Trails Archives | Bainbridge Island Parks & Trails Foundation

Trillium Trail Run returns May 11

Trillium Trail Run returns May 11

Run for the trails! The Trillium Trail Run 10K/5K and Kids’ Fun Run returns to Bainbridge Island Saturday, May 11, a benefit to acquire, build and maintain new Bainbridge Island trails.

Runners and walkers will enjoy a scenic course from Battle Point Park, along the Forest to Sky Trail, looping among the great firs of the Grand Forest and over scenic Hilltop meadow. Kids can enjoy a FUN RUN as part of the morning activities.

The event is hosted by the Bainbridge Island Parks & Trails Foundation.

Register at www.trilliumtrail.run.

Trillium Trail Run will launch the Foundation’s “Trails Connect Bainbridge Island” campaign, to acquire, build and maintain new trails around the island including: the Lost Valley Trail, nexus of the east-west, cross-island trail route from Winslow to Gazzam Lake; Dolphin Drive to W. Port Madison Trail; Sunny Hill to Nutes Pond Trail; and the […]

Trillium Trail Run returns May 11Douglas2024-04-03T14:10:08-07:00

Ferry walkways to be reused on Puget Sound to Pacific

Ferry walkways to be reused on Puget Sound to Pacific

An elevated walkway being removed from the Colman Dock ferry terminal starting this weekend is bound for re-use on the Puget Sound to Pacific trail corridor – a combination of the Olympic Discovery Trail and Sound to Olympics Trail in Kitsap, Jefferson and Clallam counties.

The temporary walkway comes down as a new, permanent pedestrian bridge has opened from the Washington State Ferries terminal to First Avenue at Marion Street.

Five of the eight segments from the old span, totaling over 350 feet, are being donated to Clallam County and facilitated by the Puget Sound to Pacific Collaborative. The bridge segments will be trucked away early Saturday morning and stored near Port Angeles.

The walkway segments will eventually be re-used as multi-use bridges along the Puget Sound to Pacific corridor, a planned 200-mile multi-use trail system from the ferry terminals on Puget Sound to the Pacific Ocean at LaPush.

The donation was initiated by […]

Ferry walkways to be reused on Puget Sound to PacificDouglas2023-11-06T09:51:57-08:00

Kilmer celebrates federal RAISE grant, trail connections

Kilmer celebrates federal RAISE grant, trail connections

We were honored by a visit from Congressman Derek Kilmer in August, to celebrate the $16.13 million federal RAISE grant for local and regional trail design.

Kilmer walked the Sound to Olympics Sakai Pond Connector with the Parks & Trails Foundation, city and park officials, and local trail boosters to mark the amazing grant, which brings big-time dollars to Bainbridge Island to continue designing the STO north to the bridge.

Said the Congressman: “It has been said that roads segregate, and trails integrate. I like that notion, because what we’re really celebrating is connection. Connecting Clallam, Jefferson and Kitsap counties. Connecting cities and tribes and all those points along the way. Connect recreationists to nature, people to jobs, students to schools.”

A refresher: Earlier this year, the PS2P Collaborative – an initiative led by the Bainbridge Island Parks & Trails Foundation with the North Kitsap Trails Association and Peninsula Trails Coalition, and […]

Kilmer celebrates federal RAISE grant, trail connectionsDouglas2023-08-28T13:56:44-07:00

Stop weeds – brush those boots before you hike

Stop weeds – brush those boots before you hike

Brush your boots before you hike? It’s good policy, and good trail hygiene, catching the spread of invasive weeds and seeds before they’re tromped all over trails and parks.

To that end, you’ll find new boot-brush stations at two island trailheads: Gazzam Lake Preserve (Deerpath Lane) and Blakely Harbor Park (3-T Road). Two more are on the way, at Grand Forest West (Miller Road) and another at Gazzam Lake (Marshall Road trailhead, this one an Eagle Scout project and also funded by a Parks & Trails Foundation grant).

“They’re exactly like what people might on their front porch to scrape mud off their boots before they head inside,” says Morgan Houk, volunteer program manager for Bainbridge Metro Parks. “They can be used coming in and out of trail systems to catch invasive weeds – especially in the wintertime, when we tend to […]

Stop weeds – brush those boots before you hikeDouglas2023-08-25T09:19:44-07:00

Kilmer announces $16.13M grant for PS2P

Kilmer announces $16.13M grant for PS2P

PORT ANGELES, WA – Today, U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer (WA-06) announced that the City of Port Angeles has been awarded a $16.13 million RAISE Discretionary Grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. This grant will be used to plan and design approximately 34 active transportation components, addressing approximately 100 miles of gaps, community connections, and safety improvements for multi-use trails connecting Bainbridge Island on Puget Sound to the Pacific Coast.

