Give cross-country skiing a try on Newcastle’s trails
February 5, 2009
By Administrator
My husband Jim and I went cross-country skiing in Newcastle a couple of times during the last snowy period.
From our home in the Windtree neighborhood, we took the May Creek Trail and the Waterline Trail to Lake Boren Park, and then took the West CrossTown Trail just past the cemetery. At that point, we saw a quartet of teenaged boys sharing two snowboards. That’s a use of Newcastle’s trails I hadn’t contemplated. It was really nice to see so many folks out enjoying the fresh, crisp air and unusual snowfall. As we headed home, we greeted a friend who was skiing to the store to get groceries.
On Christmas morning, Jim and I took four Christmas cards to friends in Newcastle by cross-country skiing an approximately three-mile, round-trip route. Part of the route was east across the Newcastle Creek drainage to the Horse Trail, (following other cross-country ski tracks), then north to the West CrossTown Trail where it enters the School Woods — our name for the wooded buffer between Hazelwood and Olympus, owned by the Renton School District.
We have friends in both of those communities, so we skied east to the short cross-trail that connects them and took time out for visiting. We returned home via the Waterline and May Creek trails. Only a couple of short stretches induced us to take off our skis to negotiate a particularly steep section.
What a blessing it is to be able to take trails through peaceful woods away from snowplowed roads and skidding cars.
The May Creek and Waterline trails are especially good for cross-country skiing. Broad and flat, woods fringe them and meadows open to pleasant winter views. The May Creek Trail traverses May Creek Park on the route of the historic Seattle and Walla Walla Railway. It runs from Windtree east to the Waterline Trail, which follows a gated utility road north past Lake Boren Park to the old Newcastle Cemetery and the West CrossTown Trail.
The Newcastle Trails Web site — www.newcastletrails.org — includes a trail map and trail guide that describe all of the trails mentioned above.
Newcastle Trails is a group of volunteers from Newcastle and beyond that builds and maintains local trails, and works to preserve trail corridors from development. In 2008, the group completed the Terrace Trail, which connects the Highlands of Newcastle with the terrace and Cougar Mountain Park. And it worked with the city and the Trust for Public Lands to obtain a grant for the May Creek Park Entrance Parcel. The city has just completed the purchase, putting all of May Creek Trail in public hands at last.
On the other hand, the School Woods — and part of the West CrossTown Trail — is at risk. The school district may sell it for development when the economic situation improves.
We hope you’ll enjoy Newcastle’s trail system, winter and summer. And, if you want to help preserve our trails and open spaces, consider joining Newcastle Trails and/or the Newcastle Open Space Project at http://newcastleopenspace.blogspot.com/. Both are citizen groups; neither has dues, but both depend on volunteers.
Newcastle Trails will hold its annual meeting at 7 p.m. Feb. 9 at Fire Station No. 9, 12412 S.E. 69th Way, and everyone is welcome.
Peggy Price is the secretary/treasurer of Newcastle Trails and a member of the city’s Parks Commission. Reach her at info@newcastletrails.org.
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