It seems like every time we have wanted to go on this trail it was partially closed.  Finally it was fully open!!!  We made it almost the entire way.  It is a flat trail that is great for walking, jogging and biking.  The only area that I don't like is the short distance by Van Doren Landing Park where you have to be on a lightly traveled road with cars (with no edge to the street).  It amazed me that Kent hasn't put a sidewalk or a trail along that road to complete the trail so that it would be safer.  Other than that section, I love this trail because it winds along by the river and you get nice views of Mt Rainier on clear days.  

**this trip report is presented as the first part of a serial story; trail conditions and the like will be included in the story, as it is a trip report, after all**

The Unicorn family needed to restock on Sparkly Horn and Hoof Cleaner from Costco, but wanted to get a little nature time as well.  So, they parked in Tukwila and hiked on the Green River Trail north toward the new bridge.

Watermelon Unicorn, being 4, got to ride in a stroller.  (Who knew they made strollers for unicorns!)  Lemon Unicorn liked that the trail was flat, and even in the morning, had a good combination of sun and shade, so no one found it too hot.

The marmot friends that the unicorns found on the previous trip liked the part of the trail that went under the freeway and the part of the trail that went close to the water.  There was no access to the water to play in, unfortunately.

The unicorn family stopped at Bicentennial Park to play on large bicycle statue and a climbing structure for young unicorns.  After the park came the new bridge that crosses the river, a nice landmark for the littles to run across, and look at the interesting construction and avoiding letting the marmots drop rocks through the metal grating along either side of the path.

Decided to make this my urban hike to cross off the square on this year's Hike-a-thon bingo sheet. I started at Starfire in Tukwila and headed north. There is plenty of parking if there isn't an event of some kind going on. This is a nicely paved path and the brush along the river side had been trimmed back. There were plenty of ripe black berries along the way. We passed a handful of other walkers, runners, and a couple people on bikes but it wasn't too busy mid-day on a Friday. There are a couple spots scattered along where you can get down the river bank for a closer look. I was pleasantly surprised that the amount of garbage along the trail wasn't much worse than some busy trails along I-90. The trail at this point was quiet outside of the sounds of the train going by and some industrial work. Not my first choice for a hike, but I appreciate that this trail and others like it exist in the city.

I ran this trail today. There were parts of the trail through Kent that were extreamly beautiful. The trail is not marked very well in certain parts of Kent. I ran off the trail twice and thankfully ran into a nice gentleman who helped me get back on the trail.

Beside that, the trail is beautiful. I enjoyed viewing the green river on my run. I was wondering how high the river could get, it seemed low today. The river really is beautiful and gave me alot of inspiration as I ran/walked 12 miles. 6 out and 6 back.

I recommend this trail to everyone. 

The Duwamish River is a very much abused yet it still manages to cling to life. I've read two books lately which reflect upon the history of this maligned waterway. Too High and Too Steep by Michael Williams and Upstream by Langdon Cook. These reads have prompted me to do some exploring in the Puget Sound area that I might otherwise not know was there.

The Duwamish River before Europeans settled here, was fed by three rivers. The Black River, which dried up as the outlet for Lake Washington when the lake was lowered; the White River, which was diverted to Lake Washington, and the Green River which remains as the sole tributary to the Duwamish. I've now been looking at following the Green River to it's source up near Stampede Pass. All told it is somewhere near 100 miles. Today was an inaugural reconnaissance trip to piece this together as a bike trip.

As the guidebook states the first few miles of this trail is industrial with a capitol I. There are several little parks along the way that the DOT or Seattle Parks or someone has created to keep it interesting. Although worth going to in their own right, and easy enough to bike from one to another, they really don't seem particularly appealing to hike the length of them. Be forewarned that some areas (Park 107) has homeless camps and the brushier areas along the water were being used as a cruising spot.

The further out from Elliot Bay that we got the more interesting it got. The heavy traffic never really went away but the stretches of green became longer. Once in Tukwila we followed the river as far as the Foster Homestead. A small plaque in an even smaller park along the river commemorates these early (1854) homesteaders who operated ferries across the river long before it was straightened and channelized.

Stay tuned for more Urban Exploration. And further explorations of the Duwamish/Green River trail system.