You'll be wagging your tongue over both the workout and the views after you enjoy this route. The workout comes by way of the last 0.75 mile to the summit, but you'll definitely earn the payoff you'll find at the top: stunning views of the Cispus River Valley and the peaks of the Dark Divide Roadless Area.

The trail heads north from the road, climbing just 400 feet in a mile. The path angles gent-ly upward through sunlight-filled forests to a trail junction at 1 mile. While the main trail drops off to the left, descending to the Cispus River, our trail goes right.

Look for the faint path leading upward on the right, around the 4000-foot elevation level. This is the summit trail, leading up the last 0.5 mile to the top of Tongue Mountain (4838 feet). This last 838 feet of climbing is steep and, as you break out of the forest onto sun-drenched meadow slopes, hot! But from the summit you'll love the views out over the Cispus River Valley to the north and the many long arms of the Dark Divide, a network of high, wild ridges in the heart of the forest between Mount Adams and Mount St. Helens.