East Kent Highlands Ramble: Lake Youngs to Lake Meridian

Hike Length: 7 miles (short version), 13 miles (long version)
Elevation Gain: minor
Hike Difficulty: easy (short version).
Map: King County Bicycling Guidemap
hike overview map


This is the hike for those who love to cover long distances on easy trails. The highlands east of Renton and Kent are largely suburbanized these days, but King County has created some lengthy recreation trails that make good use of the remaining parklands. This hike follows parts of the Lake Youngs and Soos Creek trails to cover a good swath of the east King County outback. The Soos Creek Trail offers the prettiest scenery as it passes though marshlands and forest groves at the bottom of a long valley, all part of a protected greenbelt. The hike ends at Lake Meridian Park, where you can rest on manicured lakeside lawns before catching the bus back home.

getting there:

From downtown Seattle, Catch bus M 150 in the bus tunnel, and ride it to the Southcenter Mall bus station on Andover Park West and Baker Boulevard. The station is close to the J.C. Penny’s department store on the east end of the mall [GPS N 47 deg 27 min 33 sec, W 122 deg, 15 min 16 sec].

Catch bus M 155 at the Southcenter station. Since this bus only leaves hourly, careful planning of your bus connections to this point will speed your journey considerably. Ride M155 to the stop at 140th Ave SE and SE 177th in Fairwood  [N 47 deg 26 min 38 sec, W 122 deg 09 min 11 sec].  In the morning, this point is essentially the end of the line for the bus (it halts here for over 20 minutes), making the stop hard to miss.

There is no Sunday service on the M 155 bus line.

The Hike:

Walk east on SE 177th a short distance to Petrovitsky Road, a wide high-speed arterial. Head right (east) on Petrovitsky on a sidewalk for less than a quarter mile until you arrive at a path leading to a gated gravel road (a waterline right-of-way) angling right (SE) off Petrovitsky. Follow the gravel road through a quiet suburban neighborhood about a half mile to its abrupt end at the fence marking the boundary of the Lake Youngs “Reservation”.

Lake Youngs is used by Seattle for water storage and is strictly off limits to the public, as the numerous no-trespassing signs inform you in no uncertain terms. However, KIng County has created a 9 mile mutli-use trail that follows the perimeter of the Lake Youngs reservation. For the shortest version of this hike, turn sharply right and follow the trail westward.

As you head west on the gravel-surfaced trail, you’ll find little in the way of interesting scenery, but at least the forgiving gravel surface of the trail is good to walk on. To the right runs a continuous chain link fence barring access to Lake Youngs, and to the left are the back yards of houses. At 148th Ave, the fence and trail make a sharp left turn. Now you follow 148th Ave. due south for two miles. The trail makes gradual climbs and dips as it traverses rolling terrain. While walking this long stretch, one looks ruefully at the thick and wild-looking forest locked up behind the fence, and wonders why some trails could not be built there.

At length, the Lake Youngs Trail abruptly turns east, at which point you leave that trail for good . Here, turn left (west), cross 148th Ave. and head onto a narrow paved lane, signed “216th St., no outlet”. The King County Bike Map shows this road as an official “trail”. Follow the lane for a short distance until the pavement ends by some houses; continue on a dirt trail squeezed between two chain link fences. Though poorly signed, the trail is definitely a public right-of-way. Still heading due west, the trail reaches the brink of the Soos Creek Valley, then drops down the slope in a few sharp switchbacks. At the valley floor, the trail joins a paved lane; follow the lane westward across the valley until you reach the crossing point of the wide, paved Soos Creek Trail.

Here turn left (south) and follow the Soos Creek Trail, which takes a winding course through fields and marshlands along the valley floor. The setting is pleasantly rural, open to the sky, and perfect for a stroll on a bright winter day when you’ll get plenty of sun. At one point Mount Rainier comes into view, looking close and large compared to the usual view from Seattle.

If the hard pavement or speeding bicyclists get to you, there usually is a dirt or grass strip alongside the trail that you can walk on. Further downvalley, a separate “horse” path splits off the paved trail. The horse path offers a soft-surfaced (and sometimes downright muddy) alternative to the paved trail, as well as a slightly more natural hiking experience.

As you proceed downstream, the valley gradually becomes more forested and enclosed. From time to time, you cross major arterial streets, but otherwise the setting of the valley is pleasantly rural. About four miles from where you first set foot on it, the Soos Creek Trail finally comes to an end at a parking lot on 148th Ave.

Go left (south) and follow 148th Ave less than a quarter mile until you pass by the shore of Lake Meridian. Here you can leave 148th and walk through the lawns of Lake Meridian Park. At the south edge of the park is 272nd Street, also known as the Kent-Kangley Road and State Route 516. By any name, it’s a big, busy road. The stop for bus M 168, the end of the hike, is located on 272nd a short distance east of the park’s south entrance driveway. The bus arrives hourly, and you may have a long time to wait. If so, you may as well relax on the park lawn; the bus stop itself is a lousy spot to spend any time. Use the “172nd and 272nd Street” time point on the bus schedule to figure when the bus will arrive; using the “Lake Meridian Park and Ride” time point may cause you to miss the bus (which you really don’t want to do here).

The Longer Version of the hike

long-legged, fast-striding folk will enjoy the long version of this hike, which simply involves going around the east side of Lake Youngs, adding about 6 miles to the hike’s length. To do the long version, go left (east) instead of west when you first encounter the Lake Youngs fence.. In its angling course around the unseen lake, the trail sometimes travels close to roads; at other times, it passes behind the backyards of houses. The perimeter fence is your unerring guide as the trail always follows it closely. The south portion of the trail is by far the best part of the whole Lake Youngs Loop; much of this stretch travels through undeveloped woodland. Eventually, you arive at the west side of Lake Youngs, at 148th Ave and 216th street. Here the suggested route leaves the Lake Youngs trail, as described previously for the “short” version of the hike.

Getting Back

Catch the M 168 bus on 272nd St. and ride it into downtown Kent. Get off at the Kent Transit Center, located on Lincoln Street next to a large park and ride lot and the huge dome-topped building of the Regional Justice Center.

Here, catch the northbound M 150 bus and make the long ride back to downtown Seattle.

Rev 02.07.06