This is a South to North trip along a potential bike boulevard/greenway route in North Beacon Hill primarily along 17th and 18th Ave.  I made videos at all the major features along the route.  The idea behind the route is to connect the Mountains to Sound Trail to our urban village and to the newly renovated Jefferson Park.  If there is a widely publicized, well marked, and safe route between these destinations, people are much more likely to use bicycling for their local trips.

Here is my recommended commuter route from North Beacon Hill to downtown Seattle.  A lot of commuters take 15th headed north along Beacon Hill to get to the Jose Rizal bridge, but 15th is busy and narrow so there are better options.  One option is to hop on 16th at the light rail station and ride parallel to 15th until Holgate and then get on 15th.  Another option (mapped here) is to take 18th to the MTS trail to the Jose Rizal bridge. 

Once you are downtown, either 4th or 3rd are your best options for heading North through town.  Fourth has timed lights so it is faster, but 3rd is only open to buses and bikes during commuter hours so it is safer.

Happy commuting!

This is a family friendly route (or a route for those who don't like to bike with traffic) from North Beacon Hill to Columbia City.  We bike it as a one way route because getting back up Beacon Hill from the southeast is steep!  So we make it easy by getting on the light rail at the Columbia City station and riding back to Beacon Hill.

The route has minimal uphills (only one spot where my 6 year old daughter had to push her bike), but plenty of steep downhills.  There is very little exposure to traffic along the whole route so it is very safe.

Here is my preferred route to get from North Beacon Hill to West Seattle.  It takes advantage of a couple multi-use trails but you still have to bike with traffic in a couple places.  From Beacon to Alki you pretty much lose elevation the whole way, so it is a very easy ride.  If you don't feel like biking up Holgate on the way back you can always take the light rail!  Enjoy!

Here is a good bike route to get from North Beacon Hill to Lowe's on Rainier.  This route uses mostly residential streets with only a couple blocks on College.  Considering the 280 foot elevation loss the route is not very steep, but still if you are feeling lazy you could always take the light rail back.  This route also gives you access to Remo's, Bartell's, and with some sidewalk biking, QFC.

I have done this route with my kids and we used the sidewalk when on College.  It worked fine and we all felt safe.  However, coming back up was a little steep for my little one so there was a bit of complaining.

Here is a good safe route from the light rail station on Beacon Hill to Goodwill on Dearborn.  All the biking is on residential streets or multi-use trails.  All the major crossings have signalized intersections.  Try it with the family!

I rode this as a loop to show alternate routes for getting to Goodwill and coming back.  This tour starts at Goodwill and works back to the light rail station, then heads back to Goodwill.

Here is a family friendly route from North Beacon Hill to Mio Posto cafe in Mt Baker and the Mt. Baker playground. It takes advantage of the pedestrian overpass across MLK and Rainier Ave at Franklin High School, and only follows low traffic streets.  This is a great ride for families or for those who do not like to bike with traffic (and who does?!).  Going there is almost all downhill and is quite easy, though there are some steep downhills that may intimidate little ones.  Coming back is pretty steep, if you are up for the challenge, go for it; if not, you can always hop on the light rail at the Mt. Baker station and go one stop to the Beacon Hill station.

Here is a good family biking route from North Beacon Hill to All Purpose Pizza.  It follows all non-arterials and takes advantage of a good bit off multi-use trails. It is a very safe route that passes through Judkins Park and does not involve any biking along busy streets.  There are a couple spots with some hills, but none are too steep.

This is a pretty long round trip ride for little ones.  I suggest doing it in the summer and using the spray park at Judkins as a resting point to keep the kids happy.

Enjoy!