Information about this hike provided in partnership with
Mountaineers Books.
Copyright © Craig Romano/The Mountaineers Books Scott Paul Trail
Featured In:
Day Hiking: North Cascades,
by Craig Romano.
A portion of all book sales from the links above benefits WTA and helps protect and maintain our trails. Start your hike on the Park Butte Trail, entering the 8000-acre Mount Baker National Recreation Area (a sort of wilderness-light). Soon come to a junction with Scott Paul Trail No. 603.1. Combined with the first 2 miles of the Park Butte Trail, one of the finest day-hiking loops in the North Cascades can be made. For maximum viewing pleasure and minimum descent discomfort, it's best to loop clockwise. So, follow the Park Butte Trail left through Schriebers Meadow, across the gravelly outwash of Rocky Creek, and then up a forested ridge to the upper junction with the Scott Paul Trail (elev. 4500 ft). The trail is named in honor of a national forest trails and wilderness coordinator who died in an accident in 1993; it was Paul who conceived of and helped build this trail. Heading northeast, the trail skirts the Railroad Grade, glacial moraine deposited by the receding Easton Glacier. The impressive fluted heap of tilled rock and soil looks like a train trestle marching up the mountain. Chugging under the Railroad Grade the trail makes a slight descent to Rocky Creek where a suspension bridge from July through September safely transports you across (crossing can be dangerous without the bridge-check with the Forest Service to make sure it's in place). Now begin climbing. On the way up Metcalfe Moraine, on a slow and sometimes rocky route, the snout of Easton Glacier and Baker's Black Buttes come into view. Gray gives way to green as moraine yields to meadow. Views! Baker breathes down upon you. Look back at the Railroad Grade, Park Butte, and the Twin Sisters. Reaching a high point of 5200 feet, the trail contours the glacier-clad volcano. For the next 2 miles, undulate between moraine and meadow, rock gardens and parklands. Hovering at an elevation of around 5000 feet, it's pure alpine splendor. Gaze out to Sloan, Glacier, Pugh, Whitehorse, and Three Fingers-all distinguishable peaks on the southern horizon. You'll encounter several creeks along the way-easy rock hops or tricky boot soakers, depending on recent rainfall and snowmelt. Eventually begin losing elevation to arrive at a meadowed saddle (elev. 4600 ft) offering outstanding views of Baker's "pointy peak,"Sherman and Mount Shuksan looming in the distance. Now on excellent tread, commence an easy on the knees descent through huckleberry patches and giant hemlock groves to close the loop and arrive at the trailhead in 2.5 miles.
Driving Directions:
From Burlington (exit 230 on I-5), head east on the North Cascades Highway (State Route 20) for 23 miles, turning left (north) onto Baker Lake Road (between mileposts 82 and 83). Continue 12 miles and turn left on Forest Road 12 (the turnoff is 0.2 mile after you enter the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest). Drive 3.5 miles, turn right onto FR 13 (signed "Mt Baker National Recreation Area"), and follow it for 5.2 miles to its terminus at the large trailhead parking area (elev. 3300 ft). Primitive camping and privy available. Recent Trip Reports
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Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming | Ripe berries
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When the weather is as good as it can be for this time of year, hiking is mandatory. Scott...
When the weather is as good as it can be for this time of year, hiking is mandatory. Scott Paul trail is an eight-mile loop up along a moraine and then through beautiful meadows with nearly constant views of the South slope of Mt. Baker.
I was not the only geezer on the trail. I met nine other male senior citizens who all echoed the same sentiment...this may be the last beautiful day we have for months! Seven of the geezers were hiking to Park Butte. Having been to the Butte multiple times, I wanted to explore a different trail. There are good blueberries in the lower meadows, and there are still wildflowers in the upper meadows. I saw Lupine, Valerian, Daisies, Asters, Pearly Everlasting, and even a couple of Monkey Flowers. While not as profuse as they would be during the summer, it is amazing that they are putting on a good show the third week in October. You also will see marmots and ptarmigan in the upper meadows. The reported trail conditions are incorrect. The current conditions from the Forest Service say there is snow on the trail and that caution is needed when crossing Rushing Creek. There is no snow anywhere on the trail, and Rushing Creek is merely a trickle and easily crossed. The best way to hike the Scott Paul trail is to ignore the sign near the trailhead and proceed two miles up the Park Butte trail. There is a signed junction where you can turn right for the Scott Paul trail. After the meadows, the trail back to the start is soft, smooth, and gentle. There are a few mudholes and one step-over blowdown. The remainder of the trail is quite good. I intend to hike this trail again in the spring when the trickles of water from the mountain will be creeks and waterfalls. That will make for some awesome photos with Baker above.
Scott Paul Trail
— Sep 22, 2010
— Sydney Kaplan
Day hike
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We did this hike last year, coincidentally on the same date, but this time, we didn't have...
