2025 Bicycle Weekends schedule released, starts May 17–18
Seattle Parks will again host 10 car-free Bicycle Weekends on Lake Washington Boulevard this summer. The schedule and route are very similar to recent years, and the first event is May 17-18.
One difference is that Labor Day weekend is not included in the 2025 schedule. In 2024, the Saturday and Sunday of Labor Day weekend were included, but not Labor Day itself.
It has been 57 years since the first Bicycle Sunday on Lake Washington Boulevard in 1968, making the event one of the oldest and likely the longest-running open streets events anywhere. This stretch of the road opened in 1917, so Bicycle Sundays have been part of the road for more than half of the road's existence. The event was expanded during the early months of the COVID pandemic, when it was renamed Bicycle Weekends as the closures extended beyond Sundays.
As Seattle's bicycle facilities network expands across the city, there has been increased pressure to make Lake Washington Boulevard safer for cycling 365 days a year rather than only a handful of days during the summer. The easiest and most cost-effective solution would be to make the historic park boulevard one-way for motor vehicles while opening the other half of the street for biking and walking. This would preserve vehicle access to all driveways and parking areas while also creating a much-needed continuous and flat transportation and recreation route in southeast Seattle. The most recent effort to make such changes devolved into a farce due to a lack of political leadership. Regardless, it remains a popular idea, and it would be an immediately smash hit from the moment it opens. It would be a Burke-Gilman Trail for southeast Seattle. Support for a safer Lake Washington Boulevard that preserves car access while creating a great walking and biking space could even be a strong issue for a candidate running for City Council District 2 or Seattle Mayor.
The 2025 Bicycle Weekend dates:
- Saturday, May 17- Sunday, May 18
- Saturday, May 31- Sunday, June 1
- Saturday, June 14- Sunday, June 15
- Saturday, June 28- Sunday, June 29
- Saturday, July 12- Sunday, July 13
- Saturday, July 26- Sunday, July 27
- Saturday, August 9- Sunday, August 10
- Saturday, August 23- Sunday, August 24
- Saturday, September 6- Sunday, September 7
- Saturday, September 20- Sunday, September 21
Map of the 2025 route:
