Pinehurst Station Opened Beside I-5. Route 77 Is What Connects It to Lake City.

Pinehurst Station opened at NE 130th Street and 5th Avenue NE on Wednesday, September 30, 2026. It was originally scheduled for 2031 and opened five years early. Hundreds of people came to the opening celebration. The Urbanist reported that one food truck was feeding all of them, at a station "fairly isolated from other restaurants."

That detail matters for anyone who lives nearby. On its own, the station is a platform over a freeway, next to a golf course you can't walk into. For Bitter Lake, Pinehurst and Lake City, the bigger change started a month earlier, when King County Metro's new Route 77 began running along NE 130th and NE 125th. The routes below start at the platform and work outward.

The bus came before the trains

Route 77's timetable took effect August 29, 2026, and runs through March 26, 2027. The Urbanist reported that the 77 provides direct service along NE 130th Street, where there was no bus before. Metro calls it the east-west connection community members asked for. It runs from Bitter Lake, Greenwood and Aurora Avenue to Lake City Way, then turns south toward Roosevelt, the U District and the University of Washington campus. It is also through-routed with Route 75, so you can stay on the same bus through the U District toward Children's Hospital and Magnuson Park.

The same service change ended Route 372. Metro split its replacement among several routes. Route 77 covers the stretch between NE 125th Street and Ravenna Avenue NE, Route 72 runs south of NE 145th Street, and ST Express Route 522 serves Lake City at NE 145th north to UW Bothell. If you rode the 372 out of Lake City, check which number now covers your stop.

On Saturdays, the 77 detours onto 15th Avenue NE between NE 50th Street and NE Ravenna Boulevard to get around the University District Farmers Market.

What's on the platform

Trains on both the 1 Line and 2 Line stop at Pinehurst about every four to five minutes. The station has no Sound Transit parking. There are racks for 28 bikes and BikeLink lockers you can rent on demand. Each platform has two elevators, one at each end, and a ramp offers another accessible route through the station. To transfer to the 77, use the bus stops right across the street on Roosevelt/NE 130th Street and 5th Avenue NE.

Before you go downstairs, look at the walls. Romson Bustillo made porcelain enamel paintings that wrap around the building into its main entrance from 130th. Sound Transit says the work came out of community workshops and draws on Pacific Northwest plants, animals, water and landscape.

The plaza itself is loud. "It's definitely loud, I don't think I'll be hanging out at the station very long," opening-day visitor Lucas Thompson told KUOW. Transit educator Ariel Burnett, who teaches older adults to use transit, saw it differently: "There are a lot of seniors that live up here in this general area, and it's really exciting. I can't wait to train my mom to come over here."

The walk that already works

Jackson Park Golf Course sits right next to the station, but it's fenced off to anyone who isn't a paying golfer. A gravel trail runs around the outside. That's the Jackson Park Trail, a 2.2-mile loop that goes in and out of woods, crosses Thornton Creek and runs along the edge of the course. Its volunteer stewards list coyotes, bald eagles, hawks, woodpeckers, kingfishers and the occasional beaver among the wildlife. It's mostly flat apart from two short, steep climbs, and only a short stretch is wheelchair accessible. The clubhouse and entrance are a 0.6-mile walk from the station along the trail. Because there are stairs, that route is not ADA-accessible.

The trail has two volunteer efforts behind it. The Friends of Jackson Park Trail meet on the third Saturday of every month to pull invasive plants, put in natives and maintain the path. On the Urbanist's opening-day walking tour, James Wu and Shirley Leung of EcoCity Action talked about their group's campaign to open the 160-acre park to walkers, with ideas like picnic areas, soccer pitches or basketball courts.

South on 15th Avenue NE

That same tour followed one loop you can repeat on foot:

1. Start on the Jackson Park Perimeter Trail along the fenced edge of the golf course.
2. Turn south on 15th Avenue NE through the small business district the Urbanist called "fledgling."
3. Head back toward the station on NE 125th Street, with its new protected bike lane and the roundabout at Roosevelt Way.

On 15th Avenue NE, Zylberschtein's Delicatessen & Bakery is at 11752 15th Ave NE, at the NE 120th end of Atrium Square. It's open Friday through Sunday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., so plan the walk for a weekend morning. A few blocks south, Loxicha Authentic Oaxacan Food is at 11552 15th Ave NE, at the NE 117th Street corner. The Infatuation includes it in its 2026 Lake City guide. Back north near NE 125th, the Safeway at 12318 15th Ave NE lists daily hours of 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.

The roundabout you pass on the way back is Seattle's first on an arterial street. It opened to drivers July 10 at Roosevelt Way NE and NE 125th Street.

East on the 77, where most of October is happening

Ride the 77 east and NE 125th Street ends at Lake City Way, where most of this fall's events are. The Lake City Farmers Market's Thursday season ran June 4 through September 24. It switched to Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., from October 3 through December 19 at NE 125th and 28th Ave NE. The market has bike racks at the library next door. That's the Lake City Branch of the Seattle Public Library at 12501 28th Ave NE, beside Albert Davis Park.

The Lake City Business Alliance runs the art walk every third Thursday. It now partners with the Lake City Community Council on extra activities in the Mini Park. Reuse Commons Lake City opened July 14 in the former Aurora Rents building. It's a 7,000-square-foot, one-year pilot where you can shop for used tools and bikes, get clothing and appliances repaired, and borrow equipment. The businesses inside include Salvation Art Collective, Redyoos and Furniture Repair Bank.

For food, the newest name near NE 125th is Jaded Bagels at 12500 Lake City Way NE. It took over a former Papa John's, and when The Infatuation reviewed it in April 2026, its pizza bagels cost $2.80. The Infatuation's January 2026 Lake City guide also lists Kaffeeklatsch at 12513 Lake City Way NE, Toyoda Sushi at 12543, Lil' Tiger Ice Cream at 12348 and Hellbent Brewing Co. farther north at 13035. Elliott Bay Public House & Brewery lists its weekly hours for 12537 Lake City Way NE on its own site. That guide is from January, so check hours before a special trip.

Still under construction

Some of the routes to the station are still being built. As of SDOT's October 2 update, the north side of the 30th Ave NE and NE 125th Street intersection is closed around the clock for utility and paving work through October 7. Eastbound drivers detour onto 35th Ave NE, and westbound drivers use 28th Ave NE. Work on the south side of the intersection is scheduled to start as soon as October 7. On 30th Ave NE, the paving and bus project contractor has paused until Seattle City Light finishes its utility work. West of I-5, the N 130th Street project from Palatine Avenue N is still in design, with construction listed as "as soon as 2028."

One large empty storefront in Lake City may also change. The former Fred Meyer on Lake City Way closed last year. In early September, Kroger notified North Seattle Food Connection, the food bank across NE 130th Street that had been using part of the parking lot, that its parking agreement would end because of "the upcoming sale" of the property. As of the Seattle Times' September 22 report, the sale wasn't final, and the brokers declined to say who the site's new owner might be.

On a Saturday before December 19, you can take the 77 east from the station's NE 130th stop, get off near 28th Ave NE, and be at the farmers market by 10 a.m.

If you're wondering what the new station and the 77 could mean for your own home's value, Cedar to Sound Homes can look at your street, your stops and recent sales nearby, and give you a straight answer. Start with a free home valuation, and we'll take it from there.