Pilot Projects

Take a look at urban trail pilot projects.

With The Trail Next Door, we're exploring how WTA can best benefit people looking to access urban green spaces and trails; from encouraging people to explore and invest in neighborhood trails to expanding the types of volunteer opportunities we offer.

We are listening to partner organizations and trying out new strategies for improving access and availability of urban trails. Learn more about them below!

HIKING GUIDE IMPROVEMENTS

Public transportation

There are nearly 200 hike entries for "trails next door" in the WTA Hiking Guide, and throughout 2020 we'll be working to add new trails, improve existing information and add public transit directions when possible to these entries. Many urban parks have large trail systems with multiple routes, and we've heard from partner organizations and city hikers is that it can be hard to figure out the best one to take when exploring a new city park. You can help other nearby hikers by writing a trip report for your next urban hike and tagging #trailnextdoor.

Volunteer trail work to improve urban trails

Trail volunteer at Schmitz Preserve Park by Britt Le

We're excited to roll up our sleeves and run volunteer work parties in urban parks across the state. Initially, the majority of these will be concentrated in King and Pierce Counties. We are trying to focus our work on neighborhoods and areas that have less access to green spaces and can serve large populations of people for the greatest impact. In addition, we're also experimenting with shorter half day work parties in select areas of the state that will give new volunteers the opportunity to join us in their neighborhood park without the need for a lengthy time investment. Keep an eye on our volunteer sign up page for an upcoming work party in your area!

see what else we're working on

Trip reports for the soul: How writing trip reports shifted my entire perspective

I made a goal to write 100 trip reports in a year. I didn’t expect it to change the way I thought about hiking. | By Tiffany Chou

Vote “yes” for our parks in King County

Jul 30, 2025

Now through Aug. 5, King County residents can vote to renew the county’s parks levy for the next 6 years. Funding from the levy provides 85% of King County Parks’ budget, making it essential to operating the county’s parks and trails.

WTA celebrates a big win with a ribbon cutting on a revamped local trail

Jun 17, 2025

Neighbors, WTA staff and volunteers, and City of Everett staff gathered recently to celebrate the official opening of Loganberry Lane, a revamped trail system in Everett. "If you want to see a big variety of what you can do on a WTA work party, this is it."

Hiker Headlines: Trailhead Direct, new light rail station connects to trails, print North Cascades permits at home

May 15, 2025

Trailhead Direct is back for 2025! King County Parks has opened two new connector trails at one of the new Sound Transit Light Rail stations. North Cascades National Park is allowing most advance backcountry permits to be obtained through email this season. And the U.S. Forest Service will be offering a Scan and Pay option at many of its recreation sites.

WTA and partners celebrate opening of Glendale Forest

Apr 30, 2025

Over the weekend, WTA, King County Parks, Earth Corps and members of the community celebrated the opening of Glendale Forest. The 5-acre parcel of land was acquired by King County in 2020 to create trail accessibility for the historically underserved neighborhood.

Urban forestry and why it matters

Spending time amid trees boosts the enjoyment of time spent in nature. But trees do a lot more than that — they sequester carbon, help create the air we breathe, provide shade, mitigate heat, absorb stormwater and create habitat. But the benefits of those trees are not distributed equally among neighborhoods.