Newcastle Trails

NEWCASTLE TRAILS

About Newcastle Trails

NEWCASTLE TRAILS is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit volunteer organization focused on the preservation, expansion, and maintenance of trails within the City of Newcastle, Washington.

We recommend trail routes, identify priorities, and maintain a registry of volunteers to assist the City in trail work. Trail efforts will be planned and budgeted by the City in conformance with the Parks and Trails Plan.

Members need not reside in Newcastle, and equestrians are welcome. There are no dues. We communicate primarily by email. For more information, contact info@newcastletrails.org.

BOARD MEMBERS:
Garry Kampen (President)
Jim Price (Vice President)
Peggy Price (Secretary/Treasurer)
Grace Stiller (Weed Warriors)
Giles Velte (Board Representative)
Fred Chapman
Joel Harris

Terrace Trail

The Terrace Trail was Newcastle Trails' major project for 2007-2008, carried out in cooperation with the City of Newcastle, the Issaquah Alps Trails Club, local Scout troops, and others. It replaces a storm-damaged informal trail with a carefully designed new trail with easier grades and better drainage (see Bob Cerelli's photos).

The trail winds up the forested DeLeo Wall from the historic Thomas Rouse Road (144th Place SE) to the Terrace subdivision, with links to Cougar Mountain Park. The route features large trees (some storm-toppled), ferns, views, and huge moss-covered boulders (glacial erratics). It also provides a display of the trail-builder's art: curbing and steps of stone and wood; dips, slopes and ditches for drainage; switchbacks; even a passage through a tree.

The trail is about two-thirds of a mile long, about a half-hour walk each way. Cougar Mountain Park can be reached from the upper trailhead at the Terrace by walking a short distance on sidewalks: walk downhill to the first intersection, turn right, and follow the street uphilll into the park.

Directions to lower trailhead: See street map (route shown in green). Take Coal Creek Parkway to SE 91st Street (north of May Creek, at traffic light). Follow SE 91st east past the Highlands gatehouse. At the T (Highlands Park) turn left and follow 140th Ave. SE as it curves right (becoming SE 90th St.) and left (becoming 144th Ave. SE). At the T, turn right onto SE 87th St. The trailhead is one block straight ahead (east), just beyond the vehicle gate. Walk past the gate; the Terrace Trail begins at the steps.

Trail map: The sidebar has links to a trail map and guide. Look in the lower right-hand corner of the map for the Highlands and Terrace trails (solid green lines). Note: The underlying street map is outdated: some streets are missing, and some (e.g. SE 87th St. and 144th Ave. SE) are incorrectly labeled.

Calendar

July 6 Monday Board Meeting (7-9PM)

July 7 Tuesday Weed Work (9AM-1PM)

July 8 Wednesday Weed Work (TBD)

Aug 29 5K Run/Walk (9AM)

Sept 12-13 Newcastle Days

The events above are all open to the public. Details below.

Board Meeting

The Newcastle Trails board will meet Monday, July 6, 7-9 PM. at Regency Newcastle, a retirement community at 7454 Newcastle Golf Club Road (just off Coal Creek Parkway). Board meetings are normally held on the first Monday of the month, and are open to the public. If you plan to attend, check the web site for last-minute changes and/or email NT at info@newcastletrails.org.

Weeding Tansy

The Weed Warriors will be pulling Tansy on Tuesday, July 7, 9AM-1PM, on the Highlands Trail. We'll begin at 9 on the trailhead on SE 91st Street, just off Coal Creek Parkway (the same location as the Scotch Broom removal work party). Leave the Parkway at the traffic lights and drive uphill past the Highlands gatehouse. Tools will be provided. Students earn community service hours. Contact: Grace Stiller at 425-228-7927. Visit: Newcastle Weed Warrior Website.

Newcastle 5K Run/Walk

Newcastle's inaugural 5K Run/Walk will be held on Saturday, August 29, starting at 9AM. The run will start and end in Lake Boren Park; much of the route will follow the wooded May Creek Trail on the roadbed of the historic Seattle and Walla Walla Railroad. Register on-site on race day 7-8 AM, or in advance online at active.com (search "Newcastle 5K Run") or at FootZone stores in Issaquah, Bellevue, or Redmond. For more information email newcastle5K@hotmail.com or visit Newcastle 5K.

Trails and Open Space

Newcastle's trail system is a great asset worth preserving. Trails provide healthy recreation and eco-friendly transportation, at minimal cost. They're strongly supported by citizens: in surveys, trails are the #1 recreational choice of residents, with 95% support. Trails increase property values, and they bring positive publicity and visitors to our city (e.g. Volksmarchers).

