Map of the Mountains-to-Sound Greenway I-90 Trail

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Mountains-to-Sound Greenway - I-90 Trail - Seattle to Bellevue

The Mountains-to-Sound I-90 Trail that takes you from Seattle over Mercer Island and then to Bellevue is a 8-mile long paved path that follows Interstate 90 near Interstate 5 at Holgate Avenue, across Lake Washington, along Interstate 90 across Mercer Island then over to Bellevue near the interchange of I-90 and I-405.

Conditions

The Mountains-to-Sound I-90 Trail is paved the entire route. The trail follows alongside Interstate 90 for much the route. The trail is open for bike riding, walking and running.

This trail offers a number of challenges, it can be rather noisy, goes across Lake Washington on the floating bridge shared with the cars on the interstate and has some hills to go up and down.

Communities

The Mountains-to-Sound I-90 Trail goes past the following communities: Seattle, Mercer Island and Bellevue.

Points of Interest

The Mountains-to-Sound I-90 Trail goes past the following points of interest:

Dr. Jose Rizal Park

Lewis Park

Benvenuto Viewpoint

Judkins Park

Jimi Hendriz Park

Northwest African American Museum

Thurgood Marshall Elementary School

Mt. Baker Ridge Viewpoint

East Portal Viewpoint

Lacey V. Murrow Bridge

West I-90 Lid Park

Aubrey David Park

Luther Burbank Park

Gallagher Hill Open Space

Barnabie Point

I-90 Bridge over East Channel

Enatai Beach Park

Mercer Slough Nature Park

End Points and Trail Description

In Seattle, you can catch the paved trail at Holgate Street just east of the bridge over I-5. The trail heads north across Beacon Hill, through Rizal Park and under 12th Avenue. There are nice views of downtown Seattle and Elliot Bay on Puget Sound from this point. The trail then wraps going back south through Sturgus Park and Daejeon Park. At the off-ramp from I-90 to Rainier Avenue, the trail follows right along I-90 for a short while, but while I-90 heads into the tunnels, the route for the trail heads up to Jimi Hendrix Park and Sam Smith Park in the Mount Baker neighborhood. Before 30th Avenue the trail goes into its own separate tunnel. You pop back out at the little park around the East Portal Viewpoint and then pop back up to I-90 to cross Lake Washington on the floating bridge right along side the traffic, but the views are fantastic.

On Mercer Island, you leave the traffic to do some climbing through the park located over the I-90 Express tunnels. There is parking, tennis courts, ball fields and other facilities in Aubrey Davis Park and West I-90 Lid Park. You drop back down to travel parallel to, but separated from, I-90 Express again to get across the rest of Mercer Island. The trail system travels along both the north and south side of the expressway. There are multiple access paths and paths on the many overpasses to get from one side to the other. Eventually, you need to be on the north side to cross the channel on the bridge along side of traffic.

On the east side of the channel the Mountains-to-Sound Greenway I-90 Trail takes a ramp down away from the lanes of traffic. It dips under the interstate near Enatai Beach Park. This is a nice place to stop for a break and look back at Mercer Island and the bridge. The trail follows SE Lake Road and then heads north to go back under the interchange with Bellevue Way. There is an access trail that goes north just past the interchange, but the I-90 Trail heads over a bridge across Mercer Slough and under the off-ramp from the freeway. the trail does a sharp turn at 118th Avenue SE then heads under Interstate 405 to the Factoria Shopping Center. The I-90 trail stops at Factoria Boulevard but you can take access paths to the north or south to get into Bellevue.

Mountains-to-Sound Greenway - I-90 Trail - East Bellevue

The Mountains-to-Greenway I-90 Trail has another 1.5 mile long section along Interstate 90 on the east side of Bellevue, just before Lake Sammamish. It starts on the west end just past the interchange with 161st Avenue off of SE Eastgate Way. It travels alongside the interstate for a little over a mile, then wraps around Sunset Elementary School. It stops at W. Lake Sammamish Parkway SE near 180th Avenue SE in Issaquah.

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Resources

Following are links to official off-site resources to find out more details about the Mountains-to-Sound Greenway I-90 Trail from Seattle to Bellevue, Washington