About

Plan your hiking adventure with Trailhead Direct

Trailhead Direct is a pilot project co-led by King County Metro and King County Parks. This project seeks to ease vehicle congestion, reduce safety hazards and expand access to hiking destinations along I-90. The Trailhead Direct service runs on designated weekends and holidays.

Summer hiking season is returning, and we look forward to helping people reach the trails. Trailhead Direct lets you venture to the mountains in a convenient and environmentally friendly way, ensuring the only footprint you leave behind is from your boots or shoes, and not your car.

Dow Constantine, King County Executive

Trailhead Direct provides an incredible opportunity for people to access and connect with their public lands. It reduces the number of cars on the roads and at our trailheads, while increasing the number of people who are able to experience some of the greatest trails in the country. Each person who steps off the bus and onto one of our trails has the opportunity to fall in love with the outdoors and become a champion of our public lands, helping ensure we preserve these lands for generations to come.

Hilary Franz, Commissioner of Public Lands

Washington Trails Association is a proud partner of Trailhead Direct. Transit-to-trails services are key to making our region’s wonderful trails accessible to more people. It also helps trailheads meet the growing number of hikers, without adding more cars to already crowded parking lots. We’re excited Trailhead Direct is back for the 2019 hiking season and are working to ensure it’s an ongoing option for King County hikers.

Jill Simmons, Executive Director, WTA

The Wilderness Society is thrilled to support the upcoming Trailhead Direct season. The ability to access nature is critical to our health and well-being. This program gives communities all over King County the opportunity to get outside and connect with nature and our public lands. We are looking forward to working with the county and community partners to ensure its success.

Jacqueline Reyes, Urban to Wild Specialist

Trailhead Direct brings to life the longtime dream of accessing wilderness on the Metro. Transportation options like Trailhead Direct are more important than ever to sustainably connect our growing urban population to our beloved outdoors, and to make access to public lands more equitable.

Jon Hoekstra, Executive Director, Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust

Trailhead Direct trips continue to help ECOSS connect immigrants, refugees and other communities of color to outdoor recreation. We are excited for the service’s return. Such partnerships with community-based organizations are critical for promoting equitable access to the health benefits of green spaces.

William Chen, Director of Partnerships & Belonging, ECOSS