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Pacific Northwest / Anyone ridden the John Wayne Pioneer Trail in WA?
« on: January 01, 2014, 06:27:55 am »
My brother and I have been kicking around ideas for a Canadian border/Seattle to Portland OR ride via some non-direct route for a while now, with various options considered.
Just a few days ago he discovered the John Wayne Pioneer Trail, a rail-to-trail conversion that starts just east of Seattle in the Snoqualmie/North Bend WA area, goes through the Cascades more or less parallel to I-90, through Ellensburg then on across the Columbia and eventually almost all the way to the Idaho border. (where it links up to other trails that could take you all the way to Montana, actually...)
Link to the TrailLink map for the John Wayne: http://www.traillink.com/trail-maps/john-wayne-pioneer-trail-%28milwaukee-road-corridor%29.aspx
Link to one possible route on Google Maps: http://goo.gl/maps/gf1FV (the Columbia Gorge route here is pretty nailed down; the Anacortes-Seattle-Ellensburg stretch is obvious; the middle third across central WA is pretty much entirely up in the air at this point!)
We were wondering about the Seattle-Columbia River stretch, and then coming back down the Columbia into Portland via the Columbia Gorge (which seems really well set up for cycling) but central-southern WA is pretty unknown territory for both of us.
Has anyone used the JWP trail as a route through the Cascades? Is it doable with cyclocross/hybrid style touring bikes?
Similarly, anyone familiar with that central-southern WA area, Ellensburg/Yakima/Tri-Cities/etc? It's not a part of WA either of us has spent any time in.
Just a few days ago he discovered the John Wayne Pioneer Trail, a rail-to-trail conversion that starts just east of Seattle in the Snoqualmie/North Bend WA area, goes through the Cascades more or less parallel to I-90, through Ellensburg then on across the Columbia and eventually almost all the way to the Idaho border. (where it links up to other trails that could take you all the way to Montana, actually...)
Link to the TrailLink map for the John Wayne: http://www.traillink.com/trail-maps/john-wayne-pioneer-trail-%28milwaukee-road-corridor%29.aspx
Link to one possible route on Google Maps: http://goo.gl/maps/gf1FV (the Columbia Gorge route here is pretty nailed down; the Anacortes-Seattle-Ellensburg stretch is obvious; the middle third across central WA is pretty much entirely up in the air at this point!)
We were wondering about the Seattle-Columbia River stretch, and then coming back down the Columbia into Portland via the Columbia Gorge (which seems really well set up for cycling) but central-southern WA is pretty unknown territory for both of us.
Has anyone used the JWP trail as a route through the Cascades? Is it doable with cyclocross/hybrid style touring bikes?
Similarly, anyone familiar with that central-southern WA area, Ellensburg/Yakima/Tri-Cities/etc? It's not a part of WA either of us has spent any time in.