Washington's Showiest Fall Color Display Is Along This Car-Free Bikeable Seattle Rail Trail

After the decline of America's extensive railway network that was built in the 19th and early 20th centuries, a movement to preserve these historic routes and repurpose them as multi-use paths produced such iconic trails as the 2,000-mile Great American Rail Trail for walkers and cyclists to enjoy. The best rail trails in North America offer a mix of scenery, accessibility, and history, tracing the tracks of old trains along rolling hillsides and truss bridges. The Burke-Gilman Trail in Washington has everything you could want from a rail trail, starting from the incredible seascapes of the Puget Sound and traversing a blend of cityscape and quiet forest. Plus, the trail's native canopy of bigleaf maple and red alder trees makes it one of the state's best leaf-peeping excursions come autumn.

Where the paved cycling and walking path of the Burke-Gilman Trail runs now was once the route of the Seattle, Lake Shore, and Eastern Railway, built in 1885. The rail was active until 1971, and it was converted into a trail a few years later, in 1978. It was, in fact, among the earliest established rail trails, setting a standard for how these unique recreational paths could benefit local communities and visitors: spacious and paved pathways, easy connections through key destinations, and a preservation of its scenery, both in the city and nature. The Burke-Gilman Trail is generally flat, making it welcoming for runners, walkers, cyclists, and skaters, as well as wheelchair users.

The trail has dozens of access points, though its standard starting point is at the Golden Gardens Park entrance in Seattle. This end of the trail is just a 35-minute drive from the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

The western end of the Burke-Gilman Trail, starting from Golden Gardens Park, takes you through Ballard, one of Seattle's best neighborhoods, with Scandinavian charm and quality bites. The park has a popular beach with wonderful views across Puget Sound and out to the Olympic Mountains across the water. From there, the path goes south towards the Ballard Locks. This is where a short on-road section of the trail begins, known as the Missing Link, which the city plans to improve to make the trail more distinct. It's worth checking out the Locks, which connect the Puget Sound to Seattle's lakes. There's a fish ladder there where, in the fall, you can see salmon leaping up the fish ladder as they migrate between freshwater and saltwater.

Once the trail gets back off the road, you'll enter the Fremont Cut section, home to some of the best fall foliage views on the trail. The leafy section flanks the waterfront, known for its quirky sculptures and murals. As the trail curves under the Aurora Bridge, you can take a quick detour to see the large Fremont Troll sculpture, just a few minutes off-path by foot. The trail crosses into Gas Works Park, a funky industrial sculpture garden on a hillside with great views of downtown, before proceeding towards the University of Washington campus (providing access to the Link light rail). After passing the University District, the trail becomes quieter and more suburban. It goes up along the shore of Lake Washington, meandering through pretty wooded areas, before concluding at the town of Bothell.