Getting there
- Near the Issaquah post office at 400 NW Gilman Blvd. Here the trail joins with the East Lake Sammamish Trail where 4th Ave NW passes beneath the I-90 overpass, and heads east. This section of the trail is paved. Continue to where the trail intersects with Front St, a wide, busy road with cars heading to I-90—cross with caution. The trail continues on the opposite side and begins to parallel I-90. Climb up a big hill, stay to the left and go through a short tunnel to remain on the Issaquah-Preston Trail. After the tunnel the trail surface becomes gravel. Bear right at the tunnel's exit (bearing left is a different trail that leads to downtown Issaquah).
- Grand Ridge I-90 parking lot. Take Exit 20 off of I-90 and turn north. Just past the on-ramp for westbound I-90 is a small gravel parking lot on your left for Grand Ridge. Park here, walk through the gate across the wooden bridge, and onto the Issaquah-Preston Trail. The trail surface here is gravel. No parking pass is required.
- From Issaquah Highlands Park & Ride and mall. Take 9th Ave NE south; it becomes Highlands Drive NE just past the Safeway gas station. Be sure to stay on the west side of the street, keeping the Swedish Hospital complex on the right. Look for the bike path signage; do not stay on the sidewalk that is right next to Highlands Drive NE. Descend a steep hill, go around a sharp bend in an open grassy space with park benches, then descend to a trail junction. Take the "U-turn" to the right and uphill through a short tunnel. Stay left after exiting the tunnel and continue heading uphill (a left turn here returns to downtown Issaqush on a different trail) to enter the Isssaquah-Preston Trail.
- From the East Sunset Way trailhead (. Park in this dirt trailhead parking lot and walk to the trail. No parking pass is required here. Exit the parking lot and take the sidewalk heading uphill towards I-90. At the crosswalk at the off-ramp for I-90, cross with caution and enter the paved bike path (where the sidewalk ends). Walk uphill, staying to the right. Pass the entrance to a short tunnel (don't enter it) and reach the Issaquah-Preston Trail. The trail surface is gravel.
on the trail
The Issaquah-Preston Trail climbs up from Issaquah towards Preston as it heads east, roughly paralleling I-90. The western end of the Issaquah-Preston Trail connects wth the East Lake Sammamish Trail. While the western miles of the trail are paved, the surface turns to gravel and dirt east of Sunset Way. Then the trail becomes the shoulder of a paved road along SE High Point Way near Preston. The southern side of Grand Ridge Park can be accessed directly from trail at two trailheads which are located approximately 0.3 mile and 0.5 mile from the Grand Ridge parking lot (Exit 20 off of I-90). The eastern end of the trail connects with the Preston-Snoqualmie Trail and the Rainier Trail.