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<< Previous   of   Next >> Ron Ramey/The Herald  (click to enlarge) A family bicycles along the Centennial Trail near Lake Cassidy. Ron Ramey/The Herald  (click to enlarge) The Centennial Trail runs near the Pilchuck River between Machias and Snohomish.   ADVERTISEMENT   Bikes on buses Regular bike riders using the buses are aware that the two-bike racks on buses are sometimes full, requiring a wait for the next bus, or bringing it inside, at the driver's discretion. There is some relief in sight. "We're hoping to get three-bike racks installed sometime soon," Community Transit spokesman Martin Munguia said. He added that CT's Swift buses already have three-bike racks inside, at the rear of the bus. Swift buses run primarily on Highway 99 from Everett Station to Aurora Village. Kate Reardon, Everett's public information director, said Everett Transit had no immediate plans to expand their bike racks, which are the standard two-bike size. Community Transit Call 425-353-7433 or 800-562-1375; go to www.communitytransit.org or e-mail riders@commtrans.org.   CONTACT THE HERALD Melanie Munk, Features Editor munk@heraldnet.com   Published: Saturday, June 20, 2009 Centennial Trail trail loop by bike and bus from Arlington to Snohomish Story and Photos by Ron Ramey Herald Writer A loop trip is always nice, whether hiking, biking or even driving. Something about backtracking over the same route and scenery feels wearisome sometimes, so we devised a pleasant loop involving two buses and bikes to cover the Centennial Trail from just south of Arlington to downtown Snohomish. By now, after trips to Tacoma, Langley and Wallace Falls, you may be thinking I have a vested interest in the bus companies, or that I don't own a car. Wrong on both counts. I just avoid driving whenever possible. So, start this trip at Lynnwood Transit Center or Everett Station with Community Transit 202. (Bus frequency is about every half-hour weekdays, hourly on weekends. Check the CT schedules to find other stops in between. We caught one at 10:13 a.m. in Everett.) Load the bikes and enjoy the I-5 scenery and beautiful downtown Marysville on the way to the intersection of 51st Avenue NE and 152nd Street NE. (You also can start this trip with CT 201, but be aware that bus stop is a mile farther west on 152nd, adding a mile of narrow road and traffic to negotiate on your bike.) Disembark 202, unload the bikes and pedal east on 152nd one mile to 67th Avenue NE. Hang a left and go a hundred yards or so to the Armar Road Trailhead of the Centennial Trail. Now you can start the nice part of the trip, a 17-mile ride on a paved trail to Snohomish. By far, the best part of the trail is the stretch from Armar Road to just south of Lake Cassidy. With lush greenery on both sides, you get far enough away from roads to gain a level of peace and quiet that you won't find on the southern half of the trail. In some spots it was so quiet that birds were the dominant sound around us, and there were plenty of birds all along the way. Among the birds we spotted on the trip were the usual robins, chickadees and juncos, along with varied thrush, pine siskin, Pacific-slope flycatcher, red-winged blackbird and red-tailed hawk. At one point a doe and her fawn stepped onto the trail, then leaped back into the woods when they spotted us. Our only reptile sighting was a king snake slithering across the trail. About seven miles down the trail is Lake Cassidy, a great spot for a picnic or just to linger awhile. A boardwalk and pier takes you over a bog and out to a viewpoint (or fishing spot) on the lake. If you have time, hang around the area and look for some of the 200 species of birds, resident and migratory, that inhabit the area. This little area of wetlands and forest also has, and I cite the signs posted by the lake, 63 species of mammals, 13 amphibians and 5 reptiles. The smaller Lake Martha to the north and the wetlands between are part of a county resource conservation area. South of Lake Cassidy is a small wildlife sanctuary. Enjoy it, because pushing south from here, you soon come to the jarring backside of Lake Stevens' industrial area. You're definitely out of the woods here and into the noise. A little farther on is the trail access at 20th Street NE, where things quiet down a little. You can follow that street to downtown Lake Stevens and the lake itself, if you wish. About three miles farther south along the trail is Machias, probably the second-best stopping place on the route. We sat in the shade here for a lunch break. A reproduction of an old Machias railroad depot has restrooms and a picnic shelter. A pleasant little park with more picnic tables and shade trees sits to one side of the trail, and a parking area to the other side. It's one of the busier sections of the Centennial Trail, and during our stop we watched bikers, walkers, runners, skaters and horseback riders pass by. From Machias to Snohomish, you are treated to views of farmland and the Pilchuck River. Soon enough, you're heading through Snohomish to the intersection of Maple Avenue and Sixth Street, where the Centennial Trail ends. To get back to Everett by bus, go left on Sixth a block to Pine Avenue, then south to Second Street to the bus stop for CT 270, 271 or 275, any of which gets you to Everett Station. Get a transfer and make connections to 201 or 200 if you are continuing to Lynnwood. Needless to say, you can do this in the other direction, but that's the mostly uphill direction, even if it is a gradual uphill. Give me a choice and I'll take the lazy direction every time. 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