr. Way and – the most scenic ride – Lake Washington Blvd.
In the Central District, there are three hilly yet accessible east-west roads: E. Union St., E. Cherry St. and S. Jackson St. Each comprises a series of rolling hills, so be ready for climbing. Union and Cherry will get you to the Madrona neighborhood via 34th Ave. If you continue north on 34th through Madrona’s small shopping district, the arterial will curve east and become Madrona Drive, which drops down to Lake Washington.
