Bellevue's Lake to Lake Trail

A Walk on Bellevue's Wild Side

Hike Length: 9 miles

Elevation Gain: 400 feet

Hike Difficulty: Moderate

Map: Bellevue Park Guide (available at Lake Hills Ranger Station and Botanical Garden Gift Shop), Bellevue street map

Revised 9/19/2021

Bellevue’s Lake to Lake Trail links a string of small and mid sized parks that stretch all the way from Lake Washington to Lake Sammamish. The trail doesn’t feature much in the way of real wilderness, but the mix of of suburban neighborhoods, lakes, wetlands, and developed and wild parks along the trail’s route provides an entertainingly diverse urban hiking experience. The Bellevue parks department has done a good job marking the trail with signs, which will help guide you through the numerous trail junctions and street intersections.

Kelsey Creek Farm (Joe Mabel/Wikimedia Commons)

Getting There & Back

Use TOTAGO to get round-trip transit directions, plus offline trail maps if you download the app:Lake to Lake Trail on Totago

The Hike

Start the hike at Eastgate Transit Center, reachable by Sound Transit 554 from downtown Seattle. Nearby is the campus of Bellevue Community College. From the college, work your way east via roads and parking lots to 148th ave SE, by the main entrance to the college. Cross at the light and continue east on 28th St, just to the left of a fire station and the Mormon Temple complex. Shortly, the street ends at the wall of trees marking the edge of Robinswood Park. Plunge into the park via the first available trail that you see.

The park features lawns, a duck pond, the historic Robinswood House, and a block of wild forest, all connected by numerous paths. When done exploring the park, follow trails to the wooded SE corner of the park and exit out onto a paved path, an official Bellevue path marked by distinctive signposts (blue placards on wood posts). Walk east on the trail until you reach 156th Ave SE. Turn left (N) and follow sidewalks along156th to 24th St. (1.0 miles from hike’s start). Continue north on 156th Ave on a wide sidewalk that is part of the Phantom Lake Loop Trail. The road and trail descend a hill to the edge of a park bordering Phantom Lake. Here you can walk on a side trail that leads to a dock overlooking this sizable body of water. Most of the lake is surrounded by private property and homes; this park is the only spot where the public can approach the elusive shore of the appropriately named lake.

When done viewing the lake, continue walking north along the nicely landscaped trail to the intersection of 156th Ave and 16th St. Cross both streets to the NW corner of the intersection and follow the trail into the Lake Hills Greenbelt Park.

Now you are officially on the Lake to Lake Trail, as indicated by the trail signs. The actual start of the Lake to Lake Trail is on West Lake Sammamish Boulevard at Weona Park, but due to the lack of bus service there, I chose to start the hike at Bellevue Community College. Just west of the intersection of 16th St and 156th Ave, there’s a charmingly landscaped park with benches, garden plots, and a ranger station where you can pick up the recommended Bellevue Park Guide, which is basically a map. The next mile of the Lake to Lake trail is exceptionally pleasant, as the path winds through the wetlands and overgrown fields of the Lake Hills Greenbelt. Chirping songbirds will seranade your walk through this fine example of a suburban wilderness. Midway along the greenbelt, the trail passes through a shady cedar grove near a trickling creek, a welcome rest spot on a hot day.

Beyond Lake Hills Boulevard, the Lake to Lake Trail enters a broad expanse of parkland around Larsen Lake. Follow trails around the north side of the lake, which is surrounded by an actively tended blueberry farm, presumably kept in operation by the city of Bellevue as a reminder of its farming history. Just west of the lake, the Lake to Lake Trail leads you to busy 146th Ave. Fortunately, the crosswalk here is equipped with a fast-responding, hiker-activated stoplight (3.5 miles from hike’s start).

