Information about this hike provided in partnership with
Mountaineers Books.
Copyright © Dan A. Nelson/The Mountaineers Books Wilderness Peak
Featured In:
Day Hiking: Snoqualmie Region,
by Dan A. Nelson and Alan L. Bauer.
A portion of all book sales from the links above benefits WTA and helps protect and maintain our trails. The Wilderness Creek Trail crosses a sturdy, picturesque bridge over the pretty creek before climbing immediately up a series of switchbacks to lead you up and out of the creek canyon. The creek itself can be seen frequently from the trail as it tumbles down the steep draw, rushing over rocks and dropping over small falls. At around 0.5 mile you'll reach a trail fork. To the right is the path you'll return on. For now, go left and you'll soon recross the creek and continue up the creek valley. Here, the forest boasts stands of maple, cottonwood, alder, and fir. This mixed forest allows great light penetration to the forest floor, which makes the moisture-rich creek valley an emerald basin of mosses and ferns that seem to cover every surface. From huge boulders to old, rotting logs, greenery grows everywhere. This rich world of green can be a wonderful place to escape the heat of summer. But for our purposes it's simply a grand landscape to enjoy while hiking on to greater adventures. Continue up the trail as it veers up the lower slopes of nearby Ring Road Peak (not-so-creatively named for the old road that circled 'round the peak to its top). At the next trail junction stay right to recross the creek again, and then move onto a long section of boardwalk trail that keeps you above the murk on Big Bottom Bog. The forest here is largely very old second growth and even some native deciduous stands. After crossing the boggy bottomlands at the upper end of the creek valley, the trail starts up the flank of Wilderness Peak. You'll find yourself among majestic old Douglas-firs in a forest largely untouched by man--only a few old stumps reveal the hand of hard-working independent loggers (gypos) who harvested single trees. Look closely and you'll see the notches cut for the sawyers' springboards--long planks stuck into the axe-hewn notches so the loggers could stand and saw through the tree trunk above the wide spread at root level. After hiking just 1.3 miles you'll cross Sky Bear Pass at 1320 feet, and in another 0.25 mile find yourself at Far Country Lookout. At the junction here, go right to ascend to the summit of forest-crowned Wilderness Peak. You'll find scant views other than of the forest around you. Continue on down the far side of the peak to Big View Cliff on the southern slope before reaching that original trail split at the top of the first set of switchbacks you encountered on your trek out.
Driving Directions:
From I-90 take exit 15 onto Newcastle Way (State Route 900). Drive south about 2.5 miles to the Wilderness Creek trailhead. Recent Trip Reports
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trip reports for this hike.
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Day hike
Issues:
Blowdowns | Snow on trail
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Went on a group trail run that included the Wilderness Creek/Cliffs loop. The trails are littered with blowdown, though mostly...
Went on a group trail run that included the Wilderness Creek/Cliffs loop. The trails are littered with blowdown, though mostly branches. We tried to move what we could but there is so much it would have taken us all day to clear a mile or so. It took us 27 minutes to cover one mile, and we were running (stopping/running/crawling over trees/running/moving branches/running, you get the picture). Widerness peak was hit especially hard, because of it's altitude i would suspect. The alder forest near the top of the peak has had some major pruning, and all the branches are strung about. the short trail to the peak is hard to distinguish as a trail if it didnt have a sign. Expect to do lots of climbing over stuff until things are cleaned up. There are 5-6 or major blowdowns on this loop that currently require some reroute or navigation around them. Otherwise, most are crawl over or through situations. There was still snow on the trail, maybe 6" on top, but mostly muddy slush near the bottom. The rest of cougar trails that we covered also sustained similar damage, just so you know what to expect.
Day hike
Issues:
Blowdowns | Mudholes | Snow on trail
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We chose the Wilderness Peak Trail on Cougar Mountain for a winter hike on a snowy day. The directions were...
We chose the Wilderness Peak Trail on Cougar Mountain for a winter hike on a snowy day. The directions were accurate, and the roads were easily accessible. The trailhead is just on the side of the road, with a widened shoulder serving as the "parking area"--just be aware of that. I have included a picture in the report for reference.
The trail is in good condition, though slightly slippery with snow. We did not need poles or traction devices. Snow is no more than 1/2 inch thick. There was mud on the trail in places, though not problematic. There were a few easily passable blowdowns. There were a couple other hikers out, but otherwise the only sounds were birds, rushing water, and gentle snowfall. We followed the signs on the trail that directed us to Wilderness Peak, rather than taking the loop suggested in the guidebook. We did take a slight detour to take pictures of Wilderness Creek on the way up. Interior views were the main reward, but this is a beautiful winter hike! Total hike time: 2 hours. Day hike
Features:
Fall foliage
Issues:
Water on trail
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This was my first full hike since moving to Washington and I enjoyed it thoroughly. We started at the...
This was my first full hike since moving to Washington and I enjoyed it thoroughly. We started at the trail head off of 900.
The trail starts out fairly steep through the creek canyon. There was a decent amount of running water through the creek, which can be seen numerous times and can be heard when it's out of eyesight. After going up a small series of switchbacks, we came up to first bridge crossing over the creek, continued across and came upon the first split in the trail. We continued left. There are some large moss-covered boulders on the trail. We hiked the switchbacks up the mountain and split left to go up to the Wilderness Peak. Following the peak, we made a left back onto the trail to continue the loop. We headed down Wilderness Cliffs. The trail down had a decent amount of water on it and a few slightly muddy spots - all of which was easily traversed. We stopped at the first lookout for a few minutes and then continued downward looking for the second lookout. The trail to the second lookout is easily passed due to a large tree down. We continued down and back onto the wilderness creek trail, crossed the bridge and proceeded out onto the trailhead. This was a great first hike for me up in the Northwes - great scenery, a fast moving creek, giant moss-covered boulders and a challenge. This was a great way to end the year.
Wilderness Peak
— Oct 09, 2011
— Magundasmom
Day hike
Features:
Fall foliage
Issues:
Mudholes | Water on trail | No water source
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Beautiful hike. I went with my nephew, friend, and her daughter (age 4). The old growth trees and...
Beautiful hike. I went with my nephew, friend, and her daughter (age 4). The old growth trees and large bouders were breathtaking. There wasn't a lot of fall colors yet but am looking forward to going back to see them when fall arrives in its time. It was a fairly easy hike without much debris on the trail. Some patches of mud and slipperly bridges but all manageable.
Wilderness Peak
— Jul 06, 2011
— brennf
Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
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This hike is wonderful since it's so close to the city. There is lots of greenery and the majority of...
This hike is wonderful since it's so close to the city. There is lots of greenery and the majority of it is shaded. Lots of wildflowers and for the most part there are not too many other people around. If I had visitors coming into town I would recommend this hike to take them on.
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Wilderness Peak. Photo by Coe
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