Cruise new roads on Washington’s cross-state bicycle road system
OLYMPIA, Wash. — Long-distance cyclists rejoice! Washington has designated more than 200 miles of path to its cross-state U.S. Bicycle Route System.
The USBR system is a series of bike paths planned to span across the whole state. Currently, much of the network is in Western Washington, especially in Whatcom and Skagit counties and even into the Olympic Peninsula.
Additionally, USBR 10 is completed, which runs hundreds of miles from the San Juan Islands all the way to Newport.
The new routes include:
- USBR 20: 77.2 miles from Clarkston to the Columbia County line along Highway 12
- USBR 40: 1.9 miles from Tekoa to the Idaho border
- USBR 81: 103.5 miles from Tekoa to Asotin
- USBR 281: 23 miles from Pullman to Idaho border along Highway 195
“The U.S. Bicycle Routes are an example of how state highways can serve as critical connections in an overall network for bicycling, as well as support tourism, just as they do for people traveling by car,” said Barb Chamberlain, director of the WSDOT Active Transportation Division. “Bike travelers stop in more places and spend more on average than those traveling in motor vehicles, so bike routes are especially good for the economy in our small and rural towns.”
These routes provide alternatives to car travel, and WSDOT says they have lower traffic volumes, scenic views and connections to services, parks and other points of interest.
The new additions bump up Washington’s USBR routes to just over 1,000 miles of bike paths.
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