Snoqualmie Ridge to Issaquah

A long, woodsy walk on the Preston -Snoqualmie Trail

Hike Length: 11 miles

Hike Difficulty: Moderate

Updated 9/20/2021

Here's another good hike for fast walkers who enjoy high-mileage walks on smooth trails.

Many hikers are not big fans of paved multi-use trails, where the threat from speeding bicyclists and joint damage from walking on hard pavement can take much of the fun out of a hike. But the Preston-Snoqualmie Trail passes though too much nice scenery to ignore. Much of this hike follows the former route of the Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railroad, the same railroad right-of-way that the famous Burke-Gilman Trail is built on.

Not all of this hike follows paved trails, however. Initially, this route goes through a portion of the lush woodlands bordering Snoqualmie Ridge. Here is found the Silent Creek Trail, a lovely path.

Preston-Snoqualmie Trail (Photo credit: Joe Mabel/Wikimedia Commons)

Getting There

In downtown Seattle, catch the Sound Transit 554 bus and ride to the Issaquah Park and Ride.

Here, transfer to the Metro 208 minibus. Unfortunately, this bus has a sparse schedule, so plan your connection carefully. No Sunday service. Ride to the Snoqualmie Ridge development and get off at the intersection of SE Ridge Street and Fairway Ave.

The Hike

Walk east on Ridge Street. Turn left on Eagle Lake Drive, which curves around a pond. Just past Clear View Ave, locate the start of the Silent Creek trail on the left.

Follow the Silent Creek Trail as it follows a power line corridor to the edge of the plateau. A short side trail leads to a viewpoint overlooking Mt. Si and the Cascade Range; picnic tables and benches are scattered about for your viewing pleasure. From here, the trail drops briskly down into the lushly forested valley of Silent Creek.

Eventually, you arrive at a junction with the Deep Creek Trail, Go right and downhill, shortly arriving at the paved Preston Trail. which is built on an old railroad grade. Turn left and head west on this trail, which passes through pleasant wooded country.

In 3/4 of a mile, arrive at a trailhead parking area next to Lake Alice Road. Continue heading west on the Preston Trail through more pretty woodlands. In a long mile, the trail switchbacks down to the shoulder of the Preston-Fall City Road. The trail follows the shoulder of the road south for a quarter mile, then heads onto SE 68th Street. Eventually you arrive back at the Preston-Fall City Road. Here the official route veers sharply right and follows the shoulder of the road northbound to access a crosswalk.

The hiker will notice with consternation that the trail detour on SE 68th adds a considerable distance to the walk, compared to simply following the Preston-Fall City Road all the way to the crosswalk. Apparently the trail designers thought that the new road bridge over the Raging River had an insufficient shoulder to be safe for trail users.

Walk across the Preston-Fall City Road at the crosswalk. The trail climbs away from the road to regain the level of the old railroad grade, which here crossed the Raging River valley via a long-gone trestle bridge.

The next mile and a half of trail is exceptionally pleasant walking as the trail traverses the side of the Raging River valley at a nearly level contour well above the valley floor. Occasional streams tumbling down ravines liven up the trail side scenery. At length ,you arrive at the hamlet of Preston, where there is a scattering of houses and businesses. The trail curves west past athletic fields and an industrial park, eventually ending at the side of SE High Point Way.

Turn right (west) and follow High Point Way about 3/4 mile, then look for the resumption of the trail on the left side of the road. The trail closely follows the shoulder of I-90 for 3/4 of a mile, eventually reaching a trailhead parking lot near the Exit 20 freeway interchange. There is a Metro 208 bus stop here ,which you can use to get back to Issaquah, although the infrequent service of that bus will require lucky or careful timing if you want to avoid a long wait.

The Preston Trail continues west from the parking lot. Here it follows a lovely ravine along Issaquah Creek and is sheltered from freeway noise for some distance. Two trails leading up to Grand Ridge are passed on the right. In a short two miles, the Preston Trail arrives at the Exit 18 freeway interchange at E Sunset Way, where the trail ends. Follow Sunset Way west into downtown Issaquah, where a bus stop for Sound Transit 554 may be found next to First Ave SE.

Getting Back

Ride Sound Transit 554 back to Seattle