Need Washington state route help

[driftlessregion]

Hey Washingtonians,
I need help planning a route from Paradise/Mount Rainier to Mukilteo north of Seattle. It looks like nothing but busy city highways on the maps. If you know of a safe way north through Pierce and King counties please let me know.

[BrianCM]

You do know about the bike trails, don't you?  I have mapped out the Interurban trail (Everett to below Lynnwood) on my trusty GPS, and I can send you the information.  I also use Delorme Topo USA to help with planning routes.

[driftlessregion]

I have the official WADOT bicycle map and it doesn't show any bike routes if you can believe that. The problem with the Delorme Gazetteers is that it is not very helpful in urban areas. I'd be grateful for any specifics you can provide. My email is in my preferences.
Doug

[BrianCM]

The Seattle-to-Portland map may be of use once you get towards Tacoma.  Looks like you have no choice but to take 706, then 7 up to Ft. Lewis.  Then you can take the STP route into Seattle.  From Seattle you can take the Burke-Gilman trail north to the Interurban trail.  Then north to Mukilteo.

You can also ride along HWY 99 on up from Seattle to Mukilteo.  Its busy, but there's enough room for bikes.  David Smith, who has a bike safety website, used 99 for a 2-hour ride to give a talk to an Everett bike club up here.  After the talk, he decided to bike back to Seattle on 99 rather than take the bus.

Delorme Topo is actually quite detailed for urban streets.  I use the version with the DVD disk.

[AJ_Ritter]

What time of year are you planning to come this way? Not that it matters much though.  

There are a number of routes to take depending on your tolerance for traffic and how far you want to travel in day, how much you want to see.  PM me if you still need a hand.  ajritter at comcast dot net

[erniegrillo]

Check with Seattle's Cascade Bicycle Club. Go to www.cascade.org and click on the message boards.
Post your inquiry there and you will get a ton of route options and maps and links.

[driftlessregion]

I have to admit I have plenty of time, this trip not being until June 2008; I just enjoy the planning! I will definitely try the Seattle bike club. I also bought a book called Bicycling the Backroads Around Puget Sound from The Mountaineers (http://www.mountaineersbooks.org/). With a gazetteer I may be able to piece together a route from its many day trips. My experience with gazetteers is that they are usually great in the country (but one state didn't differentiate gravel roads) but in urban areas it is hard to determine suitablility of the road for bikes. What is your experience?