Bridle Trails State Park
Bridle Trails State Park is a public recreation area in the Bridle Trails neighborhood in an unincorporated part of the Eastside area of King County, Washington. Established in 1932 and developed in 1933 by the Civil Works Administration, primary features of the state park include a forested trail system shared by pedestrians and equestrians and an outdoor arena used for equestrian purposes.
Description
Just outside the city of Redmond, Bridle Trails State Park borders the Eastside cities of Kirkland to the north and west and Bellevue to the south and east. It is bounded by 116th Avenue NE and I-405 to the west, NE 60th Street to the north, 132nd Avenue NE to the east, and suburban housing to the south. The primary entry point to the park is off of 116th Avenue NE, where a parking lot for Discover Pass holders allows access to the park's trailhead for drivers.History
The area around modern-day Bellevue and Kirkland was first inhabited by several indigenous Coast Salish groups, among which were the Duwamish. A small branch known as "the lake people" lived on the east side of Lake Washington. Much of the land included in the park was set aside "for the purpose of being applied to common schools" when Washington Territory was created in 1853. Initially, timber sales were used from the park in order to support local public schools. That land became a state park in 1932 after efforts of local advocates, primarily from different equestrian communities. During this time there were around 3,500 horses in and around Bellevue; a formal horse-riding group called the Lake Washington Saddle Club was formed during this period. Workers with the Civil Works Administration cleared brush, burned logging debris, built trails and fences, and other efforts in initial park development. The Bridle Trails Park Foundation was established in 2002 to pay half the cost of park operations after funding from the state was reduced. This payment was the result of an agreement with the state government, who would be required to keep the park open and undeveloped for 40 years starting in 2003.Originally the park was surrounded by properties with stables, but suburbanization has increased the density of nearby residential housing. This change has resulted in conflict between pedestrians, particularly those accompanied by dogs, and horse riders within the park. In 2015, a spooked horse ran from the trail and was struck by a motor vehicle, resulting in the animal's euthanization.