Seattle, Washington

Summit Lake, nestled in a small basin just north of Mt. Rainier National Park in the Clearwater Wilderness, has everything a hiker could want in a day-hike or easy overnight backpack. The views, the well-maintained trail, and a perfect distance make this hike a must-do for anybody in the Pacific ...

Kendall Peak is an easily accessible summit hike just off of Exit 52 of I-90 that offers spectacular 360-degree views of the entire Snoqualmie range. You’ll start out in the PCT parking lot where you’ll need a NW Forest Pass to park, or pay the daily fee. A permanent bathroom and backcountry acce...

Starting at the Snoqualmie Pass PCT trailhead, you start hiking through an old growth forest. This hike has a nice gradual incline with views starting near a talus field. Late June, early July wildflowers are growing like crazy along the trail. This field offers a up close view of Mt. Rainier alo...

The West Ridge of Thomson is rated 5.6 and is 4-5 pitches depending on how you break it up. The East Ridge is some spicy 4th class and although people do scramble it, it is recommend to use a rope on the descent. The Approach Starting at the PCT trail-head you have two options.  You can take the ...

There are quite a few ways up Guye Peak ranging from a simple walk up to multiple pitches of technical rock climbing.  Both of the routes described here start from the PCT parking lot north of exit 52 of I-90 at Snoqualmie Pass.  Some of the scrambling described would be treacherous in wet or sno...

Start off by traveling along Highway 2 and turning towards the Money Creek Campground. Turn off onto Forest Road 6410 and follow that to the Lake Dorothy Trailhead (about 9 miles). This first section of the hike can be pretty crowded on a nice summer day as the trail is very family friendly and ...

The trail was not crowded although when we got to Snoqualmie Lake there were only a couple camping spots left. The trail up from Dorothy is not too hard at all. The weather was perfect. After passing Dorothy you have to ford a creek where the bridge has been washed out. We went through it on foot...

Get out of town and into the wild with this easy hike. Starting out fast you feel the solitude as soon as you turn off Highway 2 towards Money Creek Campground with a little under 10 miles of dirt road that winds through old forest growth. As you proceed and get closer to the trailhead the pothol...

If you're looking for a taste of the Mountain Loop Highway area, but don't have it in you for a longer, steeper journey, look no further than Lake 22. The trail starts out as flat and well-maintained, from the parking lot, before becoming a true mountain rainforest trail. Water and dampness are f...

Along the Mountain Loop Highway, past the crowds crawling over Mt. Pilchuck, lies the muddy, unkempt Walt Bailey Trail into a verdant subalpine basin speckled with tiny tarns. The Cutthroat Lakes are a delightful location to spend the night with optional day hikes up to exposed ridgelines and cra...

This hike starts at the Gold Creek sno-park. You need the sno-park and discover pass for this. Park on the side of the road and start hiking up from there. Hike road up and up and up! It's very compact snow (at the moment, that will change fast with new snow coming in). We ended up leaving our sn...

When heading to the adventure, stopped at the ranger station in Carbon to get your day pass ($5.00) and then continue on to the trailhead. Park on the road next to the Carbon river around. Start the hike down an old paved road that eventually leads through some trails and then to a gravel road. T...

Located about 20 minutes outside of Shelton, Washington on US Forest Service Road NF-2340.  To get there, head North on Highway 101 and exit onto W Skokomish Valley Rd. about 12 miles (or 20 minutes) after passing Shelton.   W Skokomish Valley Road will take you through a beautiful area of farml...

Just walk straight past the restroom to find the start of the trail route. The Bluff trail heads up a set of stairs to the top of the hillside on the right. After climbing the stairs, you come right up on farmland (Ebey's Prairie), with a grassy two-track trail leading up toward the top of the bl...

This trail is great for nature trips and for birding. A national park pass or an entry fee of $25 per car (or $10 fee to walk in) is required for entry into Olympic National Park. Watch out for mud on the trail after rain. 

Driving Directions: From Seattle drive east on I-90 to exit 54 (signed "Hyak"). Turn left (north) under the freeway and right on the frontage road marked "Gold Creek." After about 0.5 mile turn left (north) on Gold Creek Road (Forest Road 4832), and in another 0.5 mile reach a junction. To the ...