The new Westlake bike lane opened on Sept 15th, providing a safe connection between South Lake Union and the Fremont Bridge. At the bridge, the 1.25 mile path connects to the Ship Canal Trail which continues along the water and under the Ballard Bridge into Interbay.  

Here's a summary of the latest outdoor news as the 2016 season begins to wind down:

A few updates:

Olympic National Park announced that repair work on Olympic Hot Springs Rd started July 25th and will run through early October. The road was washed out last November and has been closed to vehicles since then, blocking access to the hot springs, Whiskey Bend Trailhead and many of the popular Elwah-area hiking trails. The temporary trail around the washout, established for hikers, bikers and horses, will be closed during construction as well; no access of any kind will be permitted until the re-opening.

According to this tweet from the Forest Service, Middle Fork Road will be closed until July 29th, including the weekend. More details about the project and the closure are available here.

At Cougar Mountain, Anti-Aircraft Peak Trailhead and an associated trail have been renamed in honor of Harvey Manning - a longtime conservationist and open space advocate. King County Parks suggests trying the hike to Coal Creek Falls.

State Route 542 is now open beyond the Mt Baker Ski Area to Artist Point. There's still a lot of snow.

Almost high season!

A washout has closed the road leading to Blanca Lake Trail, a popular hiking destination near Skykomish. If you want to get to the lake, plan on an extra 4-mile road hike from the washout to trailhead.

It's time for another Bicycle Sunday, ride car-free on Lake Washington Blvd (the portion just south of I-90 to Seward Park, about 3 miles) on May 16th from 10am-6pm.  Next on is on Memorial Day weekend.