Bridle Trails State Park – state parks quest #41

Pulling into Bridle Trails State Park one late afternoon in April, we spotted a few horse trailers and people tending to their horses in the portable stables set up by the parking lot. Stopping to chat, we met Bailey, Fifi, and Dan, three horses getting their bearings after a long ride from Snoqualmie. Riding in trailers is stressful on the animals, an owner told us, so it helps to have time in the stables to recover.

The park is the center of the Bridle Trails neighborhood, an equestrian-oriented area that, like everywhere else in the greater Seattle area, is squeezed by population growth and lack of housing. Many homes around the park have a barn and paddock, and numerous informal paths lead into the park’s trail network from the edges. Although the park clearly serves local residents, horse owners from far afield trailer their mounts to Bridle Trails for shows, competitions, and pleasure riding.

Horse-centric

Bridle Trails has three rings for horse shows. The Big Ring is at the park’s main entrance, just a few hundred feet from busy I-405, and features attractive wooden viewing stands and a judges’ box overlooking a large arena surrounded by white picket fence. Two smaller arenas are nearby, as are multiple picnic tables, restrooms, and a mount/dismount area next to a platform. My daughter went through a horse phase, as many kids do, and I could imagine her climbing on and off a horse with the help of this feature.

A few horses and riders were practicing, trotting around the ring and jumping. After watching a while, we headed into the forest. Several interpretive trails, including some that lead to the smaller show arena called the Little Ring, loop through different areas of the 480-acre park. 

A special forest 

The woods were quiet on this spring day, with only a couple of runners on the trails. It’s surprising to find big old trees in the middle of Kirkland — Microsoft’s campus is four miles away by car, two miles as the crow flies — but this land was originally given to Washington when it became a state in 1889. State forestland is managed by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and proceeds from timber sales help fund public education. In the early twentieth century, this area was sparsely populated, with a few farms and — hard as it is to imagine today — perhaps a thousand people. Some of those people rode horses in the state forest for pleasure, eventually asking that the land be converted to a park.

In 1932, Commissioner of Public Lands Clark Savidge set aside 280 acres of the 640-acre section for park purposes, to be managed by the State Parks Committee (the precursor to today’s State Parks and Recreation Commission). About a year later, Savidge added another 200 acres to the park. Another 160 acres from the section had been sold to private owners. 

The Parks Committee supported the creation of Bridle Trails State Park, with state parks superintendent W. G. Weigle noting the trails, some of which are former logging roads, and power line right-of-way in the forest offered means of fire protection. Although parts of the forest were logged early on, a few old-growth trees still stand on the park’s east side. Douglas-firs and Western redcedars more than 250 years old can be spotted from the trails. Even the second-growth is quite old, though, with most trees around a hundred years old.

Lake Washington Saddle Club support

In 1945, riders formed the Lake Washington Saddle Club. Based at Bridle Trails, the club hosts events at the park. In 1962, State Parks entered into an agreement with the club for management and maintenance of certain areas, such as the arenas. And in 2002, when the park faced closure due to state budget cuts, members of the club and local residents formed the Bridle Trails Park Foundation, which now provides half of the park’s operating costs in order to keep the park open.

In 1971, State Parks signed a contract with DNR to purchase the park, part of a larger agreement to transfer a number of park lands around the state. The lease payments already made were applied to the total, and in 1992 the deed was transferred to State Parks.

Ready for riders, and others too

We followed trails past benches with small mounting steps next to them, one of many clues that this place is outfitted for equestrians. The wide, well-signed trails had more horseshoe prints than human shoe prints. Signs remind hikers and runners that horses have the right of way. To prevent horses from startling and potentially injuring themselves and others, dogs must be leashed. Running with headphones is not advised, as you’re unlikely to hear horses approaching from behnd. 

Trillium and ocean spray flowered along the path, and spring’s new leaves glowed green overhead. We crossed the power line right-of-way under large transmission towers, a reminder that the park is surrounded by tens of thousands of people, all of whom need electricity. On the north border of the park, the power lines pass close to the Little Ring, another arena mostly used by locals.

Back at the parking lot, the stables were empty, the horses exercising in the Big Ring. We sat for a while and watched, admiring the riders’ skill and the animals’ grace and fluidity. The sun was sinking and we had a long drive home, so we bid farewell to this unusual state park.

Fast facts about Bridle Trails State Park

• 480-acre day-use park, open year-round
• Discover Pass required, $10 daily or, for a very reasonable $30, purchase an annual pass
• restrooms (showers?)
• picnic tables and grills
• 28 miles of trails for horseback riding, hiking, birdwatching, wildlife viewing
• no biking allowed, dogs must be leashed at all times
• two horse rings
• rental facilities
• park brochure
• park map

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Land Acknowledgment

Bridle Trails State Park occupies the traditional, unceded lands of the Duwamish and Stillaguamish tribes, Coast Salish peoples who have lived and travelled here since time immemorial and who continue to honor and bring to light their ancient heritage.

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