This Fall, the Cross Kirkland Corridor Runs North

At the south end of the Cross Kirkland Corridor, the busiest equipment works overnight. King County crews work on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Next to them, an above-ground diversion pipe keeps sewage moving with pumps and lights that run around the clock, powered by a generator the County warns can be heard nearby. The trail between NE 52nd Street and 108th Avenue NE has been fully closed since September 8, 2026.

That closure is half of what's changed on Kirkland's main trail this year. The other half is at the north end, where three projects finished between April and June of 2026. Together they make the stretch from downtown to Totem Lake and onto Eastrail more continuous than it has been in years. For the rest of this fall, the open trail is the north half.

What's Behind the Fence

The repair is below ground. The County is fixing a damaged culvert that runs under its Eastside Interceptor Section 14 sewer pipe, known as ESI-14. It is also building a retaining wall to hold up the slope at the culvert site and stabilizing the stream next to it. The stream doesn't have a common name. King County's July 2026 environmental checklist calls it "Unnamed Houghton Slope B Stream."

The County gives the job three months. Three months from September 8 lands around early December. That's an estimate, though. As of early October, the County hadn't published a firm reopening date, and the latest update on its project page was dated August 25. If you're planning a December run on that stretch, check the King County ESI-14 project page before you head out.

This is also the second time this year the south end has been interrupted. In late February 2026, Eastrail Partners reported that an earlier emergency closure on the southern CKC had reopened.

The Detour Goes Along the Lake

The County's map marks the detour as a pedestrian route on NE 52nd Street, Lake Washington Boulevard, Lakeview Drive, NE 68th Street, 106th Avenue NE and 108th Avenue NE. The notice tells trail users to follow the posted signs. The materials don't describe a separate bike detour, so riders should plan to share streets with traffic or turn around before the fence.

For walkers, the detour swaps a gravel corridor for some of Kirkland's best-known waterfront. Along Lake Washington Boulevard:

• Doris Cooper Houghton Beach Park, 5811 Lake Washington Blvd., has a playground, picnic areas, sand volleyball and seasonal swimming.
• Marsh Park, 6605 Lake Washington Blvd., has a lawn, a dock, picnic tables and views across to Seattle.
• Carillon Point pairs its marina with dining at El Encanto, Le Grand Bistro, Carillon Kitchen and COMO.

Watershed Park, 4500 110th Ave. NE, is a forested option if you'd rather stay off the boulevard. It has walking trails and a scenic overlook, and a short connector trail runs from 108th Avenue NE to the CKC. Since 108th Avenue NE is one end of the closed section, Watershed Park is a natural turnaround for a loop that stays clear of the fence.

What Opened Up North This Year

The CKC runs 5.75 miles through Kirkland. It was the first improved section of the regional corridor now called Eastrail. For much of 2025 and early 2026, the north half had construction gaps of its own. By midsummer those were closed:

The Slater crossing is the one that changes where a ride can go. It's a signalized pedestrian crossing with a protective median, and it links the CKC to Eastrail toward Woodinville and Redmond. The northbound side of Slater Avenue NE was cut to one lane, with a protected bike lane in the freed-up space. Before it opened, getting from the CKC onto Eastrail at that corner meant crossing an arterial without a dedicated signal.

At NE 85th, the contractor left the site in late June. The City listed a few small punch-list items still to do, including non-irrigated plantings scheduled for fall. Some construction is still nearby. WSDOT is building a new I-405/NE 85th Street interchange with a median Stride bus rapid transit station and wider walking and cycling connections, on a timeline that runs to January 2027. The most recent WSDOT closure posted for that project closed NE 85th Street between 6th Street and 120th Avenue NE from October 2 to October 5. Weekend closures like it are worth checking for before a trip that crosses 85th.

Where the Open Trail Stops

With the south end out, the open trail now has a clear set of stops from downtown up to Totem Lake.

Feriton Spur Park, 509 6th St. S, sits right on the corridor inside Google's 6th Street campus. It's a linear park with a paved trail, an urban farm, restrooms, a splash area and sports amenities. On December 4, from 4 to 6 p.m., the Kirkland Downtown Association lists Google Lights there, with more than 10,000 lights. That's close to when the County's three-month estimate for the south end runs out.

Caffe Ladro at Kirkland Urban, 400 Urban Plaza E160, is the nearest coffee stop on this stretch. Its September 2026 listing shows hours of 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends.

The Village at Totem Lake anchors the north end, where the Totem Lake Connector carries the trail over the boulevard. Serious Pie is there at 12540 120th Ave. NE, Suite 122. The directory also lists Lime Social Margarita as coming soon to Suite 166 at 12670 120th Ave. NE, with no opening date yet.

Why a Ride South Stays Broken Into 2027

If you usually take the trail toward Bellevue, the CKC closure is one of two gaps this fall. Bellevue has 2.3 miles of interim gravel Eastrail open from NE 4th Street to the Kirkland city limit. The NE 8th Street overcrossing opened in June 2024 and connects trail users with Wilburton Station. South of that, the Wilburton Trestle over I-405 is now expected to open in mid-2027. The Central Wilburton interim trail, which will link the NE 8th bridge and the station to the trestle, is set for construction in 2026 and 2027 and an opening in 2027.

So even after the Houghton culvert work wraps up, the route south stops short of a continuous crossing into southern Bellevue until those Wilburton pieces open. The route north has no such gap. You can now ride from downtown Kirkland through NE 85th, over the Totem Lake Connector and across Slater onto Eastrail toward Redmond and Woodinville, and every one of those connections was in place by the end of June 2026.

For the rest of the fall, start trips that used to begin at the South Kirkland Park & Ride from downtown instead, and save the Lake Washington Boulevard detour for when you're walking. The County's three-month estimate runs out around the second week of December.

Trail access is one of the things that sets one Kirkland street apart from the next, and 2026 changed which streets are close to a fully connected stretch. If you own near the corridor and want to know how that shows up in your home's value, Pacific Northwest Partners can help. Request a complimentary home valuation or schedule a consultation with Carla Marsh and the team.