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There are 17 trip reports for this hike. See all trip reports for this hike.
Red Town, Cave Hole, Coal Creek Falls, Quarry, Shy Bear, Far Country, Wildside — May 30, 2011 — jkwayland
Day hike
Features: Wildflowers blooming
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This loop of trails made 5 miles. The trails are in great shape - a bit of mud here...
This loop of trails made 5 miles. The trails are in great shape - a bit of mud here and there, but easy to get around. Coal Creek Falls was full of water. Lots of Bleeding Hearts along the trail as well as other flowers I don't know the names of.
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Red Town, Indian Trail, Wildside Trail-De Leo Wall, Marshall's Hill, Wildside — Feb 07, 2011 — whitebark
Day hike
Issues: Mudholes
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This time I decided to check out some of the trails on the west side of Cougar Mountain. First I...
This time I decided to check out some of the trails on the west side of Cougar Mountain. First I rambled along the wide, easy-strolling Red Town Trail to the ballfield meadow. After relaxing by the rushing waters of Coal Creek for a bit, I continued roaming along the Indian Trail, freshly improved by the WTA and in great condition. A brand-new side trail led me down to an overlook of Far Country Falls, which is quite a lovely sight with its multiple streams of water tumbling down mossy ledges. This spot is destined to become a Cougar Mountain favorite.

I then backtracked on the Indian Trail and headed west on the De Leo Wall Trail. This old school trail is narrower and muddier than many on Cougar Mountain, but pretty nevertheless. The trail rambles on an up-and-down course through open forest along the south hillside of Marshall's Hill, crossing several ravines with little brooks. At a junction, the official De Leo Wall trail takes off uphill to avoid private property. To see the viewpoint, I continued straight ahead, following an unsigned but decent trail. This path soon reached the brink of the cliff and views picturesquely framed by madrona trees, which thrive on this extremely dry site.

The trail picked a precarious route along the cliff before arrive at a knot of trails coming together at the far west end of Cougar Mountain. New trails constructed by the Issaquah Alps Trails Club and the city of Newcastle continue west from here. I followed the "Cross Town Trail" for a bit, then ascended a new staircase to a subdivision. A short stroll among some high end homes took me to an access road to a water tower, and led me back into Cougar Mountain Park.

At this time, the few gleams of sun I was enjoying abruptly ended and I was assaulted by a sudden storm of hail, rain and thunder. The shelter of the trees in Cougar Mountain Park was quite welcome! The rain never let up until I got back to my car.

I Followed the Marshall's Hill trail for a long stretch--more pleasant walking on a good tread with just touches of mud in places. Eventually it joined the Wildside Trail, which I followed back to Red Town Trailhead. The Wildside Trail has some bad mudholes that need work.

For pleasant and easy hiking close to Seattle, Cougar Mountain never fails to please.
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Red Town, Cave Hole, Coal Creek Falls, Quarry, Indian Trail, Wildside Trail-De Leo Wall, Marshall's Hill, Wildside — Dec 19, 2010 — Alpine Joe
Day hike
Issues: Blowdowns | Water on trail
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This series of trails forms a nice clockwise loop starting at the Red Town TH on Cougar. Blue skies, sun, no...
This series of trails forms a nice clockwise loop starting at the Red Town TH on Cougar.

Blue skies, sun, no wind, and temperatures in the mid-forties. The Coal Creek Falls are quite pretty right now, with a light dusting of snow on the surrounding area. When I got to the De Leo Wall trail, I decided to take the extra loop out to the “lookout spot”. This section of trail is narrower, more overgrown, and in rather poor condition, and the lookout was just a view of the suburbs to the SW. I’d skip it next time and just enjoy the climb up the main De Leo Wall trail. There were some blowdowns on the Marshall's Hill trail, but not too difficult to get over.

5 miles round trip, approx 1,100' elevation gain.
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Wildside Trail-De Leo Wall, Marshall's Hill, Wildside — Mar 17, 2010 — mhodson87
Day hike
Issues: Water on trail
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Went on this hike on a spur of the moment decision and hit the trail at about 5:00pm. Very easy...
Went on this hike on a spur of the moment decision and hit the trail at about 5:00pm. Very easy hike with a few uphill spots but nothing this out of shape guy couldn't handle. The view from the De Leo Viewpoint is ok, I was hoping to see Ranier but there were trees in the way. It is a nice little place to sit and eat a snack before finishing the trip, though.
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Wildside, Wildside Trail-De Leo Wall, Indian Trail, Red Town — Jan 30, 2010 — Solo Steve
Day hike
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Our group of 11 friends found plenty of hikers, trail runners, dogs -- even a military group out for a...
Our group of 11 friends found plenty of hikers, trail runners, dogs -- even a military group out for a training hike -- on this drizzly Saturday. All trails are in good shape, with just a few muddy and eroded spots. It was too dreary for photography, so we caught up with each other's goings-on and enjoyed a quick lunch by a small creek and waterfall.
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Location
Wildside (#COUGAR-W1)
Issaquah Alps -- Cougar Mountain
Guidebooks & Maps
Day Hiking Snoqualmie Region (Nelson & Bauer - Mountaineers Books)

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