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Pierce County Parks Update – June 2025

By Travis Curry, Regional Trails Planner, Pierce County Parks

Spring has sprung, the sun is out, and it’s time to get outside! There’s a lot of exciting action in the Pierce County trails system. 

Pipeline Trailhead at Orangegate South Park Grand Opening

We’re planning a community party to celebrate the Grand Opening of the Pipeline Trail Extension and Trailhead at Orangegate Park. The celebration will be at the Orangegate Park Trailhead on Saturday, June 28. Stay tuned for more details!

The Pipeline Trail is a partnership between Pierce County, the City of Tacoma, and Tacoma Public Utilities. The 1.3-mile extension from 72nd and Waller to Orangegate Park is nearly complete, creating 5.6 miles of uninterrupted trail. Future County extensions will add another 5.5 miles, connecting South Hill’s Nathan Chapman Memorial Trail to the City of Tacoma expanding options for active transportation and recreation. Visit the project website at www.PierceCountyWA.gov/PipelineTrail for more information.

Pierce County Parks is developing a community park on the 148-acre property known as Orangegate Park. The updated Master Plan, adopted in 2021 after community input, reflects a vision that balances natural preservation with active recreation and community use.

Currently, the “Orangegate North” area (the 40-acre area north of 84th Street East) is closed due to forest health improvements. We anticipate a grand opening in mid-2026. Learn more at www.PierceCountyWA.gov/Orangegate. 

Spiketon Ditch Bridge Closure Update

Pierce County Parks is constructing a new permanent bridge over Spiketon Ditch, located along the Foothills Trail. In June 2024, the original Spiketon Ditch Bridge was demolished due to extensive structural failure. The opening of the Spiketon Ditch Bridge is now expected in late summer to early fall. During construction, crews found unstable soil near the bridge supports, requiring additional testing and design work. We understand this delay is frustrating and sincerely apologize for the inconvenience. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work to complete this important project safely and responsibly. 

To receive updates about this project and other Foothills Trail alerts, please sign up to receive email updates at www.PierceCountyWA.gov/FoothillsAlerts.

Fairfax Bridge Closure 

As of Monday, April 14, 2025, Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) permanently closed the state Route 165 Carbon River/Fairfax Bridge to all vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian traffic. Pierce County is actively collaborating with interagency partners – including WSDOT, local jurisdictions, and land management agencies – to explore safe, long-term solutions for access, connectivity, and public safety in the Carbon River Corridor and surrounding areas. Please respect closures and use caution – recreation in the area is at your own risk. Please note that standard Pierce County Parks rules and policies remain in effect in this area.

Foothills Trail Extension – Wilkeson to Carbonado Engagement

Pierce County Parks, the Foothills Rails-to-Trails Coalition and the National Parks Service Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance program (NPS-RTCA) are exploring a trail extension between Wilkeson and Carbonado. A community survey will launch this summer to gather feedback on trail features and amenities. Please participate and help shape the future of the trail! 

The Wilkeson to Carbonado extension fits into a broader planning effort to extend the Foothills Trail from South Prairie to Mount Rainier National Park. Pierce County Parks will continue to evaluate routes between South Prairie and Wilkeson over the next couple years. 

Parkland Community Trail 

The Parkland Community Trail will run 1.8 miles from Sprinker Recreation Center (Sprinker) to the north side of Tule Lake Road on the southern edge of the Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) Campus. Built in the right-of-way with a buffer from the street, the trail will offer a safe, accessible route for all users. The route aligns with the findings of Action Mapping Project’s youth engagement in the Parkland community and is the first phase of trail investments designed to enhance active transportation infrastructure in this dense, underserved neighborhood that has very few sidewalks or bike lanes.  

Phase 1 design is nearly complete. Construction is expected to start this summer and finish by summer 2026. It will connect Sprinker to Brookdale Elementary, PLU, Parkland Prairie Nature Preserve, and Gonyea Park. Features include a wide paved trail, bridge, safe crossings, signs, drainage, and landscaping. 

Phase 2 is in the planning stage and will connect the trail through PLU to Washington High School and Keithley Middle School, with more extensions under evaluation. For more details, visit: www.PierceCountyWA.gov/ParklandCommunityTrail. 

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Rainier to Ruston 2025 – A Memorable Event!

By Dan Bucci, President, Foothills Coalition

The 23rd running of the annual Rainier to Ruston Relay took place on June 7th, 2025 with 309 teams and approximately 1,500 runners taking to the Foothills Trails in Pierce County to celebrate National Trails Day. The event serves as the single largest fundraiser and revenue source for the Foothills Coalition Operating budget making it an extremely important event for the vitality and sustainability of the coalition.

The 2025 edition did not come without challenges! With just about two months until race day, the Washington State Department of Transportation announced the closure of the historic Fairfax Bridge just outside of Carbonado. The bridge serves as the only access point to cross the Carbon river and reach the traditional starting line for the event just outside the Carbon River Entrance to Mount Rainier National Park. This also caused the event to lose any access to the first two legs of the race which totaled about 13 miles. Race Director Sabrina Seher and Course Director Jerry Gamze quickly began scoping alternative routes and moved the start line to the town of Carbonado and replaced the two lost legs with legs in Tacoma which ran through downtown Tacoma, Stadium District, the North End and along the Tacoma Waterfront. Despite the change, the spirit of the event held up and runners made the traverse across a large part of Pierce County under sunny skies and warm temperatures on a beautiful summer day.

