Join the festivities with an opening celebration and guided walk on July 31

The newest section of paved trail in Point Defiance Park is complete and ready to welcome pedestrians and cyclists.

A celebration of Loop Trail Phase 2 will be held from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. on July 31. There will be a ribbon cutting behind the Pagoda and a guided walk to Owen Beach on the newly opened trail.

The yearlong construction wrapped up July 2, and visitors can now enter the park from Pearl Street or Mildred Street again.

The project added 1.6 miles of trail connecting visitors to Wilson Way Bridge, the Pagoda, Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, the Environmental Learning Center and Owen Beach.

“Loop Trail makes it much easier and safer to travel between destinations in the park,” said Park Board President Matt Mauer. “Point Defiance is treasured by so many, and we’re thrilled to keep improving the park experience for visitors.”

More than 3 million people visit the 760-acre Point Defiance Park each year.

The Project

This was the second phase of Loop Trail, which was listed as a community priority dating back to 2015 when the public identified a major need to improve safe pedestrian access throughout the park, especially when traffic peaks in summer months.

Phase 1 was completed in 2023 and added a new sidewalk to Park Avenue west of the Mildred Street entrance roundabout. Other improvements included a small plaza at the entrance of Wilson Way Bridge, a safer road crossing into the Japanese Garden and the paving of Trolley Lane trail leading north to the Pearl Street roundabout.

Phase 2, which cost about $6 million, was mostly funded by a bond package approved by voters in 2014 that supported projects throughout the city. A $3.25 million grant from the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office supported both phases of Loop Trail.

The trail runs parallel to the road but is separated in most places by a 3-foot buffer with a vehicular rail or landscaped swale. The new trail varies in width from 8 to 10 feet.

Loop Trail also added a sidewalk in front of the zoo to complete sidewalk connectivity to the zoo and allow pedestrians safe access to the Park Avenue segment of trail.

As part of this project, 48 trees were removed and with a replacement ratio of 3.5:1, another 75 trees and more than 2,200 native shrubs were planted around the trail.