(Image: King County)

Crews worked overnight to clear Broadway (Image: CHS)

Like the mountain passes cleared of snow, a key hiking route connecting Capitol Hill to Mt. Si will reopen this weekend.

This year, there will be more nearby opportunities to gear up.

King County Metro’s Trailhead Direct route is back with weekend and holiday service connecting Capitol Hill Station to an area of the county’s most popular — and most car-overwhelmed — trails.

Now in its sixth season, the Metro service will be solely focused on one main route in 2023 with Broadway as its core trailhead:

This summer, Trailhead Direct continues to focus the transit-to-trails service on the most popular route with stops at trailheads near Mount Si, Mount Teneriffe, and Little Si. Riders can take the bus, Sound Transit Link light rail, or bike to get to the Sound Transit Capitol Hill Link station, where Trailhead Direct coaches will depart every 30 minutes. The 2023 season will include service on Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day.

The first buses will pull out starting this Saturday at 7:39 AM before a stop downtown and then hitting the highway.

Fares for riders 19 and older are $2.75 and kids, as always on public transit in Washington, ride free.

The summer routes began in 2018 as an initiative to connect more people to outdoor recreation activities and to address sometimes insanely overcrowded conditions at parking areas near the popular trailheads. In 2022, the routes were pared back to only the more popular Capitol Hill to mountains loop, cutting a second route through the Mount Baker Transit Center.

The 14 and 32-seat buses serving the route typically have plenty of open seats though you may want to plan your trip for off-peak times if you want to score space in the bike rack. And, yes, trail dogs are welcome on the bus “at the discretion of the operator” though, as usual, larger dogs require a fare and all good dogs must remain on the floor or your lap. Good dogs are not allowed on the seats.

The arrival of the 2023 Broadway hiking season will include new options for procuring your outdoor gear. CHS reported here on the arrival of outdoor gear and fashion retailer Windthrow on 15th Ave E. Meanwhile, a new location of the Gearhouse outdoor gear rental and community company is getting ready to open on E Thomas just a block or so from the Trailhead stop. Gearhouse Capitol Hill is planning a grand opening for May 18th.

Trailhead Direct is funded by Metro and King County Parks, with support from the Seattle Department of Transportation and Amazon.

You can learn more at trailheaddirect.org.

PLEASE HELP KEEP CHS PAYWALL-FREE!
Subscribe to CHS to help us pay writers and photographers to cover the neighborhood. CHS is a pay what you can community news site with no required sign-in or paywall. Become a subscriber to help us cover the neighborhood for as little as $5 a month.