East Lake Sammamish Trail June 12 Grand Opening Announced

King County announced the next segment of an 11-mile bike and pedestrian trail linking Issaquah, Sammamish and Redmond is set to open in a ribbon-cutting ceremony next week.

Construction crews are putting the finishing touches this week on the 2.2-mile Issaquah segment of the East Lake Sammamish Master Plan Trail (ELST), an asphalt-paved trail that will eventually run from NE 70th Street in Redmond to Gilman Boulevard in Issaquah. 

A ribbon cutting ceremony to open the Issaquah portion of the trail, which ends at the city line at SE 43rd Way, is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, June 12 at 11 a.m. at the intersection of Gilman Boulevard and the ELST Trail.

King County officials said a final inspection was completed the last week of May and work crews are finishing the installation of the split-rail fencing that borders the trail.

Planners have long-touted the ELST Trail as the final missing link in a 44-mile urban regional trail system linking Seattle to the hub of East King County and on to the Cascade Foothills.

The ELST trail is a asphalt-paved, non-motorized transportation corridor and a multi-use recreational trail along 11 miles of the former Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) railroad corridor on the east side of Lake Sammamish, from Redmond to Issaquah.

It was originally planned in 1999, and an interim gravel trail connecting Issaquah to Redmond was completed in 2006. The next phase of the project is in Sammamish, running from the Redmond-Sammamish city line to NE Inglewood Hill Road, is scheduled for completion in summer 2014.

While much of the trail is essentially complete, the trail is still considered a construction zone and officials are urging the public to avoid using the trail until it is officially open for public use on June 12.

See the trail closure map, project FAQ and project summary for more details.