The route begins paralleling 67th Avenue NE as it enters the Quilceda Creek watershed at the Armar Road trailhead south of Arlington.

[4][5] The Centennial Trail runs on the right-of-way of the Sumas Branch of the former Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway, built in 1889.

The railway connected Seattle with Canada and linked eastward toward Stevens Pass with mail, freight, and passenger service.

The line specialized in transporting timber, lumber and metals, and also served tourists visiting Monte Cristo, the Stillaguamish River, and the Big Four Inn at the Mountain Loop ice caves.

[6] A section of the trail extending approximately four miles northward from the City of Arlington to the unincorporated Town of Bryant was opened in November, 2010.

Artists Ellen Southard and Teresa Stern, of Site Story, wanted to celebrate the past while highlighting the Nakashima family, who were forced to sell the farm at pennies on the dollar due to internment during WWII.