What is the Mosquito Fleet Trail?

The Mosquito Fleet Trail is approximately 100 miles of roadside hiking and biking along the shores of the Kitsap Peninsula. The route will be marked with distinctive signs, making it easy to follow on foot, by bicycle or by automobile.  It links the old Mosquito Fleet docks from Kingston to Southworth.  It provides access to many other interesting stopping points including villages and towns, parks, historic sites, and scenic vistas. When complete, it will surely be a nice way for local citizens to walk to their neighbor's house or bike to the store.

Complete Trail Map in Adobe Acrobat Format.

What's Happening?

West Kingston Road - The very first segment of the MFT on the north end of the County was completed September, 2002. This facility offers sidewalks and bike lanes in the urban section, and bicycle lanes in the rural section and terminates at the Miller Bay Road.

Presently, Public Works is undertaking a design feasibility study from the terminus of the West Kingston Road project, at the Miller Bay Road intersection, south to the vicinity of Grover's Creek near the hatchery. The purpose of this study is to ascertain potential bike and pedestrian improvements on this corridor to provide continuity to the MFT. This corridor may provide opportunity for a separated trail system within the existing right-of-way.

White Horse PUD and Arborwood. Both of these future development have committed to providing on-road and off-road trail connections within their respective developments to connect with the Indianola and Kingston communities. These future connections would also integrate the MFT secondary route as outlined in the MFT Plan. This Secondary network connects Kingston to the Indianola community via the South Kingston Road, and then a further connection via the Indianola Road, westerly to the Primary MFT Route on Miller Bay Road.

Paved shoulder work recently completed on the Indianola Road. This work was performed during the course of two different roadway construction projects and paved shoulders now exist from inside the Indianola community to the vicinity of Gerald Cliff Drive.

Southworth Drive - The summer of 2001 saw the completion of paved shoulders on both sides of the roadway from the ferry terminal all the way to the flashing red light at the 90 degree turn (approx. three-quarters of a mile). On the heels of this work, Public Works staff has begun to meet with the Southworth community in order to determine can be accomplished along the Southworth Drive link between SE Olympiad Dr. and the Harper Dock. This half-mile segment poses a serious 'missing link' in the MFT network due to the lack of safe bike and pedestrian access. Currently this roadway segment has little right-of-way in which to perform any significant widening.  The lack of existing drainage facilities coupled with the lack of right-of-way poses further problems on the upland side.  Through public meetings it is hoped some consensus can be reached with the residents to provide some amenities within the existing right-of-way without environmental encroachment or without disruption to currently existing private improvements at the edge of the right-of-way. 

The future implementation of the MFT will highlight these challenges extant on numerous segments of the MFT route. The Southworth Drive segment is indicative of the need to achieve balance between these non-motorized amenities and the necessary environmental considerations. 

Staff contact:  Bill Zupancic

Kitsap County Public Works
The Open Line
(360) 337-5777 or (800) 825-4940
openline@co.kitsap.wa.us