“This is a big deal,” said Rep. Kilmer. “This investment in the Puget Sound to Pacific trail will help connect workers to jobs, local residents to essential services, and folks looking for recreation to some of our region’s natural treasures. Having the federal government provide this grant funding means we will see improved trail connectivity and better safety without the cost being borne entirely be taxpayers in our neck of the woods. That’s a huge win for our region.”

The Puget […]

Kilmer announces $16.13M grant for PS2PDouglas2023-06-26T11:05:11-07:00

Charles Schmid was at home on the Waterfront Trail

Charles Schmid was at home on the Waterfront Trail

He was a product of suburban Long Island, N.Y., who found deep connection with the environment as a Northwest rower and mountaineer. An engineer for a defense contractor, who organized anti-nuke meetings during his lunch hour. A patient, owlish presence at public meetings for decades, who was never shy about keeping the City’s feet to the fire on environmental regulation.

When the Charles Schmid Waterfront Trail is formally dedicated on July 7, you could make a good case that it’s as much for Schmid’s years as the avatar of environmentalism islandwide as for his work on the trail itself.

“I think just seeing the natural beauty, the spectacular mountains around here, was a big philosophical influence on his caring for the planet,” says his daughter, Jenny Schmid. “He was so passionate about mountain climbing, and he approached that the same way he approached the Waterfront Trail – slow and steady wins the […]

Charles Schmid was at home on the Waterfront TrailDouglas2023-08-30T16:06:44-07:00

In the news: Inslee presented award for trails advocacy

In the news: Inslee presented award for trails advocacy

From the Peninsula Daily News:

BLYN — Gov. Jay Inslee was presented an award for his continued support of biking trails by an advocacy group working to build connected bike trails across the continental United States.

In a ceremony at the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe headquarters in Blyn on Wednesday, the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy named Inslee the 2023 Doppelt Family Rail-Trail Champion for his support of biking trails throughout his political career.

Before attending the ceremony, Inslee biked along the Olympic Discovery Trail from Port Angeles to the campus in Blyn, a trip he made is roughly two hours.

READ THE STORY

In the news: Inslee presented award for trails advocacyDouglas2023-06-13T16:53:54-07:00

In the news: Inslee honored by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

In the news: Inslee honored by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

From The Urbanist:

A shared enthusiasm for trail networks and the unique recreational opportunities the Olympic Peninsula offers set the tone for this year’s in-person board convening of the national Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) in Sequim. RTC is based in the other Washington, Washington DC, and the 135-mile Olympic Discovery Trail is what lured them here.

The Olympic Discovery Trail (ODT) stretches from Port Townsend to La Push across lush forests, alongside mountains, farms, and shorelines, and in 2019 it was designated by RTC as the official western end of their 3,700-mile, 12-state, multi-use trail corridor, called the Great American Rail-Trail.

READ THE STORY

In the news: Inslee honored by Rails-to-Trails ConservancyDouglas2023-06-14T11:49:13-07:00

In the news: Seattle to the Pacific: A Dream Bike Route Gains Momentum

In the news: Seattle to the Pacific: A Dream Bike Route Gains Momentum

From the Cascade Bicycle Club newsletter:

Within a few minutes of beginning a group ride on the Olympic Discovery Trail it became apparent that Gov. Jay Inslee loves to bike.

We pedaled hard to catch up as he sped off down the trail on a sunny weekday morning.

But Inslee was in a rush for good reason. He was scheduled to speak and receive a national trails award in two hours in Sequim, 30 miles away from our starting point in Port Angeles.

I was among a lucky group of a dozen trail advocates offered the fun task of riding to the event with Inslee. How often do you get to draft the governor on a long bike ride?

READ THE STORY

In the news: Seattle to the Pacific: A Dream Bike Route Gains MomentumDouglas2023-06-14T11:50:12-07:00

Be part of the mix on National Trails Day, June 3

Be part of the mix on National Trails Day, June 3

Be part of the mix – the trail mix! Celebrate Bainbridge Island trails with a fun and healthy hike on National Trails Day, Saturday, June 3.

While you’re out, pick up the newly updated Trails on Bainbridge Island map at Hilltop (Grand Forest) and lower Fort Ward Park from 10 a.m. to noon, hosted by the Bainbridge Island Parks & Trails Foundation. The large-format color map includes Bainbridge Island’s 48 miles of public trails, as well as nearby dining, services and other amenities for park and trail users.

Learn more about the Parks & Trails Foundation’s work to expand and enhance the island trail network, including the cross-island Lost Valley trail. The Foundation will also hand out its trail mix.

The Trails on Bainbridge Island map is produced by the Bainbridge Island Metro Park & Recreation District, with support from the Bainbridge Island Parks & […]

Be part of the mix on National Trails Day, June 3Douglas2023-05-17T12:28:47-07:00