Larsen Lake berry fields

Beyond 146th Ave, the trail crosses a fine little marsh on a boardwalk. Then, leaving the Lake Hills Greenbelt for good, the trail squeezes past some homes via a narrow public right-of-way, then turns north and follows the perimeter of Sammamish High School. On Main Street, the trail turns left (west) and follows sidewalk to 140th Ave, where it turns left again. Follow 140th Ave south (the high school is visible on the left), then go right (west) onto 3rd Street; an easy-to-miss trail signpost marks this turn. The quiet suburban street soon comes to an dead end, where the trail slips between two houses and drops steeply to a power line right-of-way.

Here the usually reliable Lake-to-Lake Trail signage fails. At the unmarked junction under the power lines go left(south) and follow the wide gravel road underneath the powerlines a short distance to another unsigned 4-way junction. There’s a bit of a view from this hillside over the Kelsy Creek Valley; a golf course lies directly below you. Go right (downhill) and follow the steeply descending trail as it enters a lushly forested pocket wilderness at the east side of Kelsey Creek Park. Tempting trails branch off through the forest; if you have time, you can follow a number of paths that loop through the park’s backcountry. Otherwise continue along the Lake-to-Lake Trail, which eventually reaches the valley floor, and crosses good-sized Kelsey Creek near the barns of the Kelsey Creek Farm (5 miles from hike’s start). Be sure to visit the farm, where various farm animals are kept for park visitors to see.

The Lake-to-Lake Trail follows SE 4th Place out of the park, turns right(north) on 128th Ave, then goes left into the forested Wilburton Hill Park, climbing the hill in long, easy switchbacks. Near a parking lot, a final climb brings you to the summit of Wilburton Hill and the exquisitely landscaped Botanical Garden, where one could easily spend a few hours admiring the carefully tended plantings (6 miles from hike’s start).

From the garden, the Lake-to-Lake Trail follows Main Street westward, dropping off the summit of Wilburton hill to a T- intersection with 1st Ave.

Now begins one of the less scenic stretches of the trail (but keep the faith, more good stuff comes). Go left(south) on 1st Ave to continue on the Lake-to-Lake Trail, which here is just an ordinary sidewalk on a busy city street. The road crosses a railroad track, then drops downhill some more to an intersection with even busier 116th Ave. The railroad track leads south to the huge Wilburton Trestle, a famous Bellevue landmark which once terrified the passengers on the “Spirit of Washington Dinner Train”. Walking the track to the trestle might be a good side trip for railroad buffs.

Note: the South Bellevue park and ride is closed due to light rail construction. Until the construction is complete, ignore the following instructions and instead, walk to downtown Bellevue's transit center, where frequent buses can take you back to Seattle

To continue on the Lake to Lake Trail, cross 116th Ave and follow the sidewalk south for a third of a mile, then descend to 8th St. on a segment of walking trail overlooking the noisy I-405 freeway. Walk west on 8th St, going under the freeway bridge, then immediately go left (south) onto Lake Washington Boulevard; signage for the Lake-to-Lake trail is good in this complex intersection. You’re headed to “Mercer Slough”; follow any arrows pointing that way. The trail stays close to the shoulder of the boulevard, which gradually takes you away from the noisy environs of I-405. In a long half mile, the trail passes the Environmental Education Center (8 miles from hike’s start). Shortly beyond is a trailhead parking lot for Mercer Slough Park, where you finally get to leave concrete sidewalks and get back onto real dirt trail (whew!). The trail quickly leaves the asphalt jungle behind, dropping down a wooded slope into the peaceful depths of the park.

The lowlands comprising Mercer Slough Park used to be under the waters of Lake Washington until the lake was lowered after the construction of the Seattle’s Ship Canal. Now the area has become a rich marshland and habitat for birds and animals requiring a wetland environment. Part of the lowland was drained and used as a blueberry farm; to preserve this bit of Bellevue’s heritage, the blueberry fields are still maintained and harvested.

If you have time, it is well worth the effort to wander around the extensive trail system in the park. Otherwise, follow signs to the Metro Parking Lot and/or Slough Bridge. In a short mile, the trail arrives at Bellevue Way, by the south end of the South Bellevue park and ride lot (9 miles from hike’s start). The bus stop is located in the northernmost lot, near Bellevue Way.

Phantom Lake