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Tour d'Tilth: Ride King County's Farmland

Ahh, rural cycling: exercise, fresh air, country scenery. At harvest time, area farms are picturesque with ripening pumpkins, vegetables piled high in the farmstand and baskets of fragrant apples inviting you to try a sweet, healthy snack.

But visiting a farm is about more than just a treat for the senses. You can support a more sustainable local economy, see land stewardship in action and even learn techniques for growing your own food. On top of that, it’s a chance to see where the food’s coming from that you are buying at your neighborhood farmers market.

The King County Harvest Celebration Farm Tour on Saturday, Sept. 27 provides a great opportunity for a farm visit. With 27 county farms open to the public, you can make a loop and see a few different operations, and really get to know the lay of the land in one of the county’s five agricultural production districts.

Come ride Tour d’Tilth!
To make it easier, we’ve created Tour d’Tilth, which consists of three organized bike rides to farms on the tour. Two are in rural parts of King County, and one is in the city of Seattle. If you prefer to travel alone, you can use the Farm Tour’s guide and our directions for six self-guided tours.

Ride leaders from the Cascade Bicycle Club are offering Tour d’Tilth rides as part of the club’s free daily rides program. The rides are:

Enumclaw-area farms (led by Bill Thorness)
Carnation-area farms (led by Bill Lemke)
Marra Farm (led by Bernice Tannenbaum)

You don’t have to be a member of the club to ride with Cascade, but you must wear a helmet, sign a waiver, and be ready to ride at departure time. If you’ve never ridden with Cascade before, read the Information for Newcomers and Parents page.

Riding tips
Here are a few tips to get the most out of your ride:

• realize that you don’t have to follow the entire route to all the farms
• take along a detailed map of the area
• take money to buy farm goods, and make space on your bike to carry your purchases

Self-guided suggestions
Here are my suggestions for self-guided rides, based on various cycling abilities:

• Beginning cyclists might enjoy a short spin on the Sammamish River Trail (Route # 1) and a visit to farms adjacent to it.
• Riders comfortable on roads or highways with traffic might try the Snoqualmie River valley (Route #2) or the south county farmland (Routes #3 and #4).
• To include a ferry ride and a bit more hill-climbing, try Vashon Island (Route #5).
• To check out an urban farming operation, visit Marra Farm (Route #6) in south Seattle.