The Lost Valley Trail opened on October 1. It filled the last gap in a public route that now runs nearly 6.8 miles from the Bainbridge Island ferry terminal to Schel Chelb beach at Lynwood Center. None of the four Lost Valley trailheads has public parking, so you reach the trail on foot or by bike. The official description runs the route from the ferry to the beach. The bus schedule works better in the other direction. Ride out to Lynwood Center in the morning, walk east, and finish in Winslow, where you have no return trip left to plan.
Thirty years of planning, and no parking lot
The idea dates to the 1990s, when local trail advocates proposed a "shore to shore" route from Winslow to Gazzam Lake Preserve. In 2004 the City used Open Space Bond funds to buy three properties and four trail easements at the Head of the Bay. Informal social trails formed over the following years, but the route was never formally improved or adopted. In 2022 the Bainbridge Island Parks & Trails Foundation offered to fund the work, and the City Council agreed. The Park District then signed an interlocal agreement to build trails on City land.
The last piece was a 200-foot boardwalk. The Park District's Summer Trails Crew built it this past summer with Foundation funding and grants from the Bainbridge Community Foundation and the Rotary Club of Bainbridge Island. The boardwalk protects the Cooper Creek watershed and keeps the trail usable year-round, which matters once November rain arrives. The Bainbridge Island Review reported that the trail is now the island's longest and brings Bainbridge to 50 miles of public trails.
The City Open Space Commission named the land in 2004. Members cited its valley-like terrain and its sense of remoteness from the surrounding roads and neighborhoods. With no parking at any trailhead, every visitor arrives on foot or by bike.
What the full line looks like
Before this fall, the longest one-way route on the island ran from Manitou west through Grand Forest to Battle Point Park and the Fairy Dell Trail, a distance of 4.69 miles. The new route is about two miles longer. The Parks & Trails Foundation lays it out in two versions:
| Starting point | Ending point | Approximate one-way distance |
|---|---|---|
| Bainbridge Island ferry terminal | Schel Chelb beach, Lynwood Center | 6.8 miles |
| Rotary Park, Weaver Road | Schel Chelb beach, Lynwood Center | 5.1 miles |
| Manitou, via Grand Forest | Battle Point Park/Fairy Dell Trail | 4.69 miles, the previous record |
From the ferry terminal, the long version follows parts of the Charles Schmid Waterfront Trail through Winslow to the Head of the Bay. From there, the mostly wooded Lost Valley section covers about a mile and 40 acres of public open space to Fletcher Bay Road. West of Lost Valley, the Foundation and the Park District built two connectors: the Kojima Trail and the Vincent Road to Gazzam Lake Trail. The Vincent Road connector is a half-mile forest path and boardwalk. It starts near a roadside trailhead by the transfer station and comes out at the northeast corner of Gazzam Lake Preserve, off the lake loop.
Lost Valley has four access points, each marked with "Public Trail" signs:
- Fletcher Bay Road, east side, north of Vincent Road
- The north end of Ridge Lane
- Carmella Lane, off Finch Road
- The lane just west of the Head of the Bay, where Wyatt Way meets NE Eagle Harbor Drive
The Foundation also notes that the terrain may not suit wheeled mobility devices. It directs accessibility questions to the City's ADA Coordinator at [email protected]. For the full map, the Foundation's trails page has its "Trails On Bainbridge Island" map, with downloadable maps for individual trails.
Gazzam sets the hours
The hours limit comes from the middle of the route. The Park District lists Gazzam Lake as open from dawn to dusk and requires dogs to be leashed at all times. Gazzam's own parking is limited to eight spaces at the 6105 NE Marshall Road trailhead and four at Deerpath Lane NE, so it won't absorb the trail's parking problem.
If you start at the ferry, Gazzam comes near the end of the walk. Walked eastbound, you cross it early, in full daylight, and the last miles run through Winslow.
Schel Chelb and Lynwood Center make the better starting line
Schel Chelb is a small park west of Lynwood Center on Point White Drive. The City bought the 1.6-acre property in 2008. It has a playground, a picnic area, a swimming beach, and 370 feet of saltwater shoreline, plus a trail link into the Gazzam Lake network. As the route's western end, it gives you shoreline at the first step instead of the last.
Lynwood Center also works well for coffee or an early lunch before the walk. The Marketplace at Pleasant Beach, at 4738 Lynwood Center Road NE, has a coffee bar and a kitchen. Treehouse Café, a pub and pizzeria at 4569 Lynwood Center Road NE, serves soups, salads, and sandwiches along with pizza. Raíces Cocina & Bar shares that address and serves Mexican food. Ginn D Thai is at 4765 Lynwood Center Road NE. Hours differ between these businesses' own pages and the local directories, so check the day before.
Walt's Lynwood Market, the south end's full-service neighborhood grocery, is changing hands this season. The Bainbridge Island Review reported that Walt Hannon, who has owned the market since 1992, is transferring it to his son and daughter-in-law, Tyler and Alexandra Hannon. The new owners plan a grand reopening next spring.
The bus schedule sets the direction
Kitsap Transit's on-demand BI Ride serves both Lynwood Center and the ferry dock. The adult fare is $2 one way. You can book through the Ride Pingo app or by phone at 1-844-424-7433, up to seven days in advance. Each day of the week runs on a different window:
| Day | On-demand service window | What it means for a one-way walk |
|---|---|---|
| Weekdays | 8:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. | Last pickup at the ferry terminal is 3:15 p.m. |
| Saturday | 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. through March 2027 | Trips after 4 p.m. must be booked in the app; phone bookings must be made before 4 p.m. |
| Sunday | 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Book through Ride Pingo or at 1-844-475-7433 |
If you walk west from the ferry, you have to finish at Lynwood Center while the bus is still running. On a weekday, that means finishing by mid-afternoon after nearly seven miles. Fixed-route service doesn't help much. Route 397's weekday trips from Lynwood Center to the ferry terminal leave at 4:54, 5:52, 6:32, 7:26, and 8:16 a.m. Those are all morning runs, so they can carry you out to Lynwood Center but can't bring you back from it.
Walked east, the schedule works in your favor:
- Book a morning BI Ride from Winslow to Lynwood Center. Weekday service starts at 8:45 a.m.
- Start at Schel Chelb, then climb into Gazzam Lake Preserve while it's full daylight.
- Take the Vincent Road connector and the Kojima Trail toward Fletcher Bay Road, then through Lost Valley and across the boardwalk to the Head of the Bay.
- Follow the Charles Schmid Waterfront Trail segments into Winslow and finish at the ferry dock or on Winslow Way.
If you start from Rotary Park on Weaver Road, you skip the Winslow waterfront and walk the 5.1-mile version instead.
A Friday finish on Winslow Way
An eastbound walk ends in downtown Winslow. On Friday, November 6, the day after this post goes out, the Bainbridge Island Downtown Association's free First Friday Art Walk runs from 6 to 8 p.m. on Winslow Way East. The next one is December 4. To fit both into one Friday, ride out to Lynwood Center in the morning, finish in Winslow by the afternoon, and stay for the gallery walk.
Later in the month, the BARN Holiday Bazaar is listed for November 21 at 8890 Three Tree Lane. The Frank Buxton Silent Film Festival is listed for November 22 at 550 Winslow Way East.
In the Foundation's announcement, City Manager John Mauro said the trail "highlights the benefits of connections – to nature, to destinations, and to our neighbors."
At Greely Group, we follow changes like this one, including new trails, connectors, and transit routes that shape how a day on Bainbridge Island goes. If you'd like to talk through what the island's growing trail network means for the areas you're considering, schedule a free consultation and we'll go over it with you.
