Redmond (Washington)

Redmond is a city in King County, Washington, 15 mi east of Seattle, of which it is often considered a suburb.

Redmond is famous for being home to Microsoft Corporation, which has a large presence in the area. It is also home to Nintendo of America and numerous other companies. It is the self-proclaimed biking capital of the United States of America.

By plane


Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, nicknamed "Sea-Tac", is the nearest major airport. To get to Redmond by public transit from the airport, the best way is to take Sound Transit Link light rail to Downtown Seattle, and then transfer to the Sound Transit Express bus route 545 (see ). Exit Link at International District/Chinatown Station, then walk over to the bus stop on 4th Avenue South.

By train
Amtrak provides service to Seattle's King Street Station. To get to Redmond, take Sound Transit Express bus route 545 (see ), which stops just around the corner from the station, on 4th Avenue South.

By car

 * WA-520.svg from I-405.svg & I-5.svg SR-520 Connects Redmond to I-405 (Exit #14), north of downtown Bellevue and I-5 (Exit #168B), south of Lake Union, between downtown Seattle and the University District. The SR-520 bridge crossing Lake Washington is a toll bridge. Tolls vary depending on the time of day and is automatically deducted from a prepaid "Good to Go" pass on the windshield of the car. If no "Good to Go" tag is on the windshield the transponders take a picture of the license plates, front and back, and mail the toll bill to the legal owner of the vehicle. There are no toll booths to collect the tolls.
 * WA-202.svg
 * East Lake Sammamish Pkwy goes along the east side of Lake Sammamish from Front St & I-90.svg (Exit #17), north of Issaquah, to its intersection with SR-202 just east of downtown Redmond. Front St continues south though Issaquah and connects to  WA-18.svg at "Issaquah-Hobart Rd".
 * West Lake Sammamish Pkwy goes  along the west side of Lake Sammamish to Exit #13 of I-90 (Lakewood Blvd) just west of Issaquah.

By bus
For intercity bus services beyond the region, travel to Seattle.

By bicycle
Given that Redmond styles itself the "Biking Capital of the Country", you might expect Redmond to be accessible by bike from surrounding areas, but this isn't always the case. Redmond is internally well-connected by bicycle paths, but getting into Redmond, especially from areas due west like Kirkland, can be more difficult than you'd expect.


 * From the south The 520 Bike Trail offers the safest route into Redmond, as a paved trail separate from the road. 520 Terminates at the Sammamish River near Leary Rd directly south of Downtown and offers connections to several other bike trails from there. West Lake Sammamish Pkway has a bikelane, but it is not protected from high-speed vehicles and can feel very dangerous to ride.
 * From the west Redmond Rd does not have bike lanes, so the main artery into the city from areas west of Redmond is inaccessible to bicycle traffic. The best option for getting into Redmond from Kirkland is to take Old Redmond Rd, which does have bike lanes (unprotected, but better than nothing) and either taking 154th Ave NE South to connect with the 520 Bike Trail, or riding the short distance from the end of Old Redmond Rd east to the trails on Leary Rd

Get around
Downtown Redmond is walkable, but better yet, get a bike (see ), as it is flat and bike-friendly. The city has numerous trails and the only velodrome in the state of Washington (at Marymoor Park). Just be careful, as some trails end on extremely busy roads. King County has great information on biking paths and trails.

Outside of downtown, you are probably best off driving, though public transit is available in some areas.

By public transit
The public transportation hubs in Redmond are at NE 40th St and SR-520 and  on NE 83rd St and 161st Ave NE in downtown.


 * The following are useful routes operating at least every 15 minutes throughout the day:
 * Travels through the Overlake area, which has Microsoft's main campus.


 * Operates the following route at least every 15 minutes throughout the day:
 * Link Light Rail Line 2 from Bellefields Nature Park in South Bellevue to Redmond Technology Center via downtown Bellevue (along 12th Ave SE & 10th NE) and Overlake.
 * Link Light Rail Line 2 from Bellefields Nature Park in South Bellevue to Redmond Technology Center via downtown Bellevue (along 12th Ave SE & 10th NE) and Overlake.

(See above under "Getting in" for a list of Sound Transit bus routes serving Bellevue). Construction is underway to extend Link Line 2 into downtown Seattle and SODO via I-90 from South Bellevue.

Buy
Redmond's main shopping district is the Redmond Way/Cleveland Street corridor in downtown Redmond. It consists of a variety of small stores and a few strip malls.

Drink

 * Palmer's East 7853 Leary Way NE in downtown Redmond, Palmer's is a cozy dive bar with drinks and food, and Karaoke 7 days a week.
 * Palmer's East 7853 Leary Way NE in downtown Redmond, Palmer's is a cozy dive bar with drinks and food, and Karaoke 7 days a week.
 * Palmer's East 7853 Leary Way NE in downtown Redmond, Palmer's is a cozy dive bar with drinks and food, and Karaoke 7 days a week.

Go next

 * Seattle is right across Lake Washington, about a 10-15-min drive (barring rush hour traffic). I-90 and State Route 520 (SR-520) both have bridges that cross Lake Washington and connect the East Side (Redmond, Bellevue, etc.) to Seattle.  Rush hour traffic can increase travel time between the East Side and Seattle to approximately 30-40 min - go at off-peak hours!