But the City has given trails a low priority. Trails have been closed, trail mileage is shrinking, and more trails could be lost or cut as open space is developed. The City has probably spent less on trails since its 1994 founding than the $175,000 proposed for new cemetery fence. There have been two large trail projects: the short trail connecting Lake Boren Park to the Parkway, built by the city; and the Terrace Trail, built in 2007-2008 by Newcastle Trails in partnership with the city. The city hired Earth Corps to build the upper steps (100 feet for about $25,000); Newcastle Trails planned and built the remainder (3300 feet for roughly 3000 volunteer hours, 90 staff hours, and $4000 in materials).

Open Space. Some of Newcastle's finest trails are at risk because they cross non-city land. Since preserving open space will help to preserve trails, you may be interested in the Newcastle Open Space Project. This informal citywide group aims to identify and preserve needed open space within the city.

Trail News

The Terrace Trail (see left-hand column) had its grand opening on Saturday, June 6 (see Bob Cerelli's photos). The trail was Newcastle Trails' main project for 2007-2008; building it took about 3000 hours from 90+ volunteers, with materials and other help from the city. Newcastle's mayor Ben Varon cut the ribbon; Peggy Price led a trail walk from the lower trailhead to the top; and Scott Semans led a walk into Cougar Mountain Park, returning by informal trails outside the Park.

During work parties in April and May, volunteers rebuilt the West CrossTown Trail where it passes just north of the Historic Newcastle Cemetery. Five years of heavy use had worn down the crushed rock surface, which was starting to erode. Newcastle Trails purchased the necessary materials (mainly crushed rock) with funds donated by Newcastle's HomeStreet Bank.

Thanks to an initiative by Newcastle Trails, Bellevue has completed a short trail that will connect the new Coal Creek YMCA with the Coal Creek Trail. The latter has undergone significant rebuilding, including a series of suspension bridges across Coal Creek.

In early 2009 the City Council voted to go ahead with the Parkway Extension of the May Creek Trail (see description below). Newcastle Trails had proposed the extension and held several planning meetings with city staff in 2007.

In late 2008, the City Council approved the purchase of the May Creek Park Entrance Parcel (see note below) for $180,000. Half of this came from a grant that Newcastle Trails helped to obtain, working closely with the Trust for Public Land. The final vote was close, with Buri, Hubbell, Jensen, and Simpson voting for the purchase, and Garber, Putter, and Varon opposed. Our thanks to the pro-purchase Councilors, and to those Newcastle Trails members who wrote and spoke on behalf of retaining the grant and buying the property.

The Entrance Parcel completes May Creek Park and Newcastle's historic rail-trail, which provides a corridor for the May Creek Trail from the Waterline Trail almost to the trail's termination in the Windtree neighborhood.. Thanks to extensive lobbying by Newcastle Trails, funds were voted by the City Council in past years, a grant was obtained from King County Conservation Futures, and in 2008 the owner, who had been reluctant to sell, changed her mind.

Trail Projects

Several trail projects are pending or proposed: building the Hazelwood Trail, rebuilding and extending the Olympus Trail, and extending the May Creek Trail to Coal Creek Parkway. The Council has voted funds for the Hazelwood and May Creek trails in past years, after lobbying by Newcastle Trails and others.

The Hazelwood Trail connects 116th Ave, Hazelwood School, and Lake Washington Ridge with Hazelwood Park, the CrossTown Trail, and the Hazelwood neighborhood. The Council voted funds for the trail to be built in 2005, in conjunction with the new Hazelwood School. The Renton School District built its half, but the city never found the time to hire a contractor. Newcastle Trails and the Hazelwood Community Association have both requested its completion; perhaps another volunteer project is in order.

The Olympus Trail runs south from the West CrossTown Trail past the cemetery in a power line corridor owned by the Olympus Homeowners' Association. Newcastle Trails is working with the association on a proposal to reroute both trails near their junction to make slopes more gradual. The association is also considering improvements to the trail south of the cemetery, where it is mostly informal. And the developers of Eden Grove have agreed to complete the Olympus Trail by extending it east from the power line just south of Olympus to the Waterline Trail.

The Parkway Extension will connect the Highlands to May Creek Park via (a) an access path running west from the Parkway, (b) a switchback down to Boren Creek, (c) a bridge across Boren Creek, and eventually (d) a trail running west from the bridge to the existing May Creek Trail. Newcastle Trails has agreed to build (b) while leaving (a) and (c) to the city. City staff has already put in a good deal of work on their part, and we hope to see (a-c) completed in 2009.