When runners finished, they were greeted at Cummings Park along Ruston Way in Tacoma with beautiful views of Mount Rainier and Puget Sound, as well as a beer garden featuring beer from Silver City Brewery and Athletic Brewing, and sandwiches and snacks to begin their recovery! Many teams hung out at the park for hours enjoying the wonderful weather and cheering for teams as they finished.

Teams of 2, 3, 4 or 6 runners tackle the 51 miles split over 12 legs running through the Foothills Communities of Carbonado, Wilkeson, South Prairie, Orting and Puyallup following the Foothills and River Walk Trails. As they progress further west the runners generally follow the Puyallup River through Fife and the Port of Tacoma. The race is designed to showcase the future vision of a non-motorized trail connecting Mount Rainier National Park to Tacoma. While large segments of the trail still don’t exist, the race generally follows the envisioned future routes that a trail might follow once it is developed.

In addition to the scores of runners that participate in the race, the event requires upwards of 100 volunteers and crew members to make the event a success. As always, the running community, Foothills Coalition members and supporters, and Foothills Coalition board members stepped up and gave their time to make the event a huge success.

The event will continue to face routing challenges with the long term closure of the Fairfax Bridge, and it will be many years before the race can return to Carbon Canyon. With that said, the race crew is already looking at ideas for the 2026 event to bring more of the event back to trails, and showcase other communities along the Foothills Trail as a long term alternate route. A huge amount of gratitude goes out to all the participants, volunteers, race staff and supporters for making the 2025 event a huge success!

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Board Member Spotlight: Steve Brown

By Ashton Brown, Editor, Trail Line News

If you’ve spent any time on the Foothills Trail or been part of the local cycling community, chances are you’ve crossed paths with Steve Brown, or at least benefited from his decades of passion and dedication to the outdoors. A board member of the Foothills Rails-to-Trails Coalition since 2011, Steve has long been a driving force behind the organization’s vision, dedicating countless volunteer hours to protect, maintain, and expand Pierce County’s trail system.

Steve grew up in Corvallis, Oregon, and was brought to Federal Way for a job at Weyerhaeuser, in the 1980s. Soon after his move, the journey into local trail advocacy began. He joined the Tacoma Wheelmen (now the Tacoma Washington Bicycle Club) at age 27, and the group’s weekly meetings connected him with the original pioneers of the Foothills Trail like Ernie Bay and he quickly found his place among a group of passionate outdoor enthusiasts.

A lifelong cyclist, backpacker, and cross-country skier, Steve describes his younger self as a “weekend warrior,” hitting the outdoors for hours a day every weekend, burning off all the calories accumulated during the work week. 

Steve has always enjoyed outdoor activities for the adventure, not the competition, challenging himself with endeavors like cycling the Olympic Peninsula, embarking on a nine-day solo bike tour from Tacoma to Portland and back, and hiking local mountains including Rainier, Hood, Adams, and St. Helens.

“I’m a member of the YMCA,” he joked, “but I never go, I just feel more productive outside – whether it’s going on the trail, or just doing some gardening, being outside in the fresh air is always better than being inside at the gym.” 

While a hip issue now keeps him away from the long-distance strenuous adventures of days past, Steve hasn’t slowed down. He walks the Foothills Trail regularly and is an active member of the Washington State Hi-Lakers, a volunteer group that surveys alpine lakes and works with Washington Fish & Wildlife to stock them. 

After entering retirement in 2009 after being laid off, Steve was presented with the great opportunity of dedicating more time than ever to his interest in the outdoors. He now volunteers up to 200 hours a year, mostly for the Foothill Coalition.

A sizable portion of those hours come from his involvement in the annual Rainier to Ruston Relay, the Coalition’s largest annual fundraiser. For nearly 20 years, he’s helped with everything from gravel inspections to trash pickups in anticipation of hosting thousands of runners. 

After more than two decades into his membership, Steve became a board member in 2011 and brought with him not only time and energy, but a strong desire to keep the Foothills Coalition on a path to success.

“I have this vested interest in local trails and enjoy staying really informed and up-to-date,” he said. “I think my knowledge and interest is valuable now and will continue to be down the line, as there are always challenges that we’ll be faced with.”

And during his nearly 40 years of involvement with local trails, Steve has seen the Coalition face its fair share of challenges, from a movement in the early 1990s to completely halt the progression of the Foothills Trail to current land use conflicts preventing the trail’s completion.

“Wilkeson still isn’t connected to Carbonado,” Steve said. “A lot of people who dreamed this dream have passed on. We want to see it done, a full route, separate from the roads, something people can bike or backpack over multiple days.” 

The good news? Progress continues – whether it’s the increasing volunteer support or the impending construction of the Doc Tait Memorial Plaza, which has been in the works for decades.

In addition to completing a trail from Mt. Rainier to the Puget Sound, Steve sees one of the most important missions of the trail to be building healthy communities and creating positive lifelong habits for the community. 

“Cycling and trails, those are the causes I’ve chosen to stick with. They’re great for the community. It’s not just about getting healthy later in life, it’s about making those habits possible from the start,” he said. “And that’s easier for everyone when local trails are accessible to all.”

Steve Brown continues to be a cornerstone of the Foothills Rails-to-Trails Coalition and his journey is far from over.