Iron Bear - Teanaway Ridge
In spring and early summer, the flowers are so profuse and beautiful that you would think that a gardener had planted them. And because this area is usually clear of snow long before many others in the region, hikers can attain Teanaway Ridge and views of the Stuart Range and Mount Rainier while much of the Cascades is still snowed in. Alas, so can motorbikes, so go mid-week if you'd like some quiet.
Begin hiking in trees, which gradually thin out into low shrubs such as serviceberry and ceonothus. The trail switchbacks through scree and flower fields, gaining about 600' to a four-way trail junction at Iron Bear Pass at 1.8 miles. Here the views of the Mount Rainier and the Stuart Range open up and miles of ridgetop rambling lie ahead. Go left (east) to walk along Teanaway Ridge or go right to a delightful 5489' high point (about 6.5 miles) and a great spot for lunch (going straight takes you down to a road). Flower displays are constantly changing and are a mixture of east and west side flora. At the pass in a dry south-facing slope there is often a field of pink bitterroot of Lewisia rediva, growing in the rocks and scree, like tiny water lilies with no visible leaves or stems. Do note that this trail has no water. Be sure to bring plenty with you.
Driving Directions:
From I-90 take exit 85. Go left and then right to enter US 970- and US 97 for 19.3 miles. Go left on FR 9714 for 2.7 miles to the end and trailhead #1351. At the end of FR 9714 you will ford a stream just before you get to the trailhead. The last 200 yards of road is a bit dicey but you can park in several turnouts just before you get to the ford. Recent Trip Reports
Hiked here recently?
Submit a trip report!
There are
108
trip reports for this hike.
See all trip reports for this hike.
Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
Overgrown
Expand report text
Hide report text
Read full report
with photos
Our group of eight hikers from the Northshore Hiking Club headed to the east side of the Cascades fo...
Our group of eight hikers from the Northshore Hiking Club headed to the east side of the Cascades for a hike off of Highway 97. It is a little over 3 miles up the Iron Creek Road to the trailhead. We parked at a campsite just before the road fords the creek. It is a short walk up to the trailhead and the hike up the Iron Bear Trail to the junction with the Teanaway Ridge Trail. We crossed a few small streams along the way and had nice views when crossing the open slopes. After a break at the junction, we hiked up the Teanaway Ridge Trail to the north. The trail side slopes as it gains elevation with several switchbacks before getting to the top of Peak 5489. We had a 360 degree view from the summit with Mt. Stuart to the northwest and several Teanaway peaks. The bottom half of Mt. Rainier could seen to the southwest.
After eating lunch and taking some photos the group headed back down. We had good weather, not to hot and no skeeters or flies. Did see a few butterflies and birds. Six crows flew over as we were eating lunch, gliding on the wind. The flowers are now blooming, with several different types to been seen along the trail. We saw some Checkerspots butterflies on the Iron Bear Trail near one of the stream crossings. The trail is in good shape, but is getting over grown in spots. Motorbikes are allowed on the Teanaway Ridge Trail, but we did not see any. Note that there is no toilet at the trailhead parking area. Everyone had a good time on this hike with a lot of nice views. Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Expand report text
Hide report text
Read full report
with photos
Mountaineer CHS trip to Iron Bear. Great weather, wonderful scenery and congenial hiking companions ...
Mountaineer CHS trip to Iron Bear. Great weather, wonderful scenery and congenial hiking companions made for a great trip. Wildflowers are plentiful and Rainier was out big-time from several viewpoints along the trail. Encountered a fair number of hikers, a trail biker and several motorized trail bikers as well. Everyone was polite and played well together.
Trails are in great shape with no hazards to navigation to contend with. That applies to the log that has been blocking the Trailhead entrance... it is gone and the TH parking is again accessible! The gravel road overall isn't too bad although you'll kick up the usual amount of road dust. Good times! Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Expand report text
Hide report text
Read full report
with photos
We hiked 3 miles from the TH to the high point of Teanaway Ridge at 5489 ft. The trail was in excell...
We hiked 3 miles from the TH to the high point of Teanaway Ridge at 5489 ft. The trail was in excellent condition and was lined with wildflowers along the way. Scarlet gilia, bitterroot, forget-me-nots, spring beauty, glacier lilies, larkspur, paintbrush, Jacob's ladder, and penstemon were some of the flowers seen. When we returned to the Th, the bitterroot had "gone to sleep" and were no longer open! We met 2 on motorcycles even though they aren't supposed to be on the trail until 6-15. There were many butterflies.
Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Expand report text
Hide report text
Read full report
with photos
Lovely flowers, clear weather, who could ask for more. We wanted to try this hike before the area o...
Lovely flowers, clear weather, who could ask for more. We wanted to try this hike before the area officially opens to motorized bikes on June 15. Road to trail head is clear, the downed tree reported in earlier reports is gone. We still parked before the creek ford. Probably about 12 to 15 vehicles various places when we arrived at noon. Lots of flowers lined the trail up to the pass. The balsamroot is looking ragged at the bottom but still flamboyant at the pass. The trail is a nice mix of open exposures (balsamroot, scarlet gila flower, paintbrush, and others whose names escape me) and some wooded areas (various false Solomon seal, and a myriad of other small white flowers)about 4 small creeks for Maisie to drink from and for us to soak our Tilly hats in the first mile. Dry beyond that. Breezy and clear at the pass, Mt Rainer and the Stuart range visible. A large party was going right so we went left along the Teanaway Ridge Trail. We didn't go too far, it meanders up and down along the ridge but without any real views. Saw a few late trilliums, the glacier lilies were pretty desiccated. Got back to the pass just in time to experience a couple of stinking motorbikes go through, but at least they were soon gone. We'd like to come back next year and check out the other direction.
Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Expand report text
Hide report text
Read full report
with photos
This was a nice spring leg-stretcher just under two hours' drive from Seattle. The road to the trail...
This was a nice spring leg-stretcher just under two hours' drive from Seattle. The road to the trailhead is in decent shape. There is a downed tree just a few hundred feet before the official start of the trail, but plenty of space to park in that area - there were about 4 other cars when we got there at 10:30.
The wildflowers started even before the official trailhead sign - I spotted a couple of small stands of orange paintbrush the moment we stepped over the downed log. As we continued further, we spotted many others all along the way - lupine, balsamroot, arnica, purple trillium and others I don't know :) Don't expect carpets of flowers a la Dog Mountain, but it was quite pretty. The trail is melted out all the way, and gets more open and exposed as you make your way up to the summit. When the sun was out it got quite warm. (On a related note: there isn't anywhere to refill water after the first couple of streams at the very start of the hike, so bring as much as you need.) We overtook about 4 or 5 other parties on the way up, and saw quite a few more coming up on our way back, but it didn't feel too crowded. The only buzz kill was two loud motorbikes coming around the corner on a fairly narrow stretch of the trial, but that was the only motorised traffic we saw. It wasn't clear enough to see Rainier when we got to the summit, but there were still nice views of some snow-capped peaks in the distance. The summit area is full of delicate little yellow glacier lilies, which are so pretty. We sat for a little while munching on some snacks and listening to some very interesting birdsongs. Very peaceful. On our way back to the car, we noticed that a couple of bitterroots by the side of the trail that had been closed when we started the hike had fully opened by the time we got back to them. That was pretty cool. All in all an enjoyable day on the trail :) |
 View of Mount Stuart. Photo by Robert Michelson.
|
Document Actions
- Email this page
- Print this
- Share
