Alert 10/13: Sammamish River Trail closed from NE 143rd to 145th Streets

Map from King County Parks. No detour is provided.

A short section of the Sammamish River Trail will be closed tomorrow (October 13) for what is hopefully only a few hours between NE 143th and 145th Streets across the river from Chateau Ste. Michelle. However, the notice from King County Parks says the closure could continue over multiple days.

King County is once again not providing a detour for trail users.

I cannot determine the current status of Village Road/147th Pl NE, which has been under construction (let us know in the comments if you are familiar with the current status of these streets). That would be the easiest detour route if it is passable. If it is not bikeable due to construction, then users should have two options:

• Detour through the three roundabouts via NE 145th Street, Woodinville Redmond Road NE and NE 143rd Street. Satellite imagery makes it look like 143rd is open, but I am not 100% certain. If you know, please let us know in the comments below.
• Detour via the Eastrail. NE 145th Street has a trail connection between the two trails. NE 124th has shoulders for the section between the trails, and NE 116th has paint-only bike lanes. But if you are going all the way into Redmond's city center, then it probably makes sense to just stay on the Eastrail/Redmond Central Connector the entire way between the city and 145th.

If you have another detour option to recommend, post it in the comments below.

It is very frustrating that King County Parks continues to fail in its duty to provide trail detours. Especially in a situation like this where nearby streets have been under construction and may not match what a user's mapping app says, users deserve clear direction for how to get around a closure and continue on their way. It is far safer to have official guidance than to send everyone out to navigate around construction zones on their own, traveling on roadways they may not be familiar with. There is no way King County would close a major roadway without providing a signed detour route, so they shouldn't do the same to a regional trail. I am going to continue writing this screed on every trail closure notice until they fix their broken trail detour policy.

The notice from King County Parks:

Starting Tuesday, October 13, 2026, a section of the Sammamish River Trail will be fully closed for constructionfrom the North Shore Parking Lot at NE 145th Street south to NE 143rd Street.

Heavy equipment will occupy the full width of the trail. Trail users will not be able to pass through the work area during the closure.

The closure is expected to last a few hours, but work may take longer and could continue over multiple days. The trail will reopen as soon as possible and at the end of each workday if additional work is needed.

Please follow posted closure signs. Thank you for your patience as we complete this work.

Questions? Contactparksinfo@kingcounty.gov or (206) 477-4527.