Wayne's Back Nine Is Closed Until 2028. Here's Where Bothell's River Walks Go This Winter

Since September 8, the east side of the former Wayne Golf Course has been a construction site. The City of Bothell has closed the "Back 9" to the public while crews rebuild Waynita Creek. The City says work will continue through winter 2027, and it plans to reopen the area in early 2028.

The closure covers one part of the corridor. The City says the "Front 9" and Blyth Park next door both remain accessible. Those two, plus the Burke-Gilman and Sammamish River trails and The Park at Bothell Landing, still connect into a single river walk this winter. The fenced section is getting the work that will add more trail to that walk when it reopens.

What is happening behind the fence

The work is the City's Sammamish River & Waynita Creek Restoration Project, and it rebuilds the creek more than the trails. The City's August 31 announcement lists the main pieces:

• Re-meandering parts of Waynita Creek, so the channel curves again
• Reconnecting groundwater to the stream
• Expanding the floodplain and adding wetlands
• Creating slow-water refuge and cold-water habitat for migrating Chinook salmon
• Adding large wood and other habitat features
• Removing invasive vegetation and planting more native trees and shrubs

When construction ends, the City says the restored area will have trails, pedestrian bridges and viewing areas. Bothell City Councilmember Carston Curd tied the project to the council's long-range planning in the City's announcement:

"This project is such an important part of City Council's 2040 Vision and has been years in the making."

The money comes from many sources. The City lists the Washington Department of Ecology, King County Parks and the Flood Control District, the Lake Washington/Cedar/Sammamish Watershed group known as WRIA 8, the Salmon Recovery Funding Board, the Puget Sound Acquisition and Restoration Fund, the EPA, Forterra, Meta and Swire Coca-Cola USA. A list that long suggests the project was planned well in advance, and the history of the land supports that.

The Back 9 was bought for this

How the City bought the two halves of the course explains why they are being treated so differently now. A City fact sheet from December 2019 says Forterra bought the whole former golf course in 2016. The City then worked with Forterra, King County and OneBothell to acquire all 89 acres by the end of 2018. Of those 89 acres, 85 are conservation easements or environmentally sensitive areas that have to stay "passive use," and the fact sheet says many of them will be restored, preserved or protected.

The prices show what each half was meant to be. The City paid Forterra $3.4 million for the Front Nine and $400,000 for the Back 9. King County paid $7.7 million for two conservation easements. The same fact sheet calls the Front Nine the four-acre active-use area on the west side and puts the Back 9 on the east side.

The east side cost the City about a ninth of what it paid for the west side. Most of the public money for the property went into conservation easements, not into land for active use. Since the purchase, the Back 9 has been held for passive use and restoration, and the Waynita Creek project is that plan taking shape. The west-side Front Nine, the only area set aside for active use, is the part that stays open.

The walk that stays open, in order

For now, the open pieces of the river corridor link up in a chain, listed here in walking order.

1. Blyth Park. Washington Trails Association describes wooded trails and trails along the riverbank, plus picnic tables, a playground, restrooms, a large parking lot and a 10-hole disc golf course. WTA's driving directions use 101st Avenue NE, NE 183rd Street, 102nd Avenue NE and West Riverside Drive, and it estimates parking for about 75 cars.
2. The river fields toward 96th Avenue NE. According to WTA's Blyth Park guide, the walk along the river shoreline stays in open grassy fields until 96th Avenue NE.
3. The Wayne Front 9. WTA gives driving directions to the Wayne parking lot by way of 96th Avenue NE, with the lot a quarter mile after the turn. A June 2026 visitor report on WTA's Wayne Golf Course page said you could walk over from Blyth Park. The City says the Front 9 stays accessible during construction.
4. The trail junction. WTA notes that the Burke-Gilman Trail runs right beside the Blyth Park entrance. King County says the Burke-Gilman runs from Seattle to Bothell, where it meets the Sammamish River Trail. It lists both Blyth Park and Wayne Golf Course along the route.
5. The Park at Bothell Landing. King County describes the paved Sammamish River Trail as running 10.1 miles from Bothell to Marymoor Park. It starts at the Burke-Gilman connection near Blyth Park and passes Bothell Landing on its way through Woodinville and Redmond.

You can stop at any point along that chain. At Bothell Landing, the Seattle Times has described a flat riverside walk of about three-quarters of a mile round trip. It includes a pedestrian bridge to the Burke-Gilman and Sammamish River trails, a paved path, a wetland boardwalk, a lawn, a playground and historic buildings.

The Bothell Historical Museum runs the historic buildings there: the Hannan House, the schoolhouse and the Beckstrom cabin, at 9919 NE 180th St. Its listed Sunday hours of 1 to 4 p.m. run April through October. From November on, the buildings are something to see from the path until spring.

What to know before a winter walk

The details below come from Washington Trails Association listings written before construction began, so posted signs at the trailhead take priority.

• Hours at Wayne: WTA lists 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes before sunset. In November, that cuts off a lot of after-work walking time.
• Dogs: WTA's Wayne guide says dogs must be on a leash.
• Trail mileage: WTA counts 3.0 miles of trails across the whole Wayne property. That figure includes the Back 9, which is now closed.
• Parking: The June 2026 WTA report put Wayne's free gravel lot at about 30 spaces. Blyth Park, with room for about 75 cars, is the bigger lot.
• Signage at Blyth: A January 2026 WTA report noted signs warning that ongoing or upcoming work could cause partial closures.

December 5 puts the river walk on Main Street

The Blyth Park directions start at 101st Avenue NE and NE 183rd Street. That same intersection hosts the Bothell Tree Lighting Festival on Saturday, December 5, from noon to 5 p.m.

FOLK's listing puts food trucks and a handmade market in First & Main Design Market's parking lot and along 101st. Main Street gets free kids' activities, community organizations and musical performances. At 5 p.m., Santa lights the tree, "Lucky." FOLK notes that its own shop will be closed that day for the event. With sunset that early in December, an afternoon river loop from Blyth Park can end at the tree lighting.

FOLK also has an earlier date on its calendar. Its monthly pop-up runs Friday, November 13, from 2 to 6 p.m. at the shop, 10123 Main Place, with artist Ashwini Gawand and Billion Dollar Cookie Dough. The December pop-up is set for Friday, December 11, from 2 to 3 p.m., with guests still to be announced.

The Back 9 stays closed through two more winters. When it reopens, the City plans pedestrian bridges and viewing areas over the restored Waynita Creek, for the Chinook the project is designed to shelter.

At Team NSRG, we keep up with how projects like the Waynita Creek restoration change everyday life in Bothell, from which trailheads are open to which streets get busy. If you're weighing how a park project or trail connection near you fits into your plans, schedule a consultation and we'll go through it with you.