The Danville-Georgetown Trails are a network of trails branching off from the Cedar River Pipeline and SE Summit Landsberg Road. The trails can be described as roughly three areas: those along the Cedar River Pipeline and up to Tahoma Junior High, the area west of Tahoma Junior High, and the area south of SE Summit Landsberg Road (the Danville section). Many of the trails are signed with trail names, which can help keep you from getting lost. Multiple parking spots make it easy to reach any part of the trail system that you are interested in with a short ride.
Note: there are former logging & mining roads to the southeast of the Danville trails which are on private forestland owned by Palmer Coking Coal. These trails are posted with No Trespassing signs, but if you visit their office at 31407 Highway 169 in Black Diamond you can obtain a one-year permit to use them. There are old mining remnants and pits in that area, so staying on the trail is a must!
King County Parks recently conducted a review of trail use and forestry plans for this area. The official conclusion was that trails at this site and at Henry's Ridge would be open to all users. However, by longstanding convention, horseback riders (and hikers) are the primary users of the Danville-Georgetown trails, while mountain bikes (and hikers) have been the primary users at Henry's Ridge. The Parks department plans to erect new signage designating which groups are the primary users and maintainers of trails at both sites, as well as educational signs regarding trail etiquette.
Open.
Recently some logging work was done to thin overcrowded forest areas and check the advance of laminated root rot, with hopes of reducing the amount of blown-down trees over the winters. Most trails are cleared and open again now, though.
Landsberg parking areas are located on either side of the Cedar River off of Landsberg Road. Ride the pipeline trail: trails associated with the Danville-Georgetown system branch off of the Cedar River Pipeline trail at various points.
From the west/south: Four Corners (between Maple Valley and Black Diamond, the intersection of Maple Valley Highway 169 and Kent Kangley Road/Highway 516), go east on Kent-Kangley Road and take the first left onto SE Summit Landsberg Road. Where it ends and joins Landsberg Road, turn left and proceed down the hill toward the river. The parking area south of the river is on the left at the entrance to the Cedar River Pipeline Road and holds only a few trailers; however, the parking area on the north side of the river, again on the left, has room for many more and is the entrance to the Cedar River Trail.
From the north: Landsberg Road is also known as Issaquah-Hobart Road/SE 276th. From route 18, go south on this until the road turns and the name changes. The parking areas (see above) will be on the right side of the road.
The Danville Trailhead parking is located along the side of SE Summit Landsberg Road where the road shoulder widens just west of the Tahoma Junior High School. Trails depart from both sides of the road here.
Alternative parking can also be found where 248th Street crosses the Cedar River Pipeline. Trails branch off of the pipeline trail to the west of this point.
Length: ~25 miles
Surface: dirt, some older access roads have sharp gravel in places
Share with: hikers, birdwatchers, occasional bicycles
Landsberg Park, across the road from the Landsberg North parking area, contains porta-potties and picnic facilities
Parking for: 4+ trailers at
Landsberg North (less if there are many other cars), 2-3 trailers at Landsberg South,
10+ at Danville
Trailhead, 2-3 trailers at 248th Street & pipeline trail.
Most of the trails are on King County Open Space lands. (See note above about trails on Palmer Coking Coal lands.) The trails themselves are maintained by a number of local groups including the Tahoma Backcountry Horsemen and the (website currently down) Friends of Rock Creek Valley. The latter are involved in the preservation of these trails and the surrounding natural area. Their site contains this proposed map; since it is a proposal, parts of it may not be currently accurate. Another good map is from Trailmeister's website; it has some trail names but not all.