The trail had initially encountered fierce political resistance from nearby homeowners through whose property the former BNSF Railway right-of-way runs. An interim trail, with a packed gravel surface suitable for walking and mountain biking, had been scheduled for completion by January 2006.
After losing a federal lawsuit brought by the Cascade Land Conservancy and Friends of the East Lake Sammamish Trail before the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, however, the homeowners relented, and the trail was finally completed and opened on 21 March 2006.[1]
