King County Parks has partnered with King County Metro on the popular city-to-trailhead bus service Trailhead Direct that runs from May to September since 2017. Transportation has long been a barrier to people accessing nature, and the program yielded a lot of good community feedback and information, particularly around other types of transportation needs and desires, particularly from communities that have historically been the most marginalized. Based on that feedback, King County Parks looked to expand the scope of their collaboration with King County Metro to include the Community Van program in order to meet a broader range of community needs, and the Transit to Nature partnership was born.
Where Trailhead Direct focuses on providing scheduled bus service from the urban Seattle area to eastside trailheads, Community Van focuses on providing neighborhood-based rideshare service to destinations anywhere within a 2-hour drive time from where the van is picked up—whether it’s a King County Park or anywhere else you’d like to visit. Looking to get the whole team to their little league game in one swoop? Hoping to get your extended family out for a BBQ at the park? Trying to get a group of seniors to the local pool for water aerobics? Community Van is a flexible, affordable option to connect you and your loved ones to the outdoors and beyond! Ride in a Community Van for no more than the price of a standard King County Metro fare, and don’t forget that means that youth 18 and under ride for free.
Thanks to ongoing funding for the Transit to Nature partnership and contributions from Amazon, King County Parks has limited funds to cover Community Van outings for organizations that serve people of color, immigrant, refugee, non-English speaking or English as a second language, disabled, LGBTQIA+, youth, elderly, and/or unincorporated King County residents through the end of 2024. Reach out to Helen Potter (hpotter@kingcounty.gov) to learn more and share your proposed outing.
King County Metro covers the cost of gas, insurance, tolls, and Discover Passes (which covers a visit land managed by Washington State Parks, Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Department of Natural Resources). Wheelchair-accessible vans and bike racks are also available upon request. Check out our Transit to Nature blog post (available in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean, Traditional Chinese, and Somali) for more details about the program, steps on getting started, and brochures.