We did this hike last year, coincidentally on the same date, but this time, we didn't have the brilliant sunshine we had then, nor the profusion of ripe blueberries. Although the weather forecast was for sun, around Mount Baker the clouds were thick and we could only see portions of the mountain as they opened up from time to time. Nonetheless, the hike was great, and the views of the North Cascades were beautiful. When we reached the first view spot at 4700 feet, Mt. Shuksan appeared fully, except for its very tip. The trail up to this spot is easy,through a lovely forest with many giant trees. We then continued up the climber's trail which takes off just before the Scott Paul trail veers back into the forest. It climbs very steeply straight up, and becomes indistinct at times and easy to lose in places. As we were completely alone on this trail all day (we never saw anyone other than in the parking lot--lots of people heading up to Park Butte), and because it passes through huge meadows, we were on the alert for bears, especially after seeing fresh scat on the trail. The berries were mostly unripe, although some were ready--ready enough for bears, that is. We climbed out of the meadows and up the rocky ridge alongside the Squock Glacier until we reached the climber's camp at around 6200 feet. We had a great view across to Railroad Grade, Park Butte and Schreiber's Meadows, as well as The Sisters. Far down below to the East is Baker Lake and the peaks above it. The panorama is spectacular. We could see Glacier Peak and Three Fingers, but Mount Rainier never emerged. It, like the mountain we were resting upon was shrouded with clouds.
Park Butte, Scott Paul Trail
— Sep 11, 2010
— Steve & Eydie Vaschakas
Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
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Eydies' hip dysplasia is still acting up so Chris went with me again. We got to the lookout first and...
Eydies' hip dysplasia is still acting up so Chris went with me again. We got to the lookout first and opened it up. Mostly cloudy today so views were limited. We headed back down once the lookout started filling with people and took the Scott Paul trail back down for the first time. A worthy trail! the deep woods protion is awsome. Wild floweres are stiil blooming up here!
Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming | Ripe berries
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HaT #5. This was a struggle from the beginning, not because it’s a particularly difficult anything (drive, hike, etc.),...
HaT #5. This was a struggle from the beginning, not because it’s a particularly difficult anything (drive, hike, etc.), but because I’m finally feeling how hard I’ve been pushing myself all month and my body is just really wanting to stop and rest.
I woke up before the 5:30 alarm and since I wasn’t falling back asleep, I figured I may as well get moving (which was good because it still took me a while to get myself in gear). Out the door at 6:00 and on the trail by 8:20. En route, a beautiful sunrise with Whitehorse, Three Fingers and Pilchuck all visible beneath the high cloud layer. One of these days, I’ll see the sunrise FROM one of those mountains, but not today. The weather forecast was not promising (either the night before or at pre-dawn), offering cloudy skies and a 30% chance of rain. But it didn’t look like any other area in the mountains would offer anything better and I needed the miles, so I stuck to the plan. What greeted me was a morning full of clear blue skies and crisp temperatures followed by an afternoon of moody skies but nary a drop of rain (on me, anyway). Not much to report here (I guess I’m not in story-telling mode). The trail is well-maintained (looks like some fresh work has been done on the Park Butte trail) and the views are pretty much non-stop most of the time. I was up to the lookout early enough that it wasn’t too crowded (3 horse riders and 2 hikers outside on the wrap-around balcony, another 3 hikers inside the lookout – 1 other hiker had already come and gone) but I passed a steady stream of people on the way back down. I didn’t stay long at the LO (the weather was starting to turn and I knew I still had a long trip ahead of me) and was back down to the Scott Paul junction in no time. It was a little disheartening here to know that I had completed less than half of my miles for the day, but I persevered and was richly rewarded because of it, plus I was lucky enough that not one drop of rain fell in my vicinity (even though the clouds often looked like they were promising to dump and I could see showers off in the distance here and there). This brings my final Hike-a-Thon total to 46.9 miles with an elevation gain of 10,246 (1.9 vertical miles). I may be short on miles but I went up quite a bit more than I had intended. I can still pat myself on the back for a job well done!
Park Butte, Scott Paul Trail
— Aug 13, 2010
— CKHiking
Day hike
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I headed up to the Park Butte Lookout first and the foot log across Rocky Creek is sweet!! Thanks!...
I headed up to the Park Butte Lookout first and the foot log across Rocky Creek is sweet!! Thanks! It wasn't there last year. I was surprised at the amount of snow still around although no problems for hiking or for the horses. The small tarns below the lookout still have snow and some ice. The glacier water pond that is off of the climbing route beyond Railroad Grade is all snow. Mt. Baker was of course gorgeous and so were the surrounding peaks especially with some snow still on them. I watched/heard several ice falls thunder down. It was quite windy but the breeze felt good with the heat. I returned via the Scott Paul Trail and this was my first time doing the entire trail and I loved it! I left the pup at home today as I knew there was no way she would cross the suspension bridge. The trail has great views and very diverse terrain.
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